Ether Rocks have been in existence for years and were selling for millions of dollars. However, they just recently rose to fame as a result of the buzz surrounding NFTs. What are they, do they have any worth, and are they simply another fad?
The Bitcoin industry has repeatedly shown us that anything can become valuable over time, even a collection of common, purposeless digital pebbles.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are digital valuables recorded on the blockchain and may represent everything from art to music to physical assets, have been the talk of the industry for the past several months.
Investors have paid exorbitant prices during the frenzy in order to purchase NFTs like the famed Beeple’s “First 5000 Days” that sold for $69 million. Even well-known businesses like Twitter and Visa are keeping up. The social networking site has started its own NFT collecting, while the world’s largest payments company just paid $160,000 for its first CryptoPunk NFT.
The focus has now switched, however, to EtherRocks, one of the earliest NFT collections that just gained notoriety this year.
These digital pebbles are in high demand from fervent NFT collectors and cryptocurrency speculators, and their values are skyrocketing. But what are ETHRocks specifically, and what value do they hold?
How do EtherRocks work?
EtherRocks, also known as ETHRocks, are almost as old as the now-extremely popular CryptoPunks NFTs, selling for millions of dollars, despite the fact that they are only now receiving recognition. While the EtherRocks collection was introduced in December of the same year as the CryptoPunks collection, it was conceived in June.
In essence, ETHRocks is a set of digital rocks that have been tokenized on the Ethereum network. The NFT comprises of still pictures of a “rock” that are all the same in terms of shape and design but have various color tones. Only 100 ETHRocks will ever be produced, and they were inspired by the 1975 Pet Rock toy fad.
It’s interesting to note that the first rock sold for 0.0999 ETH, which was then equivalent to $300. The prices for the remaining pebbles ranged from 0.1 to 0.36 ETH. The cost rose as more rocks were produced. Only roughly 20 out of 100 rocks managed to sell over the first three years after its introduction, leaving the other 80 rocks unclaimed.
However, the current buzz and rapid expansion of NFTs have driven the cost of these digital rocks into the roof. All of the rocks have already been produced, and a large number of them have been listed for sale on the NFT marketplace for EtherRocks.
What is the priciest ether rock available for purchase?
The price of the rocks ranges from an absurd 626,262 ETH ($2.1 billion) per one to a reasonable 31 ETH (about $104,000 at the time of writing). A few weeks ago, ETHRock #21 sold for 45 ETH, which at the time was equivalent to around $134,240.
Prices are rising due to the craze. At this time, the least expensive rock in the EtherRocks marketplace costs 95 ETH ($305,000). Some of the rocks were been sold for prices of $612,00, $642,000, $714,000, and even $837,000.
The ETHrocks can only be bought and sold on its platform, unlike other NFT collections that may be exchanged on external NFT marketplaces.
At the time these words were written, the most expensive rock sold for almost $1.3 million, or 400 ETH. The leaders of the cryptocurrency business were also caught up in the craze: Justin Sun, the inventor of TRON, spent $500,000 on a rock.
How Much Are ETHrocks Worth?
Despite the excitement surrounding ETHRocks, there is no genuine value in the NFT collection. In actuality, the pebbles are worthless and serve no utility, as stated on the official EtherRocks website.
According to a statement on the website, “These virtual rocks serve NO PURPOSE other than being able to be purchased and sold, and giving you a tremendous sense of pride in being an owner of 1 of the only 100 rocks in the game.”
That’s not all, though. Since these rock photographs’ metadata is not even kept on the blockchain, it is incredibly difficult to connect the images’ exclusive ownership to the owners.
So what is the precise cause of the craze? The majority of ETHRocks purchasers claim that their motivation for shelling out enormous sums of money to acquire the NFT, which has no real-world worth, is to own the second-best historical NFT still in existence, behind CryptoPunks.
Instead of the monetary rewards or external utility connected to the pebbles, holders savor the nostalgic feature of the non-fungible token.
Some people are certain that EtherRocks prices will keep rising. The possibility of institutional investment in EtherRocks has further encouraged many buyers to buy the rocks while holding out for the ideal opportunity to sell them and earn millions.
How Can I Purchase Ether Rocks?
Users must click the “Connect to MetaMask” button on the official website to link their web-extension wallet, MetaMask, to the Ethereum network just like any other dApp. To allow the wallet to interface with the EtherRock.com website, follow the instructions on the MetaMask extension.
You may now explore the market and just seek for rocks with a BUY button below them after making sure you have enough ETH in your account.
Another season’s worth of hype?
Critics contend that because EtherRocks serve no practical use, they are merely another short-lived novelty in the cryptocurrency industry brought on by the explosive rise of the NFT sector.
However, the price of these digital pebbles is currently rising steadily, and savvy investors are profiting. Only time will tell if it will quickly be forgotten like the ICOs of yore or whether it will play a significant role in the industry.
