Crypto Coven Founder: The Mysterious Power of Women in NFT Projects

Source: Web3 Revolution

Compiled by: JC, Alice Fang, and Chain Catcher

Introduction: Web3 Revolution is an English podcast exploring the Web3 space, connecting the most cutting-edge participants, actors, innovators, investors, and KOLs in this social experiment through dialogue. You can subscribe and listen to the show on Xiaoyuzhou, Spotify, Apple Podcast, RSS, and other general podcast clients. This podcast is sponsored by Mask Network (Mask.io).

The main character of this episode is Aletheia, one of the founders of the star NFT project Crypto Coven, as well as an aesthetic designer and digital artist. Crypto Coven features 9999 witch NFTs representing different races, powers, and emotions, and their powerful and feminine imagery has garnered widespread attention in the NFT space. Let’s unfold the story behind these mysterious witches.

Episode Breakdown:

• How was the Crypto Coven team formed?
• Aletheia's background and her Web3 career.
• What is the core design philosophy of Crypto Coven?
• How does the team ensure diversity and representation?
• The power of femininity and mysticism.
• How does the team interact with the Crypto Coven community?
• What are the plans for the bear market? Aletheia's advice for NFT builders.

Afra: Welcome to Web3 Revolution, I’m your host Hana. This is a series exploring the next generation of the internet. We invite builders and active participants of this internet revolution to engage in dialogue on the show. This podcast aims to educate and share information, providing users with accurate industry insights (listeners can subscribe and listen to the show on Xiaoyuzhou, Spotify, Apple Podcast, and other general podcast clients). The podcast content is not intended as investment advice, and in this episode, I will co-host with Hehe. I’m very excited to introduce our guest today, Aletheia. She is an aesthetic artisan, skilled in art and visual design, as well as emotional interpretation, and she is also a founder of the renowned NFT project Crypto Coven.

Hehe: Hi, I’m Hehe. Aletheia, welcome to Web3 Revolution.

Aletheia: Thank you for having me, hello to all the listeners.

Afra: Crypto Coven is the first NFT project I’ve been involved in. This series has released 9999 NFTs, representing witches of different races, powers, and emotions. One of the creators of this NFT series, Nyx (@nyx_eth), mentioned that the concept of witches was chosen because of their power and feminine imagery. So Aletheia, can you tell us some of the backstory? How did you form this team, and how did the idea of creating witches come about?

Aletheia: The inspiration for this idea came when Nyx and I were dyeing each other's hair during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also the peak time for cryptocurrencies and NFTs. While dyeing our hair, we discussed the popular projects that caught our attention during that time. We both agreed that Bored Ape Yacht Club was the hottest NFT project. However, we felt that the aesthetics of BAYC seemed very appealing to male users, or were designed for male users. We didn’t really see the type of art we were hoping for in NFT projects.

NFTs are a new field with a lot of opportunities and potential. So we decided to try to create something of our own. Nyx invited some friends to join: Keridwen (@keridweneth), Aradia (@aradiaeth), and Xuannü (@xuannu_eth). The five of us wanted to do something cool in the crypto world, and that’s how Crypto Coven was born. The development of the project has really exceeded our initial expectations, which is very fulfilling and has made every community participant feel a sense of belonging to the project. We are a very passionate and dedicated collective, with shared goals, helping each other out.

Afra: I’m curious about your background. Before coming up with this idea with Nyx, what industry were you in?

Aletheia: I majored in computer science. But what I really wanted to do in high school was art. I think you can guess how the story goes; my parents would say, "Well… I’m not sure if that’s a wise choice."

So I ultimately chose to do something more practical, and after graduation, I became a software engineer. But after working for a while, I realized that I didn’t really enjoy programming. Part of the reason was that most women in tech don’t have the same level of admiration as outstanding female leaders in other fields, and most of my colleagues were male. I was working at a gaming company, and a lot of my time and energy was spent figuring out how to get users to pay us more through gamified interactions, which made it hard for me to feel a sense of accomplishment.

