Fashion Label 9dcc’s ‘Black Box’ Offers Mystery Apparel—And a CryptoPunk Prize

9dcc, the on-chain fashion label founded by pseudonymous crypto personality and investor gmoney, is preparing to release its latest project, the 9dcc Black Box, on December 18.

The drop, limited to 2,750 NFTs minted on Ethereum layer-2 network Base, is being billed by the crypto-native luxury brand as a blend of fashion, blockchain technology, and mystery.

Each 9dcc Black Box promises a mix of digital and physical rewards. Buyers might find an item from the label’s Collection-01, which ranges from baseball caps to jackets. These pieces, which combine traditional materials with NFC chip technology, aim to bridge the gap between physical and digital experiences.

The Black Box also includes points for the 9dcc Network leaderboard, an ongoing gamified feature of the brand’s ecosystem. The pieces range from $95 (Essential Baseball Cap) to $600 (Satin Bomber Jacket). What the buyer gets in the box is part of the intrigue.

The real draw, however, is the possibility of unearthing a rare prize: CryptoPunk #7429, one of the highly sought-after NFTs in the CryptoPunk series, which start at a price of nearly $139,000 on secondary marketplaces.

Only one Black Box contains the Ethereum NFT, and this CryptoPunk wears an orange beanie—a highly sought-after trait in the collection. On-chain data shows that gmoney purchased the NFT for just over $150,000 worth of ETH late Monday.

The chances of winning the Punk depend on how many boxes are ultimately redeemed, leaving buyers to wonder if they might be the one to claim a valuable and historic NFT as part of the drop. Punk prices have surged by 69% over the last month as Bitcoin and other crypto assets rise.

Gmoney, who established 9dcc in 2022 and has weaved blockchain-based innovations into the line, is framing this release as a continuation of the NFT market’s growth rather than a revival.

“Really excited for this,” he told Decrypt about the Black Box drop. “The sentiment in the space reminds me a lot of December 2020, when I purchased my first CryptoPunk, right before the epic bull run that started in January 2021 with Punks leading the way.”

“This drop is a signal that NFTs aren’t back,” gmoney added. “They never left.”

The price of each box remains undisclosed, with the team hinting at additional surprises yet to be unveiled. Further details will be revealed in the next week, the company said.

Edited by Andrew Hayward