FAQ
What is (distributed)?
(distributed) is an inversion of the creator coin system, transforming allocation into collective performance.
Expressed as a five-year collaborative onchain performance, instead of accepting the 50% allocation of $RIPE from the creator coin on Zora, the artist created a system that transforms distribution itself into art.
Who made this?
ripe.
How does it work?
500 million $RIPE are allocated to the artist over five years. Rather than claiming them, these tokens are sent in 64 equal tranches (7,812,500 $RIPE each) to randomly generated Ethereum addresses that no one controls. Each tranche unlocks approximately every 28.5 days, following the vesting schedule.
Why random addresses?
Tokens sent to random, unused Ethereum wallets are effectively removed from circulation. The odds of anyone being able to access one of these wallets are astronomically low (1 in 2160, or about 1 in 1.46 × 1048). This ensures the allocation is permanently rejected while leaving an onchain record of each distribution.
What role do participants play?
Once enough tokens have vested and reached the distributor contract, the winner of the distribution's auction can execute the distribution function. By doing so, the participant receives an NFT as proof of execution.
How do the auctions work?
Each distribution is unlocked approximately every 28.5 days. An auction can be started as soon as a distribution window opens (as long as the previous auction has been settled).
If the window ends or is within 24 hours of ending, an auction may still be started and will run for 24 hours.
Any bids placed in the final 15 minutes extend the auction by 15 minutes.
Auctions begin at 10,000 $RIPE and require a minimum 5% increase for each subsequent bid. The winner finalizes the distribution and receives the NFT as proof of execution.
How to participate?
- Wait until a distribution window opens. A new tranche becomes eligible about every 28.5 days, once the vesting threshold is met.
- Start or join the auction. If no one has started an auction, you can. If one is already running, place a bid. Minimum bid 10,000 $RIPE, with 5% increases each bid..
- Win the auction. If your bid holds when the auction ends, you win the right to execute the distribution. If someone bids in the last 15 minutes, the auction extends by 15 minutes.
- Execute the distribution. Finalize the function, sending the tranche to a random wallet. This act removes the tokens from circulation.
- Mint the NFT. As proof of your action, you receive the NFT for that distribution, adding one more zorb to the shared grid.
What is the NFT?
Each NFT represents one distribution. It adds a zorb to a shared 8×8 grid, with its colors determined by the recipient address of that tranche. Over time, the grid fills cell by cell, becoming a complete generative artwork after all 64 distributions.
What is the artwork?
The artwork is the grid itself, filling slowly with zorbs over five years. Each zorb is a visual representation of a distribution to an inaccessible address. Together, they form a permanent record of value refused, redirected, and transformed into collective art.
How is this collaborative?
The artist has removed themself from the process. Progress only happens when participants choose to execute distributions. The artwork is completed not by ownership or control, but through collective action over time.
Is this an airdrop or a burn?
Neither. The tokens are not distributed to participants, nor are they destroyed. They are sent to addresses no one can access, permanently removing them from circulation. The NFT is the only artifact of each act.
How many NFTs will there be?
Exactly 64 NFTs, one for each distribution.
What happens if no one executes a distribution?
The system simply waits. A distribution remains available until the auction winner executes it. If several tranches accrue without action, they can be executed sequentially once participants engage.
Which chain is this on?
(distributed) runs on Base, using the Zora protocol for the creator coin mechanics. Contract addresses and full details are published below.
(distributed) protocol
Distribution as performance, proof as art