Amidst the NFT boom of 2021, one collection hit incredible highs, before falling into relative obscurity. Despite this, they’ve continued to build – and 2024 has seen them expand into a fully-fledged entertainment brand.
That collection is Cool Cats.
In the space of 3 years, they’ve gone from a little-known character to a brand with premier animations, manga, physical collectibles, real-world experiences and more – but how did they get there?
Master the topic, as we explain the past, present and future of Cool Cats in 2024.
What is Cool Cats?
Cool Cats is a series of 9,999 cartoon NFT avatars on Ethereum. Each avatar features a blue cat with a unique mix of traits, such as clothing, hairstyles, accessories and more.
The collection was founded by a team of four:
- Colin Egan (Clon): Chief artist, and the creator of the Blue Cat character.
- Evan Luza (Elu): Creative director, shaping the artistic vision and brand of Cool Cats.
- Tom Williamson (xtremetom): A blockchain and smart contracts expert, running the technical side.
- Rob Mehew (Lynqoid): A web developer and project manager, overseeing daily operations.
Tom and Rob departed Cool Cats in April 2023, with Clon and Elu continuing with the brand to this day.
The idea for Cool Cats began with illustrations Clon created in high school. The lineage of the Blue Cat character can be traced back well over 10 years, through multiple iterations and designs, leading to the character we have today.
The history of Cool Cats
Cool Cats debuted on July 1, 2021, with each NFT priced at 0.06 ETH (about $150 USD at the time). After a slow start, with only 300 NFTs sold initially, the price was reduced to 0.02 ETH (around $50 USD), which led the collection to mint out in just eight hours.
Just eight days after launch, boxing legend Mike Tyson changed his Twitter profile picture to a Cool Cat NFT, going a long way to boost the project’s visibility. Other well-known figures, such as Reese Witherspoon, Alexis Ohanian, and Steve Aoki also joined in, leading to the collection picking up traction incredibly quickly.
In early 2022, Cool Cats created the Cool Pets companion collection, with 19,999 unique NFT pets. Half were reserved for Cool Cats holders, and the rest were available to the public. Each pet started as an egg, and through the Cooltopia online platform, could hatch into one of four elements: Grass, Fire, Water, or Air.
Alongside the debut of Cool Pets came the $MILK token, an ecosystem token for Cool Cats. Holders earned $MILK by completing daily quests with their Cool Pets, or by owning a Cool Cat. Both Cooltopia and $MILK were sunset in July 2023.
By March 2022, Cool Cats had cemented its status as a top NFT project, ranking 11th in all-time sales with over $290 million USD in transactions, and an all-time high floor price of $92,000 USD.
June 2022 saw Cool Cats debut their first real-world experience, with Cooltopia created in the flesh as an NFT.NYC 2022 side event. September 2022 saw former Disney and Warner Bros SVP Stephen Teglas join as CEO – and although his tenure was short-lived, his arrival saw a fresh look for the brand that gave them a step-up.
The remainder of 2022 and early 2023 saw many activations, including a partnership with OneFootball for Cool Cats FC, the debut of SideKX and Shadow Wolves as new companion collections, and the announcement of a strategic partnership with Futureverse that saw the two entities forge strong ties.
November 2023 saw Cool Cat’s highest-profile activation so far, as they featured as part of Macy’s 2023 Thanksgiving Day Parade, watched by an estimated 28.5 million people across the United States.
The month also saw the debut of “The Milk Chug”, the inaugural animated series from Cool Cats, created by Titmouse. The series saw its official premiere in September 2024, with the release of weekly episodes over what is expected to be a 13-episode debut season.
Cool Cats expanded further in July 2024, announcing a partnership with Kodansha – best known for publishing the likes of Akira and Attack on Titan – to produce a serialised manga series.
It hasn’t all been plain-sailing. The partnership with Futureverse has been criticised by many, especially after the cancellation of their long-awaited game project in summer 2023. The departure of much of the core team shortly thereafter led to further backlash, with some questioning Cool Cats’ commitment to their web3 roots.
What’s next for Cool Cats?
Clon has made it clear that his goal is to see Blue Cat become a cartoon icon, and Cool Cats is his vehicle to be able to do that.
Cool Cats signed with the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in March 2022, and it’s clearer now more than ever that the future of Cool Cats is in focusing solely on its mainstream cultural appeal.
Whilst specific details are under wraps, the team has hinted at several future developments:
- Cooltopia: Although their Sapphire Town game was cancelled, explorations around new interactive experiences continue.
- Physical goods: From collectibles to clothing, Cool Cats has always produced quality physical goods – and we can anticipate more to come.
- Animations: With Clon’s cartoon-focused goals, should Series 1 be a success, we will likely see further animated efforts featuring Blue Cat and others.
- Live events: Cooltopia 2022 at NFT.NYC was very well received, and both fans and holders alike are clamouring for another in-person experience to enjoy.
Cool Cats may not have the presence or floor price of contemporaries such as Bored Apes, Pudgy Penguins and Azuki, but under the radar, they continue to build.
Clon has built a wonderful community, and one that believes in him, believes in his vision, and sees the potential in Cool Cats. With “The Milk Chug” seeing impressive numbers – the latest episode gathering over 100,000 views in just 2 days – there’s hope that Cool Cats can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the top collections in the industry.
Only time will tell.
Riding crypto waves since 2012, bridging digital and physical worlds through prose.