For a 94-year-old publication, Fortune has done some remarkably innovative things on the crypto front. These include launching the first mainstream media vertical dedicated to the blockchain in 2018, and three years later, publishing a whimsical crypto-themed cover and minting it as an NFT. Now, Fortune Crypto is breaking new ground once again.
The April/May issue of the magazine will feature a blockchain-themed cover to mark the publication of a special crypto edition that contains the Fortune Crypto 40, a first-of-its-kind ranking of the most important companies in the industry. As for the cover, which will be on newsstands later this month, you can see from the illustration above that it has a very different vibe from its precursor, which was penned by the artist pplpleasr and celebrated the 2021 bull market.
The new cover, by 32-year-old artist Panamanian artist Ix Shells (aka Itzel Yard), has a grittier urban aesthetic and conveys feelings of construction and resilience. The illustration is a monument to the crypto industry's worst year ever—one punctuated by scandal, price collapse, and regulatory backlash—but also a testament to those who have kept on building through it all. For Ix Shells, who is also a coder and integrates computer themes into her art, the story is a personal one. Unlike many of the drive-by speculators who too often define the industry, she has long made crypto the center of her community and her career.
To mark the occasion, Fortune and Ix Shells are selling an animated version of the cover as an NFT for 24 hours starting this Sunday on Foundation. The parties made the decision to offer the NFT at a democratic price point of 0.1 ETH (around $175) in the hopes that the crypto community will come together to own a piece of history and support one of their own. It's also refreshing that, for the second time, Fortune's NFT artist is a woman of color—showing yet again the industry is much more than the crypto bros of popular stereotype.
If you're interested in learning more, you can find details here on Fortune's Foundation page. Or join us at noon ET today for a Twitter Spaces (@Fortunemagazine) where our NFT reporter Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez will be speaking with Ix Shells about the cover and much more.
Jeff John Roberts
jeff.roberts@fortune.com
@jeffjohnroberts
