Hashmasks could decenter the art world, upend DeFi, and trigger a dramatic transfer of wealth. Will it?

Micah White, PhD
6 min readFeb 11, 2021
Hashmasks are the future and you saw it here first.

Last week, an anonymous collective of artists released Hashmasks, a set of 16,384 “unique digital portraits” that are now permanently stored on the Ethereum blockchain. Hashmasks landed during the boom in the market cap of many DeFi projects—and most attention was, and is, firmly fixated on the financial sector within the cryptocurrency economy—and yet, even by DeFi standards, Hashmasks was a prodigal success: raising more than $14 million with a refreshing, authentic aesthetic. Single hashmasks have since sold for as high as $650,000. See current market action at OpenSea.

To tell you the truth, my imagination has been captured by Hashmasks—so much so that I had trouble sleeping last night (which is rare for me)—that’s why I feel compelled to explain why you’ll soon be seeing Hashmasks everywhere.

Hashmasks are alpha.

Hashmasks are at the edge of the edge of the edge.

Most people are still struggling to grasp cryptocurrencies. Fewer still are comfortable navigating Ethereum. And fewer than that are experienced with…

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Micah White, PhD

Known for co-creating Occupy Wall Street. I change the world by changing protest. Learn more at micahmwhite.com and activistschool.org