Hot Potato NFT: Hold it Brief, Or Risk the Burn
The phrase "Let's play a game" has found a new association beyond the famous horror movie series "Saw" – it's now linked to the NFT named Hot Potato.
This non-fungible token on the Ethereum blockchain made its debut in early November 2023. It's a collaborative creation by an X user under the pseudonym Vincent Van Dough, artist kcdilla who captured a photo of a regular potato with "Hot" written on it, and developer yungwknd, who designed the smart contract. Vincent Van Dough, self-described as a provider of shitcoins and visual arts, served as the promoter.
The unique aspect of the Hot Potato NFT is that its holder must transfer it to another user every 24 hours, or it will self-destruct as per the conditions outlined in the smart contract. This gameplay mechanic motivates those keen on keeping the potato in circulation to actively engage in the process and thoughtfully choose the next holder.
The Hot Potato NFT has not only intrigued ordinary social media users, who began creating themed and humorous content, but it also caught the attention of notable figures in the Web3 space, such as Sam Spratt, OSF, and Cozomo de’ Medici. In a unique twist, one of the Hot Potato holders (El Barba Roja blue check) even created a physical version of the NFT and presented it to the subsequent owner.
As we conclude, the pressing question remains: What's the countdown for the Hot Potato NFT until it meets its burning fate?!
Hot Potato NFT. Source: Official OpenSea website.
Lets play a game… This is a hot potato. You can hold it for a while, but hold it for too long and you may get burnt,Vincent Van Dough introduces the intriguing Hot Potato adventure.
Initially, the token was auctioned via the Manifold platform. It was bought by a user named chickenjalfrezi for 1.78 ETH (approximately $3650), even though the starting bid was only 0.1 ETH. After this purchase, the smart contract was triggered, and the non-fungible token began its journey from one person to another, gaining social media popularity.
The developers even created a dedicated website to track the Hot Potato's self-destruction timer and a detailed list of its owners, including links to their accounts. Despite the peculiar premise of this art project, at the time of the article, the NFT had been transferred across more than 60 wallets, circulating among people far more frequently than the rules initially dictated.
Examples of creativity inspired by the Hot Potato NFT. Source: X.
On the flip side, a group of users, led by Cozomo de’ Medici (an account associated with Snoop Dogg), formed with the sole purpose of burning the NFT. They even established a covert network of wallets to achieve their objective. This led to an issue of anonymity among participants, as with each transfer, the likelihood increased that the potato would fall into the hands of those intent on burning the token.
However, on November 21, the token did end up with this group. Fortuitously, the potato was rescued: Cozomo de’ Medici opted to hold a vote on platform X regarding the NFT's future. A majority of users voted in favor of keeping the token, allowing the game to continue.
