What is Cool Cats? Our Complete 2024 Guide

In the space of just 3 years, one character has grown from the minor convention circuit into an NFT-powered entertainment powerhouse – and though prices have fallen, it’s arguably bigger today than ever before.

That character is Blue Cat, of the NFT collection is Cool Cats.

What started as a simple pen-on-paper idea now encompasses top-tier animations, manga, physical collectibles, real-world experiences and more – but how?

Here’s our complete 2024 guide to Cool Cats.

What is Cool Cats?

Cool Cats is a collection of 9,999 NFT avatars on Ethereum, based on the Blue Cat character. Each avatar features a unique mix of traits, with differing clothing, hairstyles, accessories and more.

The collection has four original founder:

• Colin Egan (Clon): Artist, and the creator of the Blue Cat character.
• Evan Luza (Elu): Creative director, shaping the brand of Cool Cats.
• Tom Williamson (xtremetom): A smart contract expert, who runs the technical operations.
• Rob Mehew (Lynqoid): A web developer and project manager that oversees day-to-day activities.

Tom and Rob both left Cool Cats in April 2023, with Clon and Elu continuing with the brand to this day.

Cool Cats began as a series of illustrations created by Clon in high school, featuring some of the earliest iterations of the Blue Cat characters. After many years of experimentation, Clon landed on the iconic Blue Cat character we see today.

What has Cool Cats accomplished so far?

The Cool Cats NFT collection debuted on July 1, 2021. Each NFT was priced at 0.06 ETH (about $150 USD at the time), although after only 300 NFTs were initially sold, the price was reduced to 0.02 ETH (around $50 USD) – with the collection minting out just eight hours later.

Eight days after launch, boxing legend Mike Tyson changed his Twitter profile picture to a Cool Cat NFT. Other well-known figures soon followed, with Reese Witherspoon, Alexis Ohanian, and Steve Aoki doing the same, garnering much visibility and demand for the collection.

Early 2022 saw Cool Cats expand through the Cool Pets collection, introducing 19,999 unique NFT companions. Half were reserved for Cool Cats holders, with the rest available to the public. These NFTs were introduced as eggs, and through caring for them via the Cooltopia online platform, they could hatch into pets from one of four elements: Grass, Fire, Water, or Air.

Arriving alongside Cool Pets was the $MILK token, a native token for the Cool Cats ecosystem. $MILK could be earned by Cool Cats and Cool Pets holders completing daily quests. Both Cooltopia and $MILK were retired in July 2023.

By March 2022, Cool Cats had become one of the leading blue-chip NFT collections, ranking 11th in all-time sales with over $290 million USD in transactions, and reaching an all-time high floor price of $92,000 USD.

June 2022 saw Cool Cats hit the real world with the Cooltopia pop-up in New York City. September 2022 saw former Disney and Warner Bros SVP Stephen Teglas join as CEO – and although his time at Cool Cats was short, his arrival heralded a new look and strategic direction for the brand.

The rest of 2022 and early 2023 saw many new initiatives and partnerships. This included a partnership with OneFootball for Cool Cats FC, the debut of the SideKX and Shadow Wolves NFTs, and the signing of a long-term strategic partnership with Futureverse.

November 2023 saw Blue Cat’s biggest moment so far, as Cool Cats featured as part of Macy’s 2023 Thanksgiving Day Parade – watched by over 30 million people worldwide.

This parade appearance coincided with the debut of “The Milk Chug”, Cool Cats’ first animated series, created by lauded cartoon veterans Titmouse. The series had its official premiere in September 2024, with 13 weekly episodes set to air over the coming months.

On top of their cartoon debut, Cool Cats expanded into manga in July 2024 by partnering with Kodansha – known for publishing Akira and Attack on Titan – to produce a serialised Cool Cats series.

All this success hasn’t been without its setbacks. The partnership with Futureverse has been widely criticised, especially after the cancellation of their debut game in summer 2024. Following this came the departure of much of the core team, with some questioning Cool Cats’ commitment to their holders and wider web3 community.

What does the future hold for Cool Cats?

Clon has made his goal clear: to see Blue Cat become a cartoon icon. Cool Cats is his way to do that.

The collection signed with the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in March 2022, and especially following their anime cartoon and manga debuts, Cool Cats looks to be focused on attracting a mainstream audience.

The team has hinted at a number of future initiatives:

• Cooltopia: Although the Sapphire Town game was cancelled, the team continues to explore online experiences that could engage fans in the world of Cooltopia.
• Physical goods: From collectibles and clothing to plushies and more, Cool Cats merchandise has been well-received to date – and we’re sure there will be more to come.
• Animations: Should Series 1 of The Milk Chug be a success, it’s likely we’ll see additional animated productions featuring Blue Cat and the rest of the crew.
• Live events: Cooltopia 2022 at NFT.NYC was widely praised, and both fans and holders alike continue to hope for additional real-world experiences in future.

Although collections such as Bored Apes, Pudgy Penguins and Azuki take the lion’s share of the spotlight, Cool Cats continues to build solid foundations under the radar.

Clon has built a passionate community – one that believes in him, his vision, and the potential of Cool Cats. As The Milk Chug gathers impressive numbers – episode 5 gathering over 100,000 views in just 2 days – holders and fans alike continue to hope that Cool Cats could one day reach the same heights as its contemporaries.