Rubber Duckz

mr_rostami

April 20, 2022

WGMI Rating:

 3/5

Mint Details

Mint Date

June 30

Supply

5K, 2K for the holders of genesis, 3K for Public Mint

Mint Price

0.2 ETH for holders and public

Premint Raffle: https://www.premint.xyz/byord/

What is Rubber Duckz?

The RubberDuckz project initially launched on Jan 20, 2022, as a collection of 2,000 hand-illustrated 2D duck NFTs known as the ‘Rubber Duckz’. The RubberDuckz initiative first began as a collaborative effort between ‘PapaDuck’ & Trey Ratcliff (Proof member and Duck holder), mostly directed to their Proof Collective friends as a token of their friendship. The RubberDuckz team has been clear to their community that there will be no utility or extra perks associated with owning a RubberDuckz NFT other than holders getting an Allowlist spot for the BYORD (RubberDuckz Phase 2), their new collection of 5,000 Duckz with an additional 300+ new traits in addition to new rarities.

This BYORD collection will have its own separate utility.

Story / Background

The story of the RubberDuckz begins with Dani’s mother, Alice, who was a founding partner and VP of Patient Services at Best Doctors in Boston. Alice was in charge of helping connect patients with the best doctors available regardless of their economic circumstances.

Alice came across a yellow rubber duck at a store one day and bought it for her son to use as his companion during his baths. Soon she realized that one rubber duck wasn’t enough, and the yellow duck needed some friends of his own. Alice began to grow her collection of rubber ducks and even gifted unique ducks as her token of appreciation. Even the patients Alice had helped realized her affection for rubber ducks, and before she knew it, she had become an avid collector with an incredible collection of rubber ducks.

Sadly, Alice fought her battle against Pulmonary Fibrosis and eventually succumbed to the disease. One day, during a conversation between PapaDuck and MagicMan about her beautiful life, the topic surrounding Alice’s Rubber Ducks collection came up, and the idea of making these rubber ducks available for everyone to enjoy was created. In addition to having ducks available for anyone who wanted a companion of their own, PapaDuck and MagicMan decided to give a chunk of their proceeds to the Boston Children’s Hospital (where Alice met and cared for many wonderful patients). Another chunk of their proceeds will go towards helping people in the Dominican Republic who are in need of treatment for Pancreatic Cancer (the same disease responsible for Alice’s passing).

The Rubber Duckz collection was created for the purpose of creating a community of values and purpose that is worthy of bearing the memory of Alice and her courageous efforts.

“This is the Official NFT Rubber Ducks collection. Inspired by a heroine, conceptualized by a dreamer, and executed by a team of real, passionate, and professional people. WELCOME TO THE FLOCK. KEEP QUACKING.”

Utility

In short, owning a Rubber Duckz Genesis will allow all holders the option to claim a free mint into the BYORD project for just the cost of gas. In addition, all BYORD NFTs will grant a free mint of VOXEL AVATARS that will be claimable on the Sandbox Metaverse in the future. All Rubber Duckz holders will also receive access to private members-only channels on their Discord server.

Roadmap

Q1 (JAN-MAR)

Gathering the Flock – Discord, Webpage, and Social Media activation to build out their community.
NFT Drop of the first 2,000 Rubber Duckz Collection on January 16, 2022.
Rewarding the Flock – 50 Rubber Duckz given away to early supporters and team members in addition to ETH giveaways and NFT giveaways to holders within the Rubber Duckz community.
Giving Back – After selling out during the mint phase, $50,000 will be allocated for donating to the Boston Children’s Hospital and a separate fund to a Dominican health center for Pancreatic Cancer Treatment.
Buying Land (Virtual) – After selling out of the first collection, purchase a parcel in the Metaverse for the community to have a place to display their collection. This Metaverse will be called “THE POND”, and it will be a hangout spot, game, and a museum for the 2nd collection, which will be created in collaboration with various artists.

