In March 2018, a groundbreaking collection of digital artworks was born, called CrystalsCraft. Launched long before the term NFT and Web3 were invented, CrystalsCraft's importance in the early history of NFTs could be considered another key cornerstone in the somewhat decentralized foundations of tokenized crypto-art. The CrystalsCraft collection is a user-generated content collection created by EverdreamSoft. This revolutionary collection gave any creator the opportunity to create their own collectible blockchain asset... and I was one of those creators very grateful to have participated.
A longtime cartoonist incorporating disruptive technology as a somewhat recurring theme, I eventually discovered how polarizing cryptocurrency was--and still is. Quickly realizing, in 2015, that there were no experienced cartoonists covering the field, a fateful opportunity presented itself. Since I am also a lifelong student of economics and art, the calling to make a series of comics about this wild and crazy field became a perfect fit. Some of my very earliest crypto-comics have been captured on the CrystalsCraft Collection, and this batch of comics from 2018 and 2019 retain their relevance and freshness even today.
Nearly a decade later, still from sunny Southern California, I consistently make comics about this still wild, and still crazy field. The controversy and drama surrounding cryptoart (and its underlying cryptocurrency) has no end in sight for me. So my comic satire with bars of biting truth will likely continue. My new and old comics can be seen together in the recent 2026 drop of Chiappetta CryptoComics through EverdreamSoft. Yet for now, please enjoy all of my now historic CrystalsCraft comics from 2018 and 2019.
Silly Chain is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted March 17, 2018.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/SILLYCHAIN
Silly Chain is an allegorical comic about cryptocurrency and the blockchain. The significance of this art is that its final version was my very first artwork that I was able to mint as rare digital art on the blockchain. Also it is one of the early attempts to visualize the blockchain in cartoon form.
Every one of the CrystalsCraft pieces can be viewed here, in reverse chronological order. In total, 6 artists made unique original art pieces for the collection (not counting the CrystalsCraft Demo card, which EverdreamSoft made). Although the entire cryptoart community was invited to participate, only these 6 artists released pieces to the collection: Pbock (Peter Bock), Pharaoh, Swingo, ICQ Pepe, Hirosu, and myself. I made 21 original comics for the collection.
How did artists find out about this opportunity? I found out through the email they sent me. It reads as follows, from March 15th, 2018:
"CrystalsCraft" Collection: Share Your Own Digital Art on the Blockchain!
Have you ever thought of issuing your own digital assets on the blockchain?
If you’re an artist, illustrator or game designer this is a unique way to promote your artistic creations or your game. This is also a great branding opportunity for VIP events.
Create your own digital assets with BitCrystals.com and distribute it to a group of valuable customers.
Thanks to the Bitcrystals Platform you can issue yout digital graphic content as a blockchain asset and publish it on the Platform. Your creation will appear in the “CrystalsCraft” collection on Book of Orbs. Then you can distribute or sell your asset in order to promote your art skills or any project related to your creation.
The team behind this reached out in many ways to get the word out. EverdreamSoft, back in spring 2018, on multiple occasions through its Twitter account (pictured below), invited the whole world to participate in minting through their unique platform.
They also highlighted my work as one of the early adopters. EverdreamSoft continues to give creators access today to release their works as NFTs via its newer ORBital Marketplace.
For those who are still mentally straining, and new to the concept of rare digital art at all, it is quite normal to ask, "Why would a collector want to spend money to own digital art when anyone can just copy the artwork file for free from the Internet to their own computer?"
Indeed, some will simply copy the file from the Internet. Yet certain collectors want more. These collectors want to own the digital art token that was personally issued directly by the artist in verifiable, limited quantities. Blockchain has made this possible, and collectors have been doing exactly that. Moreover, many of these collectors choose to show off their collections to the public. Again, for over a decade now, blockchain has made ownership of entirely digital goods a strange and still new-feeling reality.
Through the now historic CrystalsCraft collection, crypto artists in early 2018 could issue fresh art, comic, or even meme works and sell them all from the same blockchain ecosystem. While such minting opportunities for artists is now commonplace, it would be good to remember that CrystalsCraft was one of early collections offering all artist tools to mint without going through heavy curation gatekeepers. CrystalsCraft allowed anyone--even those without gallery connections or successful reputations, to experiment, put themselves out there, and become entrepreneurs with greater control of their work.
Artists were able to mint blockchain cards issued in a limited run of, for example, 200 editions; the blockchain made it possible to verify that only 200 would ever be issued, so this innovation was basically a modern-day version of limited edition lithographs—but cooler because collectors could keep the crypto-art in their digital wallet app and show it to people on the go from any smartphone. Such features made the art token digitally scarce, portable, social, and therefore, to those who appreciate NFT culture, much more valuable.