So I decided to shift towards product design. I’ve always leaned towards more visual and creative things, but based on my experience, it would be a gradual transition.

So my first step was to start trying product design, where I could create more visual designs while still working with engineers and thinking from a software engineer-first mindset. At the same time, I started drawing and took classes whenever I had free time. Fortunately, I found a job as an illustrator. During those years, I was able to experience the joy of drawing while also making a living from it, which was really fun. But as I started to treat illustration as a job, I gradually realized that illustration work also comes with its own set of constraints that outsiders might not fully understand.

For example, you receive a request that might not be something you feel excited or aligned with; it could be a series of marketing-driven illustrations. I needed to persuade people to accept the product's selling points through illustration. In this creative process, there are always others calling the shots. While it was fortunate to receive such work, it can be unfulfilling for some. So I tried to move towards positions like art director or manager because, at that time, it seemed that if you were an artist, all you could do was take orders and be a tool. But if you could move up a bit further, you could gain more control over the creative process.

So towards the end of my job, I was doing more art direction and managing the team. And now, I’m about to start working full-time in Web3.

Afra: Woo! Congratulations!

Aletheia: Thank you. My dream is to do things that truly excite me; I’m someone who has a great passion for creation. I hope to work with talented and passionate people on things I find fulfilling and change people's lives. Fortunately, Crypto Coven has fulfilled all my wishes, and I’m really happy to work for it in the future.

Since this is our first time starting a project like this, we faced many challenges. From a technical perspective, I think Xuannü explained well all the challenges she faced when launching the smart contract. She is a very smart and focused person who self-taught Solidity to write smart contracts in two weeks and released the smart contract code with several other partners. She is someone who sees through things, and no one in our team had similar experience. Regarding complex coding issues, she wrote a particularly long article on Mirror detailing these challenges, and I recommend everyone to check it out.

Hehe: So far, what has been your biggest challenge? As I understand, for many projects, operating the community, marketing, and maintaining the overall atmosphere of the community can be very challenging.

Aletheia: In terms of community operation, I think the biggest challenge was the moment we launched the project. There are now some quite entrenched schemes or views on how a successful NFT project should operate. When we did some different things, or when we carefully disrupted some of the mainstream established steps, we received a lot of community feedback and pressure from various parties to follow the proven successful steps at the time.

Afra: What about the creative side? When designing ten thousand different NFTs, you need to create different names, different prototypes, and different combination algorithms. And for Crypto Coven itself, you need many unique astrological charts and beautiful decorative accessories. How did you accomplish all of this?

Aletheia: This was definitely a collective effort from the entire community. For the background description, Keridwen, as the professional writer in the team, thought of different ways and feelings to describe the image of the witches and created a huge tag library that could be assembled into five-sentence statements. Aradia is our naming expert; she categorized different naming methods in a storytelling manner, ensuring that each name was generated in a unique way related to each witch's prototype.

In terms of artistic creation, Nyx and I hand-drew about 1000 assets that formed the entire visual aesthetic of the witches. Each witch was divided into about 20 layers, giving us a lot of diversity and combinability.

Hehe: How did you design the body assets of the witches? For example, the face shape, hair, and these elements? What was the thought process behind all these combinations?

Aletheia: It was a gradual process. We started by deciding on the face shape, then the complexity of the head or hair. As we tried different ways to draw the witches, the foundational structure of the witches changed. At the same time, we needed to ensure there were many varieties and hairstyles. So we created various hairstyles, such as bangs, ponytails, and so on. We also wanted crowns like flower crowns or horns. At that time, we thought a lot about whether a witch could have bangs and a crown; should they appear in the same hairstyle? Or if they had a bun, should there be a ponytail?

As we worked on these, we received many references from the fashion industry. In fashion sketches, characters always strike very dynamic poses, with nothing being perfectly symmetrical, requiring some tension in the poses. For example, one shoulder of the witch is slightly higher than the other, conveying some tension or directionality, which I think sets us apart from other projects.

