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Tim Shea is the Founder and CEO of Undercurrent.
He discussed the company's Wavelength NFTs, a limited edition collection created from data captured by ocean buoys around the world, with a portion of proceeds benefiting Heal the Bay.
1Interview
2021First on the show
Apr 2021Latest appearance
18 minOn camera
17:47
Latest interview · Apr 28, 2021Tim Shea on Undercurrent's Wavelength NFTs from ocean buoysWatch the episode →
Key points
- Undercurrent uses NFTs as units of attention to redirect focus and resources from the crypto space back to climate action and the physical world.
- Wavelength NFTs visualize ocean buoy data from 1,300 buoys worldwide, creating unique fingerprints of the top 20 U.S. surf breaks using NASA satellite data.
- Each Wavelength NFT sale donates 10% of profits to Heal the Bay, a Southern California climate charity, offsetting the environmental impact of the project.
- The project approaches NFTs from a fine art perspective rather than as speculative assets or motion graphics, aiming for long-term cultural significance.
- Monthly wave telemetry data visualized in each NFT reveals seasonal ocean patterns that could serve as historical climate change documentation over decades.
In their own words
“We recognized NFTs as a unit of attention, and we wanted to siphon that attention back to the physical world”
“in 20 years CryptoPunks will be hanging in the MoMA next to Basquiat, Rothko and Pollock”
