COLE VILLEMAIN

“My life would be complete if Pokémon entered the web3 space.”

Cole Villemain proudly admits to being obsessed with digital art. Collecting Pokémon cards, sports cards, and sneakers from a young age, he ventured into the NFT space in January 2021, where he was fortunate enough to be able to mint Apes when BAYC first launched. Today, his vast collection includes NFTs by creators such as Benangbaja, SSHayni, and Drift.

Is there a particular milestone that Cole is particularly proud of? He shares: “My biggest milestone has to be my role in creating Pudgy Penguins, which is now one the most notable NFT projects in the world, and the IP is rapidly becoming more iconic thanks to the new owner, Luca Netz.”

Despite the monumental growth the space has experienced over the past year, there is still a lot of room for growth. Cole believes a lack of security and education are the biggest obstacles currently in web3. While the technology is nothing short of awe-inspiring, he has found that the majority of newbies in the space don’t realize that their security is predominantly in their own hands.

It is only a matter of time until there is mass web3 adoption among large global brands. Are there any brands that Cole would love to see on the blockchain? “My life would be complete if Pokémon entered the web3 space. Unfortunately, as one of the biggest IPs in the world, they probably don’t need NFTs right now.”

Although he is optimistic about the future of the NFT space, he is hesitant to make any predictions. “I have absolutely no idea where the crypto art scene will be in 3 years. I feel like if I tried to answer that question, I would be wrong 99.99% of the time. Crypto art moves so fast, and attention spans get smaller and smaller.”

Although only 22 years old, Cole has profound advice for new collectors. He encourages them to simply buy what they like and not to get caught up in the hype and feel forced to spend money on something they can’t relate to.