Web3 goes hand-in-hand with counter-culture actions. One digital artist has embraced the place the 2 of them meet to change into one of the infamous NFT artists on the earth at this time. That artist is XCOPY.
2025 will see XCOPY rejoice 15 years as a digital artist. From humble beginnings on Tumblr to a number of multi-million greenback NFT drops, he has solid a fame as one of the celebrated counter-culture artists within the NFT trade.
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 trade, and what may we see from him in future?
Right here’s our full information to the NFT artist referred to as XCOPY.
Key Insights
Pseudonymous digital artist primarily based 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 primarily based in London, UK.
He first surfaced in August 2010, creating digital artworks on Tumblr that critiqued trendy society, with dystopian outlooks and a aspect of darkish humour. His artwork usually tackles themes equivalent to demise, trendy society, and the anxieties manifested by the digital age.
XCOPY’s work usually 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 fashion has change into his hallmark – and one which many have tried to mimic.
The visible affect of his work is placing – although XCOPY is well known as a lot for the messages inside his works as their aesthetics. His items usually possess an unsettling nature, requiring viewers to confront this discomfort to search out the true which 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 trade, he turned one in all its most distinguished faces virtually instantly. To this point, 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 might be discovered on numerous 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 equivalent 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 equivalent to The Rabble and DOOM Get together
Alongside solo works, XCOPY has additionally produced numerous collaborations. By means of working with artists equivalent to @neonglitch86, XCOPY has produced the likes of RELICS and SPORES, mixing completely different artwork kinds collectively to create all-new distinctive works.
On prime of his NFT gross sales, XCOPY has garnered reward for his assist of different creators. He’s been a giant advocate for creator royalties, and has been identified to reward different high-quality works within the house – such because the e-book CryptoPunks: Free to Declare.
The historical past of XCOPY
The rise of XCOPY aligns with that of the NFT trade itself.
XCOPY minted his first NFT on April 7, 2018. Titled Echoes of a Useless Earth, it was the primary of what would change into 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 have 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 offered 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 flooring worth above 15 ETH ($48,000 USD).
The second was MAX PAIN, an 10-minute time-limited open version. MAX PAIN would increase $24 million USD – and change into the focus of future collections, equivalent to 2023’s DAMAGE CONTROL.
DAMAGE CONTROL had followers burn MAX PAIN NFTs to accumulate new NFTs. These new NFTs might themselves be burned to obtain rarer editions. The DAMAGE CONTROL burn part – which marked the conclusion of this experiment – ended on January 1, 2025.
August 2022 noticed XCOPY announce that each one of his prior and future solo works can be issued underneath 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 art work Dangerous Flavour promote for 280 ETH ($665,000 USD) – a formidable sale given the overall 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 offered 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 doubt that he’ll proceed to push the boundaries of digital artwork, debate, and the NFT trade.
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 by which we might see XCOPY make future contributions embody:
Interactive artwork. XCOPY has collaborated with 3D artists previously, together with his earlier releases on Async Artwork seeing excessive praiseArtist advocacy. XCOPY has frequently supported artists over time – and if a chance arises to do that once more, XCOPY will definitely be thereGlobal tradition. XCOPY has been the catalyst for dialogue not simply on Web3 matters, however on wider societal points too – and he’ll probably proceed to take action
XCOPY has had an affect on each NFTs and digital artwork that’s corresponding to that of figures equivalent to Beeple and Pak.
Along with his imaginative and prescient, fashion and modern work, XCOPY is not only a reputation – he’s a motion. His work make us contemplate the function of artwork in society – digital or in any other case – in addition to to solid a brand new gentle on trendy life.
XCOPY is a reputation that has, does and can proceed to form the way forward for the digital artwork world.
