Prometheans is a pre-Runes collection of 21,000 inscriptions created by the team at CyberKongz, whose founder and artist is known pseudonymously as Myoo. The other members of the CyberKongz Council are Lxxy, Svenstar, Coco__Bear, Clumsier, Owl and Henry the Grape. Seeing CyberKongz in an explainer about a Bitcoin-based collection may have once been surprising, given they’ve long been known for their prominent position in the Ethereum NFT space. But that’s no longer the case.
CyberKongz made a huge splash earlier this year with their leap into the Ordinals ecosystem, drawing attention through their large collection size, innovative spirit and intriguing distribution method. Through these mechanics, they were able to reward prominent Bitcoin Ordinals community members for their early trust in the system while still appealing to the Ordinals-curious. But the Prometheans collection is about much more than its marketing. It’s a truly creative, truly artistic addition to the Bitcoin community.
History of Prometheans & Associated Projects
So how did Prometheans come about? First and foremost, it’s in the CyberKongz DNA to arrive on the scene early with an innovative project. Their ETH-based $BANANA token was a pioneer in the NFT landscape more than three years ago. The CyberKongz group also think of themselves as “chain-agnostic,” pseudonymous founding member Henry the Grape told Decrypt in an interview. “We knew it was going to be a mad rush, but we wanted to get an early Rune that aligned with provenance and culture.” Combine these two ideologies, and the debut of the Runes Protocol is an appealing opportunity.
But fundamentally, the collection was developed to allow CyberKongz to enter the Bitcoin ecosystem in a way that respects the builders who have spent so long working to expand the chain and its use cases. Prometheans was specifically designed to achieve this goal by taking holders along with them for the ride. Twenty prominent Ordinals communities were chosen to receive airdrops, among others. (A smaller percentage was earmarked for CyberKongz holders.)
As the Prometheans’ founders explained, they focused on selecting individuals “that have pioneered the journey of Ordinals thus far. The ones who dared to carve their own path and shape the history of Ordinals, even in the face of skepticism and doubt.” This ensures that the collection encompasses not just the core values of the CyberKongz team (“innovation, experimentation, and pioneering”), but also the unique culture that underpins the Bitcoin community.
Concept Behind Prometheans
The Prometheans artwork is recognizable by its crop-circle-like appearance, surrounded by a rotating wheel. The collection colors are fiery; every PFP is made up of vivid reds, oranges and yellows. The entire image almost appears to be a satellite, or a clock. This was an intentional choice; the collection is meant to evoke “the essence of time itself.”
Tons of thought went into creating the collection’s aesthetic. The clocklike structure was a sartorial choice, while the front layer of hexagons in the artwork was crafted according to the Golden Ratio. As the creators wrote, “As Satoshi Nakamoto pointed out, Bitcoin is fundamentally a clock, a concept visually echoed in the Prometheans artwork. The outer layers mimic the pendulum of a grandfather clock. The centerpiece, with its intricate gearwork, symbolizes the relentless passage of time, much like the blocks of Bitcoin marking each moment in its own continuum.”
The motifs in Prometheans are at the very least Bitcoin-adjacent, if not direct callouts to historical and culturally significant moments in the chain’s history. At the center of the art is a bright sphere, designed to reference the pivotal introduction of decentralized finance to society. The collection also features letters from the Niakean alphabet, which was created by Myoo. It’s not just appearance, either. As of its inscription, it was the 7th largest file that had ever been inscribed on Bitcoin, representing a landmark in web3 development.
Development of Prometheans
The CyberKongz crew placed a great deal of emphasis on the idea that Prometheans should welcome those who have previously been focused on other chains. To that end, they developed a Diamond Hand Weighting system (in partnership with Ordinals Bot). With this mechanism, it was decided that 85% of the 21,000 Prometheans would be airdropped to existing, prominent Ordinals communities. The other 15% was specifically earmarked for CyberKongz holders to thank them for their loyalty.
This system ensured that the users who are most invested in the Ordinals space – and especially those who are recognized for their work in the field – are rewarded for their ‘Diamond Hands.’ Since the collection’s debut in April, CyberKongz has been able to onboard more than 1200 of their existing holders into the Ordinals space.
But if you had qualified for an inscription, you'd have gotten one. As a free mint, the barrier to entry was community-based. As the founders emphasized, "No extraction. No cash grab. No bullshit. Just respect for what has been built on BTC before us." By focusing on the finer details, the Prometheans team has been able to build their own technical achievements and create a collection that is long-lasting.
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