EverdreamSoft secured its place as a market pioneer and leader in the ongoing issuance of new and rare digital art in the form of collectible mobile game cards, comics, and art trading cards; collections on Book of Orbs (CrystalsCraft, Gamicon) were some of the earliest marketplaces where an artist could: issue new rare digital art immediately without being on a wait list; have access 24/7 to a trading marketplace for crypto-art via desktop or mobile phone app; issue art without any coding or programming knowledge; issue art using cryptocurrencies that were (at the time) already listed on multiple cryptocurrency exchanges; and be on a trading platform that is interconnected with the mobile gaming industry (where more growth will eventually come from in the arts through cross promotions).
I have historically been minting crypto-comics on many marketplaces, including the Book of Orbs' CrystalsCraft collection, since 2018. To this day, I still use the Counterparty (XCP) protocol to issue comic NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain.
CrystalsCraft is sometimes overlooked by self-proclaimed cryptoart "OGs" who came on the scene in 2021 and think they invented so much of what has already been, but CrystalsCraft has stood the test of time, and the blockchain provenance proves it. The collection is undeniably significant in art history as well as the development of NFTs, and should be known as a trailblazing artistic and technological collection that paved the way for many NFTs of today.
The history of rare digital art can be traced back to many pioneers, working separately from 2014 to 2015. One of these mavericks is EverdreamSoft, an incredibly revolutionary Swiss mobile gaming company.
For those who are unfamiliar, the rare digital art industry is comprised of limited edition digital artworks that are each attached to a unique cryptographic token, also known as a nonfungible token (NFT). A record of who owns this token and its attached art is readily available on a specific blockchain. Cryptocurrency runs on a "chain" of typically unalterable data, grouped in sequential "blocks." That's where the term blockchain comes from.
The related term "blockchainization" was originally coined and made possible by EverdreamSoft. Their old Blockchainization Article explained how to transform in-game digital assets into tradeable/exchangeable assets that a user owns (and can sell) on the blockchain.
Through the process of being "blockchainized," you could take in-game assets from their Spells of Genesis game, put that asset on the blockchain, and sell it or gift it to another player. Simply put, if you were playing a game where you earned four unicorns who have the ability freeze an enemy, you could then, through the process of being "blockchainized," take that in-game asset (in this case, four unicorns), put that asset on the blockchain, and sell it or gift it to another player. And artists could do this with their art through the same app (Book of Orbs) that gamers traded their blockchainized game cards on.
Such functionality may not seem like a big deal in 2026, but in 2018 this was unheard of and simply groundbreaking!
As one of the early birthing chambers for NFTs; in 2015, EverdreamSoft created a Counterparty token called BitCrystals, with which collectors bought blockchain cards, aka NFTS--various unique digital game items that interacted and functioned as game pieces within a larger gaming ecosystem, in-game.
BitCrystals were also used as a fundraising mechanism, now known as an initial coin offering (ICO). This was before Ethereum launched ERC 20 tokens, and before there was even the term “ICO.” EverdreamSoft first facilitated trading of NFT collections in the Book of Orbs marketplace, an early rare digital art marketplace on Bitcoin through a protocol called Counterparty (XCP). Their first collection was Spells of Genesis. Their second NFT collection was CrystalsCraft, also purchasable using BitCrystals. Crystals Craft linked digital art to tokens on the blockchain, calling them "Orbs." CrystalsCraft was one of the earliest examples of a rare digital art collection minted on a blockchain that was entirely cryptoart related yet not Rare Pepe-centric (another popular and groundbreaking NFT collection predating CrystalsCraft).
I hope you will also see some of the groundbreaking nature of my cryptoart dating back to 2018. Please enjoy my pieces featured in this comprehensive look into my wonderful time contributing to the CrystalsCraft collection, a lively and now legendary gathering of cryptoart.
Rare Silly Chain is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted March 27, 2018.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/RARESILLY
Crystal Dragon Attack is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted April 4, 2018.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/CRYSTLDRAGON
This particular digital art, issued via Counterparty on Bitcoin and sold in 2018 for BitCrystals, was drawn on iPad Pro with Apple Pencil in the Procreate app.
Crypto Cruiser is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted April 13, 2018.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/CRYPTOCRUISE
Regarding some of the inspiration behind the making of the Crypto Cruiser Comics Blockchain Card: Since the flagship of a collective called ArtProject Decentralized involved, back in 2018, a life-sized klein-bottle-inspired travelling exhibition space, I thought, as a member of this group, it would be only fitting to do a comic strip with that motif too. It's about respect, unity, and the excitingly surreal nature of the surprisingly real crypto scene that still exists today among die-hard artists.
Crypto Helmet is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted April 17, 2018.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/CRYPTOHELMET
Crypto Kiddie is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted June 20, 2018.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/cryptokiddie
Someone actually commissioned me to draw this piece but the parameters were very broad: something lighthearted about blockchain matters. I asked the person some of their interests and out popped Crypto Kiddie.
