CryptoPop Across Continents
If you are part of the growing crypto community, chances are you’ve come across Luis Buenaventura (aka Cryptopop)’s artwork which transform blockchain concepts and phenomenons into playful, amusing and educational depictions. Take a stroll through downtown San Francisco and you may find a fan wearing one of his iconic Bitcoin GingerBread Man shirts. Or maybe you’ve witnessed the internet debate and controversy of which characters did and didn’t receive an invite to his Supper at the Bitcoin Moonbase. You may have unknowingly seen his artwork on posters while attending a conference or reading a crypto-publication.
Spreading the Wealth Through Bitcoin
Luis Buenaventura’s background is as layered and multi-faceted as his passion for crypto and the culture that surrounds it. By profession, he is a software engineer and trader with a history of serial crypto-centric entrepreneurship. He is a revered member of the global crypto community who’s spoken on the subject at conferences around the world. He’s written about crypto in numerous articles for publications such as CoinDesk, Quartz and The Next Web, as well as authoring two books about Bitcoin. And of course, he’s an artist who has invented the genre of Cryptopop art, which doubles as his artistic pseudonym.
Buenaventura’s business ventures are specifically focused on using Bitcoin to improve remittance payments in emerging economies. Buenaventura’s projects are focused on spreading the benefits of crypto, specifically Bitcoin, to citizens across the globe. He’s starting in his home country the Philippines, where he works to open doors for all citizens to participate in the growing internet economy. Buenaventura believes that accessibility and innovation go hand and hand, and neither should be dictated by any central authority. Everything he does is aimed at breaking down barriers of entry to crypto, whether it is through empowerment through financial services or education through words and art.
This mentality and mantra is applied to his artworks which aim to promote an appreciation and deeper understanding of Bitcoin through light-hearted, easy to digest cartoons that unpack complex crypto ideas or events.
CryptoPop: Two Cultures Combine for a New Genre
“If you cut me right now, I’d probably bleed print and ink. This type of art is in my DNA”
— Cryptopop/Luis Buenaventura
Art, and creating in general, has always come naturally to Buenaventura. Growing up in the Philippines during the comic book renaissance of the 90s, he developed a strong appreciation and affinity for all things cartoon and pop culture. Despite receiving a formal fine arts education, Buenaventura’s artwork intentionally leans towards pop culture themed comic and cartoon styles and subject matter which are equal parts fun and thought-provoking.
As Buenaventura’s interest in the crypto space began to blossom in 2014, he started creating Bitcoin themed cartoons for his friends and family to enjoy. He was shocked by the enthusiastic reaction of not only his loved ones, but of the internet community. The unexpected viral popularity his cartoons signaled to Buenaventura that these were stories that needed to be told (and understood), thus the Cryptopop art persona and movement was born. Today Buenaventura, combines his loves of pop and crypto-cultures to create universal creations that are accessible to all.
Buenaventura finds inspiration across genres and mediums, listing Gustav Klimt and Hieronymus Bosch as two of his favorite artists and major sources of artistic influence. He is also heavily inspired by the art found in graphic novels and comic books with the works of Belgian cartoonist Hergé (TinTin) and Geoff Darrow (Hard Boiled, The Matrix) serving as major inspiration for his latest artwork series, Bitcoin: A Visual History.
His artwork often juxtaposes graceful, organic shapes against intricately designed, mechanical machinery. The overall messages and metaphors of Buenaventura’s creations may seem evident at first glance, but his artworks contain an abundance of intricate details and doses of visual humor, so be sure to look closely.
Check out our interview with Cryptopop! to learn more about his artistic journey, process and his new series.
Bitcoin: A Visual History
Bitcoin: A Visual History is my most ambitious project by far. It’s made up of 21 individual animations, and each image is interconnected, forming a single unbroken visual chain.
— Luis Buenaventura aka Cryptopop
Bitcoin has come a long way since its inception in 2009, reaching highs many did not believe possible. It’s paved the way for an explosion in blockchain innovation, effectively changing the way the world interacts and does business. Today Bitcoin is on its way way to becoming a household term, despite a huge variance in understanding on how it works and how it came to be.
Cryptopop’s, latest artwork series is both a commemoration and education on the history of Bitcoin presented through the medium of visual art (something that has never been done, until now). It is an interconnected three part story series consisting of 21 illustrations and cinemagraphs. These artworks follow the evolution of Bitcoin from the genesis block to bitcoin pizza to the modern-day hodlr.
What started out as an excel sheet listing out the important events and figures in Bitcoin history eventually evolved into an immersive visual story. Part one of the series consists of seven independent yet intertwined artworks. Each artwork will be presented in two forms, pure illustration and animation. Cryptopop’s ultimate goal with this series to educate on and preserve the foundational crypto culture and history.
Due to the sheer magnitude and importance of this initial release, it will take place over a two day period, Tuesday, September 8th at 1pm PST and Wednesday, September 9th at 1pm PST. Parts two and three of the story are set to release later in the year.
Follow Cryptopop to be notified when Part 1 of the series drops
Genesis Block
The first artwork of the series highlights the fateful day on Jan 3rd 2009 when the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto initially launched the “genesis block”, the literal foundation of blockchain.
Animated version:
Editions: One
Pricing: 1.25 ETH
Illustrated version:
Editions: Ten
Pricing: 0.25 ETH
Hal Finney
The second artwork in this series pays homage to early blockchain contributor and quintessential cypherpunk Hal Finney.
Animated version:
Editions: One
Pricing: 1.25 ETH
Illustrated version:
Editions: Ten
Pricing: 0.25 ETH
10KBTCPizza
This artwork celebrates the first ever commercial transaction settled with bitcoin which involved a trade of 10,000 BTC for two slices of pizza.
Animated version:
Editions: One
Pricing: 1.25 ETH
Illustrated version:
Editions: Ten
Pricing: 0.25 ETH
Satoshis Last Message
In 2011, the pseudonymous engineer Satoshi gave a formal goodbye to the crypto community. The question of his, her or their identity still remains a mystery.
Animated version:
Editions: One
Pricing: 1.25 ETH
Illustrated version:
Editions: Ten
Pricing: 0.25 ETH
Ross Ulbricht
An homage to a controversial bitcoin figure, Ross Ulbricht, who was arrested for operating The Silk Road. Today, he serves a double life sentence at the hands of the United States’ Federal Government despite a global outcry for clemency.
Animated version:
Editions: One
Pricing: 1.25 ETH
Illustrated version:
Editions: Ten
Pricing: 0.25 ETH
To the Moon
On Nov 27th 2013, Bitcoin’s price broke $1,000 for the first time, much to the delight of crypto-enthusiasts around the world, who exclaimed that Bitcoin would shoot “To the moon!”
Animated version:
Editions: One
Pricing: 1.25 ETH
Illustrated version:
Editions: Ten
Pricing: 0.25 ETH
The Hodler
“I AM HODLING” — The viral post created by an inebriated trader professing his love and loyalty to Bitcoin which would later become the universal term for those with the same mindset.
Animated version:
Editions: One
Pricing: 1.25 ETH
Illustrated version:
Editions: Ten
Pricing: 0.25 ETH
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