Afra: So, when you were creating these witches, how did you ensure that the diversity was recognized by the public? Did you make any extra efforts to ensure that this project had enough inclusivity or representation?

Aletheia: Keridwen wanted our witches to showcase high-quality diversity. This was inspired by Rihanna's lingerie line Fenty X Savage, which broke the traditional beauty standards that were largely represented by Victoria's Secret. A single body type represented beauty in mainstream culture. Fenty truly broke this, showcasing how different body types can look lovely, charming, and sexy.

Therefore, we hoped that the witches could also have that kind of impact. The expression of body individuality is a way we have life, so we have gentle witches and tough witches. Additionally, the face is another area we really focused on; I wanted to showcase different body types, and face shapes would also look different because everyone expresses their individuality differently on their face and body.

Hehe: I’m a woman who has worked in traditional tech startups and also in Web3 companies. I know that being the only woman in a team can sometimes put you in an uncomfortable position, whether on-site or in a Zoom meeting. I even feel self-conscious when speaking in front of a group of engineers.

I think in the NFT space, especially in representative or blue-chip projects, most are focused on male characters or gender-neutral roles, and there are few projects like Crypto Coven that are purely female-represented. That’s what excites me.

Aletheia: I think the NFT space reflects a broader situation in the tech field, where there are more men than women. It’s a tough battle for women to enter this field. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but getting those who are not familiar with technology involved means finding something they can connect with internally.

So Crypto Coven is about witches, about power, about female power, and the spiritual ideas in mysticism, which have a very strong appeal to women. Therefore, creating an attractive and popular community project is our way of drawing women into the crypto space.

Afra: When you and your co-founders were designing Crypto Coven, did you have a vision of what female holders would be like? What kind of people did you want to attract through this project? Did you predict what kind of people would buy these NFTs or mint NFTs?

Aletheia: Yes, of course. I think back to when I was 13. When you’re a 13-year-old girl excited about new things in the world, you’re filled with passion and enthusiasm in the culture that teenagers are exposed to. This scene is very clear in my mind; these teenagers are the kind of people we want to attract. So, like fan fiction writers on Tumblr or those who write quizzes like "If you liked this, which vampire character would you be?"

So, without considering too many factors, the project we launched was optimized to attract their interest. The way we write, the tone we use. If you want to call it marketing, we’ve done some small legendary snippets to get people to really read, digest, and be drawn into this crypto space.

Afra: You mentioned earlier that as a founder or project leader, you do feel a bit of pressure for the community. Can you elaborate on that? When do you feel the most difficult? Or have you ever felt like, "I shouldn’t be doing this"?

Aletheia: In the beginning, a lot of our pressure came from how to increase our social media following. At that time, many projects wanted to collaborate. But when we delved into what "collaboration" meant, more often than not, it simply meant, "We’ll give you one of our NFTs, and you give us one of yours, and let’s have all our followers mutually follow each other’s projects to win free NFTs." We deliberately chose not to do that because the community engagement it brought was not what we truly wanted.

We wanted to develop a relationship that excited people about the project’s story and characters, rather than treating our community member count as a bargaining chip for market value.

So doing this definitely led to slower growth in followers at the beginning. On the day Crypto Coven launched, we only had a few hundred followers. But those who chose to interact with us did so because they liked what we were doing. Therefore, followers tended to stay in the community, and we were able to achieve organic growth through word of mouth.

Even today, when I look at my Twitter timeline, it’s filled with witch-related content. The timeline is full of people talking about their witches, getting witch-related tattoos, and dressing like witches.

I think that consciously building a community and optimizing for the health and well-being of the community has created the community we see today. Those who have already joined the community have really adapted to our culture. It’s really gratifying to see that.