Putrid Dragon Coin is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted June 26, 2018.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/putriddragon
Not a CryptoPunk is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted October 24, 2018.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/nocryptopunk
This comic was drawn as a spoof of CryptoPunks by Larva Labs, one of the earliest theme-based portrait collections of rare digital art. My cartoon parody rendition was drawn in ink on paper at a summer 2018 Ethereum conference in New York, and then colored on the computer. This artwork features one punky pixelated character declaring his preference to be called by a slightly more sophisticated name. "Ruffian," for those not from the 1800s, is the old-old-school word for "punk."
Silly Daddy Coin is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted November 3, 2018.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/sillydadcoin
First there was Bitcoin. Now there is Silly Daddy Coin! After 26 years as one of the longest-running comics about family, in 2018, Silly Daddy Comics developed its own cryptocurrency token in the form of an NFT! Unlike Bitcoin, there aren't 21 million of them. There are only 200 of them--issued as limited edition pieces of rare digital art. Parents should especially appreciate this comic and crypto-art history, where old money meets new money in this "loaded" father/son conversation.
Crypto Couple is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted November 29, 2018.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/cryptocouple
The wedding bliss never ends with Crypto Couple! Funny marriage conversations are a popular recurring theme in my Silly Daddy Comics. In fact, you can also read many more of them in Silly Daddy Forever.
Bitcoin Frenemies is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted December 3, 2018.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/btcfrenemies
Will bitcoin and government-backed currencies learn to become reluctant friends, coexisting in our leather and digital wallets? This battle strikes at the financial nerves of many-a-person. We can at least shake on that.
Tough Crypto Love is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted December 5, 2018.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/cryptolove
Wrap your crypto-investor mind (and wallet) around the most amazing fork of Bitcoin that ever will be: Bitcoin Aluminum Foil. It's a store of value... it's a peer-to-peer electronic cash network... and you can cook potatoes with it too!
Stable Coin is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted December 7, 2018.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/stablecoin
Straight from the horse's mouth to your crypto wallet, this crypto-collectible art is sure to bring a snicker to your home on the range. We won't mention here that stablecoins are not actually stable; that's a comic for another time.
pixEOS Power is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted December 10, 2018.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/pixeospower
This comic is in reference to a now-defunct (sigh) blockchain art project called pixEOS. At the time, it combined elements of a rare digital art market (built on the EOS blockchain) with elements of a collaboratively drawn digital graffiti wall and other gaming components.
Behold the Cryptofoot is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted December 14, 2018.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/cryptofoot
You're exactly one foot smarter... thanks to the wonders of blockchain technology, if you survived this comic!
The Payment Playground is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted December 17, 2018.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/payplaygrnd
This collectible blockchain card communicates a few cents of monetary madness: namely that money doesn't really talk... until you get it on the blockchain. This allegorical bitcoin comic strip is likely to tickle a few financial funny bones. It is art as social commentary and an exciting, yet possibly unnerving sign of the times. If cryptocurrencies could talk, what would they say? What is depicted in this comic is perhaps how an interaction between bitcoin and government issued currency might play out in one round of the financial playground of life.
Crypto Pinocchio is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted December 19, 2018.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/pinocchiobtc
Cryptographers and decentralizers may especially enjoy this comic that addresses how the invention of Bitcoin solved the double-spending problem in the early days of online digital cash payment networks.
Captain CrystalsCraft is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted December 19, 2018.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/captcrystals
Captain CrystalsCraft is a superhero who is great at art, games, and throwing razor-sharp Bitcrystals at the enemy as needed.
Crypto-Art ATM is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted January 30, 2019.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/cryptoartatm
This blockchain card art is a lighthearted, fun, satirical look at crypto-collectibles as well as rare digital art events. It is also the precursor to a later project I would start called ArtVndngMchn, the whole premise being that a collector could go to a vending machine to select whatever art they wanted to collect, and every creative piece would be accessible in one coin-operated machine.
Of course, an insightful person might be wondering, "Hey wait, isn't that what every computer and phone is these days?" Yes, but it is still nice to have dedicated machines to sort out signal from noise.
Crypto Gamers Community is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted March 15, 2019.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/neversurrndr
Aspects of an old comic book cover I drew in the 90s (called Flying Saucer Attack) were repurposed for this chaotic artwork.
BitCrystal Gamer Dude is rare digital art by Joe Chiappetta from the CrystalsCraft collection, minted March 22, 2019.
Provenance: https://www.tokenscan.io/asset/bitcrystalgd
My last CrystalsCraft piece was meant to pay great respect to all that the team behind BitCystals has done for the rare digital art community. Their impact is immeasurable and I am so grateful for their pioneering vision!
These 21 artworks were only a fraction of my productivity from 2018 and 2019. I was minting on other chains too. Yet the CrystalsCraft collection will forever have a special place in my heart; for minting, it was my first blockchain (Bitcoin via Counterparty protocol) and my first marketplace (Book of Orbs) experience. And a mighty fine experience it was, and still is today!
Book of Orbs, the original OG marketplace to buy, sell and trade CrystalsCraft is still operational here, but for a more up-to-date market to find these and many more NFTs on Counterparty/Bitcoin, check out EverdreamSoft's latest platform: ORBital Market.
