Web3 goes hand-in-hand with counter-culture actions. One digital artist has embraced the place the 2 of them meet to grow to be one of the vital infamous NFT artists on the planet immediately. That artist is XCOPY.
2025 will see XCOPY have fun 15 years as a digital artist. From humble beginnings on Tumblr to a number of multi-million greenback NFT drops, he has solid a popularity as one of the vital celebrated counter-culture artists within the NFT business.
XCOPY stands as one of many main figures in each digital artwork and NFT artwork – however why is his work so famend, how did he rise to the highest of the business, and what would possibly we see from him in future?
Right here’s our full information to the NFT artist generally known as XCOPY.
Key Insights
Pseudonymous digital artist based mostly in LondonFirst surfaced on Tumblr in August 2010Sold Proper-Click on and Save As Man for $7 million USD in December 2021Sold his Max Ache open version for over $24 million USD in March 2022Considered to be one of many world’s main counter-culture NFT artists
Who’s XCOPY?
XCOPY is the pseudonym for a famend digital artist that’s based mostly in London, UK.
He first surfaced in August 2010, creating digital artworks on Tumblr that critiqued fashionable society, with dystopian outlooks and a facet of darkish humour. His artwork typically tackles themes similar to dying, fashionable society, and the anxieties manifested by the digital age.
XCOPY’s work typically drawns from counter-culture concepts, with influences from punk, anarchism and horror. Throughout each static and animated items, you’ll discover a brooding atmosphere, darkish shadows, and vibrant neon accents. This type has grow to be his hallmark – and one which many have tried to mimic.
The visible impression of his work is hanging – although XCOPY is well known as a lot for the messages inside his works as their aesthetics. His items typically possess an unsettling nature, requiring viewers to confront this discomfort to search out the true that means behind his work.
XCOPY started to mint his works as NFTs in 2018. As one of many first notable artists to enter the NFT business, he grew to become certainly one of its most distinguished faces virtually instantly. Up to now, he’s created greater than 70 NFT collections, totalling over 13,000 particular person NFTs – a few of which have fetched thousands and thousands of {dollars}.
His NFTs could be discovered on varied platforms, together with:
SuperRare. XCOPY was one of many first artists to mint an NFT on SuperRare – dwelling to his RΞMNANTS collection and lots of early 1-of-1 NFTsOpenSea. NFT market OpenSea homes secondary market buying and selling for collections similar to FRESH HELL, DAMAGE CONTROL, and GRIFT SZNNifty Gateway. Artwork-focused platform Nifty Gateway is dwelling to XCOPY’s MAX PAIN, TRAITORS, DISRUPTOR and lots of burn-focused collectionsAsync Artwork. Now-closed, Async Artwork held programmable collections of interactive NFTs similar to The Rabble and DOOM Celebration
Alongside solo works, XCOPY has additionally produced numerous collaborations. Via working with artists similar to @neonglitch86, XCOPY has produced the likes of RELICS and SPORES, mixing totally different artwork kinds collectively to create all-new distinctive works.
On high of his NFT gross sales, XCOPY has garnered reward for his help of different creators. He’s been an enormous advocate for creator royalties, and has been recognized to reward different high-quality works within the area – such because the guide CryptoPunks: Free to Declare.
The historical past of XCOPY
The rise of XCOPY aligns with that of the NFT business itself.
XCOPY minted his first NFT on April 7, 2018. Titled Echoes of a Useless Earth, it was the primary of what would grow to be many 1-of-1 NFTs that he would mint on SuperRare.
Notable examples embody Some Asshole, which might later promote for 1,300 ETH ($3.9 million USD), A Coin for the Ferryman, which might later promote for 1,330 ETH ($6.0 million USD), and All Time Excessive within the Metropolis, which might later promote for 1,630 ETH ($6.2 million USD) – all of which had been minted in 2018.
One other 2018 piece, Proper-Click on and Save As Man, addressed the subject of digital possession. The piece was reshared by XCOPY in August 2020, including that “they mentioned it at $100 they’ll nonetheless say it at $100,000”. It was later bought to Cozomo de’ Medici for 1,600 ETH ($7.0 million USD) in December 2021.
March 2022 noticed XCOPY create two new NFT collections. The primary was Grifters, a set of 666 digital characters on Ethereum. As of January 2025, Grifters has a ground worth above 15 ETH ($48,000 USD).
The second was MAX PAIN, an 10-minute time-limited open version. MAX PAIN would elevate $24 million USD – and grow to be the point of interest of future collections, similar to 2023’s DAMAGE CONTROL.
DAMAGE CONTROL had followers burn MAX PAIN NFTs to amass new NFTs. These new NFTs might themselves be burned to obtain rarer editions. The DAMAGE CONTROL burn section – which marked the conclusion of this experiment – ended on January 1, 2025.
August 2022 noticed XCOPY announce that every one of his prior and future solo works can be issued beneath a CC0 license. This meant that he relinquished all copyright claims to his works, permitting anybody to reuse or construct upon his works.
XCOPY has continued to launch common artwork ever since, and was particularly energetic throughout late 2024 and early 2025.
September 2024 noticed his 2019 paintings Dangerous Flavour promote for 280 ETH ($665,000 USD) – a formidable sale given the final decline within the NFT artwork market over the previous few years.
October 2024 noticed XCOPY launch Cope Salada – a set of 250 distinctive 1-of-1 NFTs on the brand new Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain Form. XCOPY describes this assortment as “stripped again, uncooked, unadulterated, undiluted, and pristinely introduced grade-A copium.”
November 2024 launched the ICXN Assortment – XCOPY’s debut within the Artwork Blocks ecosystem. The gathering utilised the Artwork Blocks Engine – a code-based generative artwork platform – to create 500 distinctive 1-of-1 NFTs.
What’s subsequent for XCOPY?
With XCOPY’s historical past of success, there’s little question that he’ll proceed to push the boundaries of digital artwork, debate, and the NFT business.
2025 will see the debut of XCOPY’s FRESH HELL assortment. It’s anticipated to be a 42-piece assortment – which is but to have an introduced mint date.
Some areas during which we might see XCOPY make future contributions embody:
Interactive artwork. XCOPY has collaborated with 3D artists prior to now, together with his earlier releases on Async Artwork seeing excessive praiseArtist advocacy. XCOPY has frequently supported artists through the years – and if a possibility arises to do that once more, XCOPY will definitely be thereGlobal tradition. XCOPY has been the catalyst for dialogue not simply on Web3 subjects, however on wider societal points too – and he’ll doubtless proceed to take action
XCOPY has had an impression on each NFTs and digital artwork that’s akin to that of figures similar to Beeple and Pak.
Along with his imaginative and prescient, type and modern work, XCOPY is not only a reputation – he’s a motion. His work make us take into account the function of artwork in society – digital or in any other case – in addition to to solid a brand new mild on fashionable life.
XCOPY is a reputation that has, does and can proceed to form the way forward for the digital artwork world.
