April Fools’ Day in the NFT and crypto space is typically marked by exaggerated announcements, fabricated partnerships, and the occasional tweet claiming an account has been hacked. This year, however, several prominent figures from the NFT community took a different approach.
Instead of leaning into outlandish humour, artists including XCOPY and DeeKay, along with Ape Ventures Founder Xeer, published a series of posts that were ambiguous in tone—prompting widespread speculation as to whether they were part of an April Fools’ stunt or sincere statements.
Whilst their timing suggested they were part of the day’s festivities, the absence of confirmation left much of the community uncertain.
Who said what on April 1?
Digital artist XCOPY, known for advocating CC0 licensing, posted a short message stating that the decision to make his work freely usable had led to widespread misuse, adding that he planned to return to traditional copyright protections. Given the artist’s previous public support for CC0, the post drew significant attention.
Meanwhile, animator DeeKay posted a short message on Monday indicating that he no longer wished to create art. The message, consisting of only three lines, lacked context, follow-up and was received with a mix of concern and confusion, with some readers questioning whether the post was genuine or part of an April Fools’ Day performance.
Then came Xeer’s contribution posting a detailed message describing significant financial losses incurred whilst trading cryptocurrency. He described a series of unsuccessful investments in speculative assets and stated he would be stepping away from the space. The post stood out for its tone and specificity, leading many to believe it was an authentic statement.
April Fools’ joke—or something more?
A day later and none of the individuals involved have issued statements clarifying whether their posts were intended as jokes or genuine announcements.
Whilst April Fools’ Day has become known for playful or absurd online content, this year’s messages from NFT artists reflected a more understated, and arguably more disorienting, approach.
Whether satire, social commentary or sincere reflection, the posts achieved a common outcome: keeping their audiences guessing.
Blockchain evangelist. Content creator & graphic design hobbyist. Loves gaming!