The projects I mention here are likely to sell out fast because of the interest around them, but may not be good long-term investments. In fact, some of them might be outright scams.

My mentioning a project here also doesn’t mean I’m going to invest in it myself. I may lose interest in the time between writing this and its launch, I may get priced out, or I may simply choose to allocate my funds elsewhere.

So, to sum up: Reading this post is only the first step in your research. Now it’s up to you to gather the intel necessary for you to make a decision about whether to buy a given project or not. With that being said, let’s take a look at some promising projects.

Bunny Buddies

Bunny Buddies is a collection of 8,888 hand-drawn, 3D style, hyper-detailed bunnies created by the digital native artist Rhabbitz. Rhabbitz, aka Ryan Robinson, a member of the artist group Yobritish, has spent the past decade working on artistic projects for some of the biggest hip-hop artists in the world like Kodak Black, Juice WRLD, XXXTentacion, 21 Savage, Gucci Mane, and Playboi Carti.

For now, there’s no grand vision, detailed roadmap, or (empty) promises behind the project. What’s been teased so far is branded merchandise, expansion of the bunny collection, a way to evolve your Bunny Buddies, and a move into the metaverse.

What I really like about this project is the artwork, the hip-hop theme, the doxxed team members, and the massive interest in the project. As of this writing, the Bunny Buddies Discord server just passed 300,000 members.

I also like their raffle system which serves to prevent a massive gas war on launch. It does mean you need some luck to get in though. If you haven’t already registered, you can join the raffle here.

• When? February 21, 2 pm UTC
• How many? 8,888
• How much? 0.25 ETH

The Monkey Design Club

To be completely honest, I have a really hard time understanding what The Monkey Design Club is trying to do. They talk a lot about building a perfect ecosystem, developing an application, connecting the community, building a metaverse, and some play-to-earn stuff as well. I have no idea what any of it means in practice.

What I do like is the art sneak peeks they’ve shared so far. The project also seems to have gotten quite a lot of hype with 20,000 Discord members and lots of engagement. This is obviously no guarantee of success or even a legit project, so I’d definitely recommend proceeding with caution on this one.

• When? February 21, 8 pm UTC
• How many? 5,555
• How much? 2.5 SOL

BAPES Clan

BAPES Clan is essentially an investment fund and the first of its kind. As a BAPES NFT owner, you’re considered a co-investor and co-owner of the crypto-native / Web3 / metaverse companies the community as a whole decides to invest in.

The project was founded by a team of successful businessmen and -women with a massive squad of ambassadors around them. They’re all fully doxxed as well, a huge plus in a space filled with anons and the occasional scammer.

The unique artwork is handcrafted and digitized by Shaikh Danial, an award-winning creative director, consultant, social and media entrepreneur with more than a decade of experience working with 21st Century Fox, Universal Pictures, Disney, Pixar, World Bank Group, United Nations, and Google.

These NFTs aren’t cheap though, with a mint price of 0.5 ETH. If the team delivers on its promises it may very well be worth it, but I’ll leave that up for you to decide.

Lastly, note that the launch takes place on Polygon, so you’ll need to bridge your ETH from Mainnet to the Polygon Network before the launch.

• When? February 22
• How many? 10,000
• How much? 0.5 ETH

Bored Doge Club

If I only judged this project on its website, I’d probably take a hard pass. The name is clearly derived from the Bored Ape Yacht Club, not exactly unique and innovative. There’s no long-term goal or mission behind the project. The team is completely anonymous.

Here’s why I’m still going to keep a close eye on this project. First up, the artwork is pretty cool. And it’s based on the doge meme, a crowd favorite in the crypto community. It seems to be working as well if you consider the 170,000 Discord members supporting the project.

• When? February 23
• How many? 10,000
• How much? 0.1 ETH

Invisible Friends

Last but certainly not least, we’ve got Invisible Friends. I actually saved it for last because it’s so massively hyped that I assume you already heard about it and because there won’t be a public mint. If you’re not on the access list already, you probably won’t make it.

What’s really attracted people’s interest is the unique and awesome animated 3D artwork. It’s created by Markus Magnusson, aka Motion Markus, an animator, artist, and member of Random Character Collective, aka “the Internet’s friendliest animator collective”.

I love the artwork, I love the brand of the creators behind it, and I love the excitement around the project. I’d also love to buy an Invisible Friend but sadly expect to be priced out when they hit the secondary market. I will keep a close eye on it though, and I suggest you do the same!

• When? February 23
• How many? 5,000
• How much? 0.25 ETH

That’s it for now. I’d love to hear from you if you found this guide useful. Is there something you’d like me to change in the next one? Any feedback is highly appreciated. Thank you!