Original Placement:
Today’s guest on the Cardano NFTs column is a decentralized, Story Driven Retropian Universe that encourages holders to participate in developing the story: Disco Solaris.
The previous guest was a project on a mission to build an innovative web3 learning platform which we aspire to be the Udemy of web3.
This column is where I invite NFT projects to share their stories and vision as a way to connect with and learn about the Cardano Community.
Hi, thanks for your time. Please introduce your team, where are you from, what are your backgrounds?
We’re The Silk Toad, a unique customization platform, claim portal, radio, soon to be Marketplace and vision for a Digital Cultural Landmark.
We acquired the Disco Solaris project in September 2023 for the community. I’m Grancho, my partner is known by many names (many know him as Whitebull) and we both live in the Eastern US.
We have a diversity of backgrounds; cypherpunk ideals, fatherhood, homebuilding, counseling prisoners and inner city kids, and fighting for a better world.
What is Disco Solaris? How does it utilize NFT technology and why have you chosen the Cardano blockchain?
Disco Solaris is a decentralized, Story Driven Retropian Universe that encourages holders to participate in developing the story. We are transported to a distant planet called Möebius-9, where a shadowy company has established a settlement in an enclosed dome called Neo Miami.
We have a rich musical legacy with many musicians launching their work in Neo Miami, illustrators introducing their own concepts into the DSU, and programmers who’ve created really cool things for the project.
At the same time, the community has created discoin in our pursuit to build and establish a thriving Network State. We’ve come together with a shared value system that to take care of others is to take care of ourselves.
For us, NFTs have served to bring together a community of creatives, as well as pushed us to develop The Silk Toad’s customization trait dApp. This allows individuals to create their own unique avatars and characters, and allows us to imbue different layers with unique utilities.
We are working to empower the community to create their own custom traits and set up their own shops, fueling a digital fashion district and allowing use of the IP by designers to create their own designs. In Disco land, One Disco = One Production Studio, you can build anything your heart desires.
We didn’t really choose Cardano since we took the project over, we just found each other here. Cardano has some brilliant architecture as well as some tough challenges. The social layer is quite strong here, and the people we work with building on Cardano are amazingly talented. We’re quite thankful for people like Blink Labs and Gimbalabs.
What excites you the most about the NFT world? And what do you think needs to happen to reach mass adoption?
I love seeing people push the limits of what Art can be. I enjoy seeing use cases like what book.io is doing. There is a really unique and powerful strength in decentralized world building. It’s a bit of the old Field of Dreams adage; If You Build It, They Will Come.
Projects need the right scaffolding to create something lasting, and this is the importance of decentralization. Ask yourself, if the creators of the project weren’t here anymore, would someone else be able to pick up the IP and create something interesting? Because essentially, buyers of many NFTs are giving the founding team money up front for a concept.
Many many projects fail to deliver what they promise, or fall short. NFTs can be the foundation for community, but empowering that community into permissionless building is where true sustainability resides. For mass adoption
I think we need seamless fiat integration, we need secure wallets that don’t rely on long private key passwords, NFTs probably need a rebrand and lots of young people need to be making significant money in the space, not just from holding and flipping, but from creating their own digital IP and selling their own phygital goods.
We also need a continued focus on the importance of actually owning our data, our domains, our IP, and our money, and persistent education on the importance of creating an uncensorable future.
What does the future of Disco Solaris look like? Where do you envision the project in 1, 5 and 10 years respectively?
What a great question! The future of Disco is all about world building and storytelling. Humans have traveled into deep space and they’ve settled onto Moebius-9. Beyond the many businesses that have sprung up in the DSU that enrich the story that is being co-created by the community, there are still many facets to the project that have yet to be explored.
There are Native Moebians, there are extraterrestrials beyond Moebius, and those stories have us really excited! The Silk Toad customization platform was built to help creators build their own goods, their own businesses and brands in a supportive and cooperative environment.
Adopt discoin and start building in Disco Solaris, and there is a network of people ready to find ways to help you find success.
In 1 year, I envision the disco economy. I foresee the harvest of resources on Moebius, a barter and trade system for them, and the beginnings of crafting with those resources to create new traits.
In 5 years I envision a bustling city with record labels producing award winning albums, designers tying digital and physical goods together and building parallel businesses in Neo Miami. Lots of new artists and illustrators creating, and book series being developed in the DSU.
In 10 years I think we’ll be watching the stories of Papo, Grancho, HD, Clint, Vasa, The Builder, and many others on the big screen. Action figures of DS characters will be in homes all over the world, there will be projects launched in the DSU that new communities will form around, intergalactic trade, tensions, diplomacy, and alliances built.
Great contribution. Any final thoughts? Where can people learn more?
Thank you for the opportunity to talk Disco with you! The Silk Toad will be at RareEvo in August representing Disco Solaris alongside some of our other businesses.
You can learn more and join the community on Discord, follow our X account, and visit our website.
We’re still minting Moebius Pioneers and have several trait pools to mint from as well. We’re close to launching our custom market where folks can try on traits before they buy them!
There is actually a lot more to discover, head to our discord and type !fam to see some of the community initiatives that exist all over the web!
Disclaimer: The opinions and views of the people interviewed are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Cardano Foundation or IOG. Moreover, this content is for educational purposes, it doesn’t constitute financial advice.