Then I remember something from a long time ago; we had a channel in our Discord called #Unveil-a-Witch, where people would post their witches. Everyone was talking about how beautiful their witches were, and we just gave lots of praise and affirmation. One day, a man came into that channel and shared his witch, saying, "Hey everyone, I just want my witch to get some praise. I don’t want to sell or give her away; come and compliment how beautiful my witch is." All the girls said, "I love her mushroom-like hair; she looks stunning." Then he said, "Thank you, now post your witch, and I’ll compliment her." I thought that was a very interesting thing.

Afra: I’d like to add that the same thing happens in the Chinese witch community. Everyone posts their witches and praises each other unconditionally. The sisterhood is so inclusive, warm, and sincere. Of course, sisterhood doesn’t only exist among women.

Aletheia: Yes, I’ve noticed that many interaction patterns among my male friends involve updating each other on their lives or playfully pushing each other around. They don’t have as much emotion when they interact, not as many conversations about feelings, and not as much friendly praise for each other.

So I think our community and culture can provide a space for men to try this kind of interaction and see how it feels. I hope they can bring some of those feelings into other relationships.

Hehe: Is the supportive atmosphere for creating art in the community now what you expected?

Aletheia: From what I see on Discord, many people are creating art and encouraging each other to create art, which is really touching. We do have a fairly active fan art community where people create their own and each other's witches.

Sometimes, as an artist, just drawing by yourself can be very lonely. Having a group of very passionate people cheering you on, at least for me, gives me the motivation to keep creating and doing good work. There are many such people in our community. I want to say that the subsequent derivative projects have become even more brilliant than the initial ones.

For example, Coven Cats, people said the team hoped the witches would have family, so could there be a little cat? We said we hope that one day it can happen, but for now, our roadmap is focused on other aspects of work. If you want, you can feel free to do it, and we will fully support you. Community members accepted this and went ahead with it.

Now, there’s a completely community-led project, Coven Cats, and it’s really wonderful to see that.

Afra: You draw a lot of elements from legends and mysticism. What’s magical about this? Why does this community thrive? Why do you think people are willing to invest their time and money into this community?

Aletheia: I think we try to guide community users with a sense of authenticity. When we launched the project, we deliberately set the motto "Lore, not floor," which we borrowed from Wizard's Cults. This means we are here to do creative work and have fun. We are here to create something fulfilling and beautiful, hoping it has meaning for ourselves and others. We intentionally shifted the focus away from price and finance. We have opened up an experimental space for people to engage with interests and emotional areas they usually don’t have the opportunity to explore. Community users can showcase their quirky sides, express creativity, and feel the trust and admiration of other community members in real-time.

Afra: We see various female-centered NFT projects; some donate money to female-related non-profit organizations, and some use NFTs as tickets for practical tools or educational courses to gain resources for real-world activities or career guidance. What are your thoughts on these female-led projects?

Aletheia: They are doing things we haven’t done. We don’t tend to choose donation strategies or do the other things you just listed because we want to focus on creating something that attracts people or resonates with them. In terms of providing practicality, I think practicality is a term that has been given too many meanings now. It’s the same on Twitter. I’m not attracted to the idea that if I buy an NFT, someone will donate somewhere. I think people have different preferences for how projects operate.

There are many types of projects in the current market, which means users have more investment choices, and they think their money should be invested wisely.

Afra: NFTs are a novel space for people. As you said, people can resonate, regardless of what it is, whether it has practicality, or simply using NFTs to express some emotions.

Aletheia: I see and understand people’s thoughts. They do think there are many scams in the crypto market. NFTs are still in their early stages, so you can see all kinds of ideas.

For the same reason, there isn’t much regulation in the NFT space. I don’t want to say it’s a gold mine for scammers, but if you do things without considering the consequences, you’re likely to encounter scams. But on the other hand, there are also people who want to build something truly new and exciting. I think it’s important to note that building something truly meaningful takes more time than launching a scam. While outsiders or those who are uninformed often hear about scams from NFTs, many people are quietly working hard, building things, and doing good. As long as you’re willing to put in the effort, you can find these people and build things with them.

