Moonbirds creator Kevin Rose sells $1.2 million worth of NFTs, but says he’s still collecting

Kevin Rose, co-founder of NFT project PROOF, has liquidated over $1.2 million worth of NFTs, but denied rumors that he’s exiting the Web3 space entirely.

“I’ve been pruning my NFT collection lately. Primarily because I believe mass adoption is still further out, and classic cryptocurrency will outperform,” Rose wrote in a post on X. “That said, I’m still collecting.”

On March 9, Rose liquidated several high-worth NFTs, including a work in the Fidenza series by Tyler Hobbs for 142 ETH and a one-of-one work by artist XCOPY for 151.2 ETH. Rose also burned two ENS domains and revoked the record for his main domains, claiming the move was in the interest of privacy. 

“I’m, as always, diversifying versus praying a single collection or bag works out. Also, I am right-sizing my collection exposure only to what I’m willing to lose in the short term,” Rose explained on X.

Rose elaborated on his collecting philosophy in a July 2023 interview with Fast Company. “When I’m buying a Tyler Hobbs, I’m buying it to hold for decades, because it’s a beautiful piece of art. Not because it’s some type of currency,” he reportedly said.

Rose’s company PROOF was acquired last month by Yuga Labs, which took over the Moonbirds brand, one of the few NFT projects in the public domain. The size of the deal was not publicly revealed.