Pixelmon
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anchored·YNkmFQ…aFjzSummary
Pixelmon is a Pokemon-inspired NFT game project that raised approximately $70 million in a February 2022 Dutch-auction mint before revealing artwork widely described as comically low quality, causing an immediate collapse in floor price of roughly 88%. The project's original founder, identified as Martin van Blerk (online handle 'Syber'), was accused of misrepresentation and had a documented history of unfulfilled crowdfunding campaigns; treasury funds were observed being spent on third-party NFTs rather than development. The project was subsequently acquired by Web3 venture studio LiquidX, which relaunched it with new leadership, revised artwork, and a native MON token, though the original mint episode remains one of the most publicized cases of NFT overpromising in the 2021-2022 cycle.
Connected Entities
6 entities · 60 linked investigations- Ethereum→mentioned with→Coinbase(60%)
- Coinbase→mentioned with→Base(70%)
- Pixelmon→mentioned with→Yield Guild Games (YGG)(80%)
- Pixelmon→mentioned with→Base(65%)
- Pixelmon→mentioned with→Pokemon(70%)
- Pixelmon→mentioned with→Ethereum(70%)
- Pixelmon→mentioned with→Coinbase(70%)
- Base→mentioned with→Coinbase(70%)
- Base→mentioned with→Ethereum(80%)
Timeline(11 events)
23 December 2021
Martin van Blerk (Syber) posts early promotional material for Pixelmon on Twitter, showing concept art for a Pokemon-inspired NFT game.
Crypto Briefing7 February 2022
Pixelmon Dutch-auction mint opens at 3 ETH per NFT. Approximately 7,750 NFTs are sold, raising roughly $70 million USD in under 10 minutes.
Decrypt25 February 2022
The Pixelmon 'Hatching' (metadata reveal) takes place. Revealed artwork is widely mocked as low quality and technically broken; floor price collapses from 3 ETH toward 0.3 ETH within 24 hours.
CoinDesk25 February 2022
The malformed frog-like character later nicknamed 'Kevin' goes viral as a meme representing the project's failure. Kevin NFTs paradoxically trade at a premium over the broader collection floor due to meme value.
NFT EveningMarch 2022
Syber issues a public apology, calling the OpenSea reveal 'a horrible mistake' and pledging mint funds would be used for continued development. No refund mechanism is announced.
Decrypt3 March 2022
Syber is publicly identified as Martin van Blerk, a 20-year-old from Hamilton, New Zealand. Reporting surfaces his prior Kickstarter campaigns (Psycho Chickens, Slap the Deck) with unfulfilled backer obligations.
1News New Zealand30 June 2022
LiquidX, a Web3 venture studio, acquires a 60% stake in Pixelmon. Giulio Xiloyannis is named CEO. The project announces revised artwork and a new roadmap targeting alpha in Q1 2023.
CoinboldSeptember 2022
Decrypt reports on Pixelmon's attempted comeback under LiquidX, including redesigned creature models and a free-to-play pivot away from play-to-earn mechanics.
DecryptOctober 2023
Pixelmon releases 'Kevin the Adventurer,' a hypercasual game deployed on the Base network (Coinbase's Ethereum L2), reporting approximately 36,000 active players.
Decrypt2024
Pixelmon announces an $8 million seed funding round with investors including Animoca Brands, Delphi Digital, Amber Group, Bing Ventures, and Foresight Ventures.
Decrypt27 May 2024
The MON token (ERC-20, 1 billion total supply) launches with a community airdrop. Over 180,000 wallets reported eligible. Claiming begins at 9:30am UTC.
BitPinasDecision Log
- slot 423160754 · hash 6KLuoUXFuBH1MAosQva1GKEpvCMJnKgyaQwRn3iwWKDj
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (1 decision). 14 of 14 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-5
generated: 5/30/2026, 12:56:21 PM
last updated: 5/30/2026, 12:56:40 PM
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