It’s also related to the current market situation; Ethereum just experienced a significant drop. The bear market is definitely not a positive market state, but I think it will give people some time to really build without being distracted by bubbles, as bubbles often come with scams and other issues.

It seems that a lot of those things have diminished these days. Someone called me jokingly saying that when bots stop spamming you, you know the market is bad. I thought, yes.

Hehe: Yes, we know that the current environment is a bit challenging for all builders. So, what are your plans to get through the bear market and continue building? Are there any new project plans? Given the market situation, what advice do you have for new builders entering this space?

Aletheia: We are keeping a low profile and building for the next launch of the project, with details to be announced soon. Please keep an eye on our Twitter account (@crypto_coven). We will also be hosting two events at NFT.NYC, so a lot of time is being spent on event planning. Until the end of this month or the next few months, we are mainly busy with these two things.

For new builders, my advice is that entering the crypto space may feel intimidating, but there are many experienced people who are very willing to help others.

So don’t be afraid to take the initiative and ask questions, and don’t be afraid to dig deep into projects; you can try to learn from their potential mistakes. Many founders talk about how they did it, what they did, and sometimes share their learnings in the form of tweets. So if you find their accounts, definitely try to dig into those tweets and organize their wisdom when reaching out to them.

Another important aspect is that when you seek help, try to make your questions very specific, rather than saying, "Hey, I have an idea. Can I get 30 minutes of your time to chat?" Be more specific, like, "I have an idea involving an NFT project I want to do. Can you quickly browse through my thoughts to see if this idea is feasible? If you think it’s terrible, please tell me why." I think this will make people more willing to provide you with valuable information.

For us, if someone wants to build something, and they have passion, enthusiasm, and have invested time and effort into creating, we are very willing to help support and guide it to reach the goals people want to achieve.

Afra: I see a very vibrant witch community in Chinese. Sometimes the communication in the Chinese witch community doesn’t necessarily happen on Discord, and the language isn’t always English. So I feel that the community in China is thriving and has a strong presence in the Web3 scene there. Its influence hasn’t translated into what we see in the U.S. or other parts of the world. So I just want to know how projects should bridge this gap or how to better integrate communities from around the world?

Aletheia: That’s a good question. We do have a Chinese section on Discord, but as far as I know, most Chinese users communicate on WeChat.

Afra: There’s also a social media platform called "Jike," where many witch community members gather. So there are some huge spaces on the internet that many founders might not be aware of. I try to play the role of a community bridge and ensure I can provide some global community spirit. There are also many derivative things that will emerge, as you mentioned. The same applies to the Chinese community, where some DAOs are born from the community.

Aletheia: I’d love to see them! If you don’t mind, can you send me the links to these communities?

Afra: Of course. There’s a DAO that uses the Chinese astrological system to predict the future.

Aletheia: I saw a post on Twitter; it looks like a Bagua diagram.

Afra: Some organizations like BaguaDAO have just been established; it’s a smaller DAO, but I believe DAOs will be very powerful in the future. Then there’s the Coven DAO Discord, which seems to have a lot of Chinese members.

Aletheia: Thank you. But I think it’s difficult to explain some newer concepts or ways of thinking, such as Coven Cats, which is a community-operated project that we didn’t participate in creating or in deciding the minting price rules. What we observed is that some NFT holders from China were unhappy that the NFTs were not free to mint. It’s hard for us to explain that this is a community project. This is not something we did, so we have no control over it.

Afra: Okay, thank you very much, Aletheia, for being a guest on our podcast. If you’re interested in checking out Crypto Coven, please follow their Twitter @cryptocoven. If you’re interested in other content from Web3 Revolution, make sure to follow us on Twitter @w3revolutionio, and we also have a website. Stay tuned. Thank you for listening. And thank you for being here, Aletheia.

Aletheia: Thank you for inviting me. This was really fun.