How to value a NFT: the CryptoRAT case history

TLDR; many $RAT NFTs are undervalued, some are not

• Intro

• CryptoPunk and NFTs on Ethereum

• CryptoRAT: 10k of them, some are very rare

• How to value, with examples

• Conclusion

It is undeniable that there is a NFT mania out there. Ethereum is just the most known blockchain of choice, followed by WAX which is getting artists and global brands attention. However, BCH too has its word with NFTs, thanks to the SLP protocol and a new up and coming community.

If you want to ramp up quickly on what is an NFT, you can check this article. Just few considerations before jumping right into my case history of the CryptoRAT NFTs. The definition of a non fungible token is all about the concept of authenticity and proof of ownership. A token, that is illiquid in the meaning that it can't be traded/swapped for a fungible one (1 BCH does not equal to any 1 NFT), lives on the blockchain. A great report from Crypto.com offers you a deeper research, with the best case histories known up until now.

The CryptoRAT NFTs: the first generative art on the BCH blockchain

So, everyone knows the CyberPunks (and if not, check out the Larva Labs website): ten thousand unique and collectible characters minted on the Ethereum blockchain. They were algorithmically generated with different attributes and initially given away for free, becoming one of the most expensive p2p exchanged piece of collectibles.

Since the multimillion dollar sale of some of the rarest ones, they are amongst the hottest NFTs out there, and everyone is FOMOing in. To give you some context, one of the alien (#7804), very rare as there are only 9 in total, recently sold for $7.57M, or 4,200EHT if you prefer. CryptoPunks, CryptoKitties and many other projects in the meteverse are very well known on the Ethereum blockchain.

I may be wrong, feel free to let me know in the comments below, but the CryptoRAT project is the very first generative art on the BCH blockchain. According to an interview to his creator, Shadowkite, he said he created an algorithm to generate 10k different $RAT using attributes and names. And he gave them away for free, like the CryptoPunks. This means that the project wasn't meant to be a commercial one, at least not at this stage. Let's dive into this a little bit deeper, and try to understand which one are valuable.

There are 10k unique $RAT some are rare some are not

Each single one is unique in the meaning that they got a token ID, a name, and a minimum of 2 attributes to a maximum of 8 attributes. The more the attributes the better? Not necessarily, thanks to the algorithm. There are multiple twins: it doesn't mean that these are not collectible, on the contrary it's something to consider when buying or looking at the price. The hype started as soon as they flooded the NFT marketplace Juungle.net. And let's face the truth: some are priced at a ridiculously high bar. With that bing said, we'll try to find a fair value.

As just said there are multiple identical $RATs, not sure if this is a feature or rather a drawback of the algorithm. to give you a pretty straightforward and visual example: Fuzzy [#6749], currently selling for 0.000544 BCH has two siblings.

These three are each one unique (unique token id, unique name) but they share the same attributes: BG_WOODS, BODY_LIGHTGREY, and LASER. What does it mean? It means that out of 10 thousand there are only 3, unique $RATs, that have these attributes. How rare is an attribute? It's pure math: there are 61 different attributes, in our given case the BG_WOODS, namely the background picture, is the rarest attribute amongst the $RATs: it appears only 508 times in the whole collection! Would I personally buy Fuzzy? Absolutely, but I would try to acquire also Rocky, and Blue to complete the collection.

Let's clarify something: obviously the NFTs are all about emotions, fun, and collectibility. I am not a Financial advisor, and in any means I am not suggesting to buy or sell these tokens, this is solely intended for informational purpose.

With the disclaimer above, NFTs are pretty illiquid as we said and these $RATs are the best example. Let's look for some other real example in order to understand the value of this generative art project. Browsing this collection on Juungle, sorting by the higher price we spot some interesting and rare $RAT:

And I want to analyse two of them: Robin [#9626], and Babybel [#4422] both are on sale for a blow-minding price of 9,487 BCH: at the time of this post, this converts into $4,8m!

Don't FOMO: here is how to determine the fair value

As we said: each one $RAT is unique, but some are truly rare and so worth more, like Robin and Babybel. However, speaking of attributes, Robin has two attributes and one is super rare: BODY_TRANSPARANT. Its body is transparent and there are only 39 of them, making them very valuable indeed. However, Robin at current price is way overvalued: if you search on CryptoRAT's official website, the two attributes, you will find Robin's twin. Just click the below image to see the attributes in question:

So here comes the value: Maurice [2255] is still super rare, like Robin, but better priced at a fairer value than Robin: 0.2255 BCH. You are saving $4,8m, you are welcome. Is it Robin overvalued, or Maurice undervalued? Up to you. With that being said, it is totally up to you to decide whether Babybel is at fair value or not. From the attribute's point of view is one of its kind. Why is Babybel rarer than Robin or Maurice? It's because the attribute MEDKIT. There are only 37 $RATs with this attribute, making them very rare (and desirable).

Another attribute which is very rare (check the project's webpage, linked couple of times in this post), beside FLIPPED which occurs only 1 time, is GREENEYE. But the rarest token in the whole collection, is Peaches [#7975]. Only 1, and according to the SLP information, I assume it is still with the artist. Are there other rarest $RATs on sale? Yes, if you search a bit you could find one or two fairly priced, with the GREENEYE attribute. And I am not talking about Wimsey [#8650]. The second most rare $RAT? Not for sale, but I believe Spade [#7224] is the one, thanks to two of the four attributes: GREENEYE, and BODY_TRANSPARANT. Even this one seems to be with the artist, according to the SLP information.

To summarise: look for attributes and have fun at the right price

I hope I gave you an overview on how to properly check the prices and the attributes of these NFTs. If you check the artist's website, you can find all the relevant info. How to boost your hunt? Little hint: pick the attributes of your choice, edit the text and separate them with a comma starting from this URL: https://cryptor.at/rat/find/.

For example, in my option, Sesame [#6291], is offered for sale at a very great value. Its attributes are: BG_PINK2, BODY_DARKBLUE, and HORNS. Based on the tip above, visiting this URL https://cryptor.at/rat/find/BG_PINK2,BODY_DARKBLUE,HORNS (note that I removed all the spaces) we see that it is unique, despite none of the attribute is super rare... whilst BG_PINK2 occurs only 505 times.

To wrap-up: CryptoRAT is indeed a great project, and one of its kind in the NFT generative art. I personally find it fun and extremely educative to promote the BCH SLP protocol. Last but not least, I wish Shadowkite lots of success and many more interviews, to talk about this project. It would be even great, for the whole BCH community, if Peaches [#7975] would go on an auction maybe at Christie's. Feel free to comment below, and let me know your thoughts.