The Metaverse: Residual Self-Image, Crypto Punks & Bored Ape Yacht Club

A couple of Weekends ago, I re-watched “The Matrix” the 2003 blockbuster hit that introduced us all to the provocative ideas of a separate persistent world where the confines of what we understand as the “real world” do not confine or limit us, aka “The Matrix”.

As I watched the movie, I was reminded of themes, concepts and provocations that lead to a deeper understanding of where we are now, where we are going as it pertains to the Metaverse, NFT trends and the resonating truths that emerge through the observation of human behavior. There is not a day that goes by where if I am talking about NFTs and their relationship to the emerging Metaverse, that I am not asked about the Crypto Punk and Bored Ape Yacht Club phenomenon. Watching The Matrix reminded me of the fuel that sits behind a Crypto Punk or Bored Ape selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Residual Self-Image

In the movie The Matrix, Morpheus has a profound conversation with Neo:

Residual Self-Image = The mental projection of your digital self. Quickly, the understanding of WHY someone would acquire a Crypto Punk or Bored Ape for well over 100k. Social status and norming is…