RIP H=N
It’s been five months since I minted my first NFT on Hic et Nunc – ‘an experimental open-source NFT platform that serves as a public smart contract infrastructure and aims to decentralise the crypto-art marketplace’. I was initially sceptical about entering the NFT space due to the carbon footprint of the cryptocurrencies used to make them but when I discovered H=N was using the Tezos blockchain – which uses a small fraction of CO2 as Ethereum does – I decided to mint my first NFT with them.
Besides the appeal of using a clean open-source NFT platform – where a proof-of-stake Tezos transaction is the environmental cost equivalent of sending a tweet – the minimal gas fees, experimental artworks and overall community had me convinced that H=N was for me.
After 5 months of creating and collecting NFTs on H=N I was saddened to discover the platform had been discontinued. According to a tweet by artist Mario Klingemann – H=N’s founder Rafael Lima – “In an irresponsible act of rage decided to leave and turn the off-switch on everything he has access to.” – and Artist Joanie Lemercier – an early adopter of the Hic et Nunc space – claimed Rafael “got overwhelmed and decided, overnight, to close the site”
I really miss the H=N platform and community but fortunately my Tezos based NFT creations/collections live on and are still accessible through H=N mirror sites such as hicetnunc.art and objkt.com . Also I’ve listed my work on another Tezos based platform Kalamint as well as on Open Sea on the Polygon network – another energy efficient proof-of-stake blockchain.