Halloween Crypto Special Pokes Fun At NFTs

The Simpsons Halloween Special is a mainstay of the long-running cartoon's year. This year, the writers decided to take aim at the crypto space, and particularly the inflated valuations of some tokens, as Homer uploads Bart to the blockchain as a living NFT.

In the episode, the Springfield Museum Of Art closes down, opting instead to digitize its artworks on the blockchain as NFTs, "Whatever the hell those are." Homer and Bart gain access to the museum's E-Z Funge art digitizer with the aim of converting their own "crappy art" into "computer money". Their test, Bart's butt, does not go well, since tokenizing the item destroys it.

In-Jokes Galore

Marge then tokenizes herself to rescue Bart, finding herself on the Blocktrain (a FOMO-powered vehicle speeding forever through the loveless icy world created by crypto-bros). She raises her value by killing other NFTs (including a lot of cats) until she gains access to the same carriage as Bart, rescuing him just before FOMO ends and prices plummet—to the consternation of Homer, who has just tokenized himself to sell to Mr Burns.

The episode is heavy on in-jokes, many of which will go entirely over the heads of non-degens. And the criticism (such as 99% of NFTs having zero value) is not without merit...

Anyone familiar with the NFT space will be impressed at the level of understanding the Simpsons' writers have of the technology and culture, indicating that someone on the team has done a lot of research—or, perhaps, has been spending too much of their time aping into degen projects when they should have been working...

NFT Space Responds

Of course, the NFT space was quick to respond, as it always is. Within hours, new collections were hitting OpenSea.

Despite rudimentary artwork and an anonymous creator, Springfield Punks has a floor price of 0.28 ETH ($500) and has seen almost 900 ETH of volume since it launched—netting its founder $85,000 in royalties.

Not enough to gain access to the carriage with Jaded Apes and other crypto royalty, but very respectable, nonetheless.

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