Q2 (APR-JUN)

Merch Store – Rubber Duckz Virtual Merch Store will be created exclusively for Rubber Duckz holders.
Make Some Waves (Time Square Billboard) – The Rubber Duckz team plans to have their own Time Square billboard in place to promote the Rubber Duckz project in a symbolic and iconic way.

Q3 (JUL-SEPT)

Virtual Game – At 100% sold, they will develop a Virtual Game utilizing the metaverse, which will bring more utility and exposure to their project.
DAO – The Rubber Duckz DAO will be formed, and it will allow holders to determine the future of the RubberDuckz Metaverse land (THE POND).
2nd Collection – Collaborate with renowned artists, and create a DAO for distributing royalties among artists and the project.

Q4 (OCT-DEC)

Secret Milestone – PapaDuck will not confirm until it’s ready (Don’t ask him yet).
Christie’s Auction House – They have a connection at Christie’s auction house, so this is something that will be explored in the future.
2023 – FUTURE – The Rubber Duckz project plans to evolve and develop over time to create value for all community members.

Team

The Rubber Duckz team has chosen to remain undoxxed. The only information that we have surrounding their identities is the information found on their Twitter profile, Discord FAQ, and official website. In their own words, the team behind Rubber Duckz consists of marketers, ad-men, illustrators, digital designers, developers, and crypto and NFT enthusiasts that have been in this space since 2017. According to their official website, the team is adamant that they have all the connections and resources necessary to make their project a success. Still, there is no additional public information available at this time.

Marketing & Community

The community of Rubber Duckz feels entirely organic with little to no spam. There is mostly friendly conversation and genuine questions from community members wanting to get involved with the PROOF Collective and Moonbirds ecosystem. Many holders are proud to hold and flaunt their Duckz, with some holders holding as many as 26 Rubber Duckz NFTs.

One important point to make is the fact that Rubber Duckz market itself as a team consisting of marketers and ad-men, but its Twitter page currently has only 9,988 followers, and its posts show only moderate levels of likes and engagement. It could be that the Rubber Duckz didn’t truly begin their marketing efforts as of yet, and they are waiting for an opportune moment to do so, but this is purely based on speculation at the time of writing.

Collabs

One of the most notable collaborations from the Rubber Duckz team is their collaboration with Kevin Rose from the PROOF Collective. This collaboration called the “Rubber Duckz Honoraries” consists of one 1/1 Hand Drawn Golden piece and one Hand Drawn Honoraries 100 edition piece, where 100% of the proceeds from the 1/1 Golden piece auction went to charity.

Since then, there have been no other publicized collaborations, but many collectors and NFT influencers have engaged with, and are shilling the Rubber Duckz NFT project. Many PROOF Collective holders own a Rubber Duckz, and from this association alone, the Rubber Duckz has started to garner a lot of attention.

Analysis

Bullish Case

The Rubber Duckz public association with the PROOF Collective and their relationship with Kevin Rose have been doing wonders for the Rubber Duckz Genesis collection and its floor price. For example, on April 1st, the Rubber Duckz Genesis collection had an average floor price of 0.12 ETH, but the collection has since seen many price pumps, taking the floor price to new all-time highs in recent days. The NFT community is beginning to associate the Rubber Duckz collection as a way for those who can’t afford to buy into the Moonbirds or PROOF Collective to somewhat enter that ecosystem. The price action further supports this fact we have seen for the Rubber Duckz since the launch of the Moonbirds Collection and their correlation.

Reservations

There has been a lot of volume for the Rubber Duckz Collection in recent weeks resulting in a lot of volatility. Those who got in early saw huge gains, but many bought Rubber Duckz at the top and are currently waiting for another pump. When there is a significant increase in volume traded on OpenSea, investors need to be careful and aware of the associated risks of volatility.

The Rubber Duckz team is publicly undoxxed, presenting more potential risk for investors. If a team remains undoxxed, there is less accountability, and a higher likelihood that a project will not be around to fully deliver on its roadmaps as the option to disappear without a trace becomes a potential option. So far, the Rubber Duckz team has successfully delivered on their promises and followed through on their roadmap, but this is no guarantee for future results.