Today’s meme culture makes it difficult to trace the origins of ubiquitous catchphrases and gestures. But NFTs that codify novelties on blockchain can create an indelible link between a meme and its creator. This is what leading crypto cashback platform StormX aims to achieve by integrating Chainlink’s industry-standard Price Feeds to power its first NFT – the original “Sup son?” shrug emoji popularized by former professional StarCraft II player Ryoo “SeleCT” Kyung Hyun.
StormX’s Co-founder and CEO, Simon Yu, said the platform collaborated with SeleCT to create its first NFT, which captures the nonchalant victory shrug the esports star used to pair with the phrase “Sup son?” in order to taunt his opponents. “The shrug emoji shot to fame as [SeleCT’s] victory trademark, which was parodied across YouTube and became a fan favorite, being held up on signs at games,” Yu told Chainlink Today. “Beyond that, we’ve all seen the shrug, and at some point have used it.”
However, Yu said SeleCT hasn’t been widely recognized as the inspiration behind the universal emoji outside of the StarCraft community. StormX’s debut NFT drop aims to change that. “To have the original creator be able to prove their work on the blockchain is one of the best use cases for blockchain,” Yu said in a press release. SeleCT echoed similar sentiments.
“I always hoped to get more attention and recognition for my victory pose; it became so well known, not just within the gaming community but also across the world. I can’t believe how fast the world is changing, and I am so excited about NFTs and the way they’re able to permanently show I’m the original creator of something that has become a part of our global internet culture and our language.”
“I always hoped to get more attention and recognition for my victory pose; it became so well known, not just within the gaming community but also across the world. I can’t believe how fast the world is changing, and I am so excited about NFTs and the way they’re able to permanently show I’m the original creator of something that has become a part of our global internet culture and our language.” – Ryoo “SeleCT” Kyung Hyun
StormX allows users in over 170 countries to earn cashback in crypto while shopping at over 800 retailers including Nike, Samsung, Uber, Ebay and Microsoft. To date, StormX has paid out over $3 million in crypto cashback rewards. Yu said that integrating Chainlink has allowed the platform to break into the NFT market while providing buyers with the necessary safety and transparency.
With Chainlink, Yu said, “There is much less risk of an oracle going down as opposed to a singular company’s pricing API.”
StormX implemented a bonding curve for its shrug emoji NFT sale. This means that NFTs increase in price as they sell, with the final NFT selling for the highest amount. The sale relies on Chainlink’s Price Feeds to reduce slippage, remove any central point of failure or manipulation, and allow users to purchase the shrug NFT in STMX, ETH or USDT for a fixed amount.
Yu said SeleCT’s shrug emoji is just the beginning of StormX-issued NFTs that celebrate popular memes and their original creators. “We’re definitely looking towards our next collaboration; we’ve got our eyes firmly set on both gaming and pop culture.”
He told Chainlink Today that StormX is planning to integrate Chainlink Price Feeds to increase the safety and transparency of its withdrawals, noting “a myriad of ways” StormX can integrate Chainlink’s technology to make the shopping reward process even more transparent.
“We would like to thank everyone at Chainlink who helped us with this integration; they’ve got an amazingly diligent team and the possibilities that they provide open many gates for us as we continue to improve our app and further integrate oracle feeds.”
To learn more about StormX, visit their website, Facebook, Twitter, Discord, Telegram and YouTube.