MetaKovan has been in the news after buying a prestige Beeple NFT at a hotshot Christies auction for the record-breaking sum of $69 million.
Singapore-based MetaKovan is an innovative entrepreneur whose real name is Vignesh Sundaresan. Kovan means King in the Tamil language, so he’s the self-styled ‘King of Meta’—his mum came up with the avatar and she should know!
In a recent Pomp Podcast interview, Anthony Pompliano explores all things NFT and virtual with MetaKovan—and gets the inside story on that historic purchase.
Negotiating the auction
MetaKovan knew he had to be there when NFT history was made. After all, Beeple’s The First 5,000 Days—a virtual collage of 5,000 images created over 13 years—was the first NFT to sell at a major auction house.
MetaKovan held off until the last 80 seconds—then he went for broke. With 18 seconds to go, he chose a higher figure at random to beat the pack. His highest bid was actually $60.25 million, with Christies keeping the balance in fees.
“It’s good that Christies make money because they’ve given attention to the crypto world . . . opening it up to public consciousness.”
Growing his NFT collection
The blockchain guru now has so many NFTs, he’s lost count. In fact, he never started. His bidding team collects NFTs of cultural, iconic and artistic value—including Black Lives Matter works—spending around quarter of a million dollars each week.
“Going forward, I’ll look back and understand what’s been happening. I don’t have time to reflect right now, I’m just doing it! Maybe next winter I’ll see the picture that emerges. I would love the collection to be valued, but don’t want to sell anything yet.”
Setting up Metapurse
According to MetaKovan, NFTs are for everyone—democratising the process of art collection. His Metapurse fund, identifying early-stage blockchain projects, is granting five ‘crypto storytellers’—selected writers, producers and content makers—$100,000 each to get creative across the digital space.
“Artists are focused on the human condition . . . and we need artists to build the digital world. The Meta world allows you to display your character through various mediums, including art.”
Daubing the graffiti wall
The virtual world is an open ‘graffiti wall’ where anyone can create games, collect stuff and make their own art, MetaKovan says. It redefines the concept of ownership, which has always been ‘temporary’ in countries like India, never absolute—you only own something if it’s ‘permissioned’ by the government.
“In the physical world, who owns the wall, owns society. Yet walls are up for grabs right now in the Meta world. This makes the virtual world very inviting and accessible.”
Calling the next generation
Meta world is now the favoured teenage hangout, MetaKovan told Pomp. It talks to them in exciting ways.
“I have skin in the game to make sure meta world appeals to the next generation—not just an economic game, but a cultural and social game too, allowing you to be free of judgements.”
What’s next for MetaKovan? We can’t wait to see!
