$WHALE is a new 'social currency' issued by WhaleShark Pro, who is likely the most avid collector of NFT's to date. This new curremcy is unlike anything that has been done to date in the social currency ecosystem, as it's value is determined, and supported, by the value of the collection of NFT's in The Vault (a dedicated wallet to hold the collection, which will be controlled by the community of HODL'rs through a DAO-style governance system.  

 $WHALE's value (based on the value of the vault) is audited by the experts at nonfungible.com and may have potential to exceed this valuation as a very large number of people have already partnered with the project, and are willing to accept $WHALE as a currency for their NFT's on the OpenSea marketplace either for their original artwork, or other items from their personal collections. For all of the official statements from the man himself, you can read his statements, his vision, etc. on his Cent.co profile by following this link.  The initial valuation statement regarding The Vault can be found here

At least 300 or more people were active in the official $WHALE discord for the launch event, during which a limited number of active attendees were able to get airdrops of $WHALE to add to their crypto-portfolios. While the past couple weeks have been a rollercoaster of virtual conferences and events, the launch of $WHALE is certainly one of the most exciting (at least for NFT enthusiasts like myself). 



Almost immediately, the discord started to get flooded with memes, including this one I made, and people began adding $WHALE to the list of accepted currencies in their personal marketplaces on OpenSea. There was even a livestream of the launch event, that had well over 200 viewers, and added over 100 new people to the streamers follower list. This project is certain to offer a mutual communtiy for all sorts of people in the NFT ecosystem, and I'm proud to be one of the first 10 registered artist partners to have gotten involved. 

You may be thinking "what useability does this hold" and I'll happily give you a number of examples. 
1. Dozens of cryptoartists, and other NFT collectors are already accepting $WHALE for their NFTs 
2. As more people adopt personal tokens and create personal economics, individuals will be able to offer their own personal tokens that are the exclusive method of purchase for goods/services in exchange for $WHALE tokens
3. Freelancing for $WHALE
4. Accepting $WHALE as payment for digital real estate, or for advertising/rentals/event hosting within that space.
5. As the community of HODL'rs and the value of the vault continue to grow, accepting $WHALE as a payment could potentially add to their visibility/audience
6. community contests/game tournaments etc.

If you're thinking this is a carefully crafted way for someone to gain recognition or wait for the perfect time for an exit strategy, I implore you to read the official documentation at the links provided, or to simply read through the posts and announcements regarding the release, and I'll point out that as for recognition, WhaleShark is the only name we know him by, as he values his privacy (though a few select people have had in-depth video calls with him to verify that his claims are legitmate.)

So what is $WHALE, and why has it been created? $WHALE is an NFT focused currency, supported by the NFT's in The Vault, and it has been issued to give the NFT and cryptoart community a common ground through which individuals and communities can come together; as well as to support creators in the space and to drive further awareness and adoption of NFT assets and the future of asset ownership.  If you'd enjoyed this article, or others I've written, drop me a follow! I'm very enthusiastic about the NFT ecosystem, and will likely continue to write about it more often than other topics. 

Additionally, you can check out my podcast/newsletter called NF-Tea Time, and follow my social profiles listed on this page.

Podcast - NF-Tea Time with BruceTheGoose
Newsletter- NF-Tea Time : Written Edition

hanks for reading, feel free to comment questions, feedback, topic requests etc. Happy HODL'ing!

Yours in decentralization,
   BruceTheGoose