Justin Sun, the founder of TRON, has recently purchased the complete set of the crypto artworks “Twelve Digital Zodiac Heads” at an auction hosted by Metapoly XM, a brand under Poly Auction (Xiamen).
TRON is a decentralised, open-source blockchain-based operating system with smart contract functionality, proof-of-stake principles as its consensus algorithm and a cryptocurrency native to the system, known as Tronix. In December 2021, the completely decentralized TRON network was restructured into the TRONDAO community, which made it become the largest decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) in the world.
The “Twelve Digital Zodiac Heads” is a NFT art collection that draws inspiration from China’s Zodiac Heads, which was purchased on March 31 at a hammer price of around ¥9,832,500.
Shortly after the auction, Justin Sun stated to the public that he would donate this collection in the future for a broader audience to enjoy.
It is also believed that one of the animal heads in this collection will soon be listed on APENFT Marketplace for auction and introduced as rare, special-breed horses into WIN NFT HORSE, a horse racing game co-launched by TRON, the APENFT Foundation, and WINKLink.
The twelve zodiac animals are an epitome of Chinese folk culture and the unique philosophy of the Chinese nation.
According to traditional Chinese culture, every newborn is assigned an auspicious animal based on their birth year.
These animals are unchangeable marks that follow each Chinese throughout their life.
They serve as a bond to maintain the national feelings and the Chinese culture. And of all the physical embodiment of these symbols, the Twelve Old Summer Palace bronze heads are the most precious.
Gathering the twelve bronze heads in the metaverse marks another major endeavor made by digital technology, represented by blockchain, in the cultural and art sphere.
In the context of social “informatisation” and digitisation, digital propagation as well as protection of traditional culture will embrace wider applications in order to reproduce time-honored artworks in the digital world and diversify people’s experience in art appreciation.
By acquiring a myriad of artworks created both by art masters and emerging digital artists on major trading platforms, Justin has managed to build an empire incorporating art, investment, finance, and more.
His collections include works by Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Giacometti, Beeple, and Pak, the latter two being the two most valuable crypto artists worldwide.
In addition, Justin Sun has donated a number of well-known works, including Le Nez and Femme nue couchée au collier(Marie-Thérèse), to organisations such as the APENFT Foundation to support the development of digital art.
APENFT is backed by the underlying technology of top-notch blockchains TRON with support from the world’s largest distributed storage system Bittorrent File System (BTFS), dedicated to promoting the creator economy and fostering the integration of finance, culture and art in Metaverse.
Its APENFT Marketplace, based on the TRON, will also be launched shortly.
(1/2) 👏Thrilled to share that I’ve purchased the complete set of “12 Digital Zodiac Heads” created by MetaPolyXM, a #digital #art brand under Poly Auction (Xiamen). pic.twitter.com/xEmkcVqiSF
— H.E. Justin Sun 🅣🌞🇬🇩 (@justinsuntron) March 31, 2022