The Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the authority on the conservation status of the world's species, assures that the koala population is in the process of decline and, therefore, it is vulnerable to extinction.
In 2016, experts estimated a population of around 330,000 koalas, which represented an average decrease of 24% in the population compared to the three previous generations.
Before the fires in Australia in 2020, there was already talk that this species was "functionally extinct", a term coined by the Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) in a statement to affirm that there was no more than 80,000 Koalas in the country.
During the fires in Australia, images started to appear of defenseless koalas before the flames were about to be rescued. According to local estimates, between 350 and 1,000 dead koalas were found during the fires.
A problem that can be solved
The koala is of great importance within the Australian ecosystem. For millions of years it has been key to the health of eucalyptus forests. This is because they eat the upper leaves of these trees and their excrement helps the recycling of nutrients in the soil. Therefore, if the koala population decreases and stops performing these functions, the ecosystem will suffer.
Their vulnerability to fires is evident, since their only way out is to climb towards the top of the eucalyptus trees in which they live, which were severely devastated by the 2020 forest fires, due to global warming.
With COP 26 on the rise and new efforts to lower the earth's temperature by 1.5 degrees, attempts to reverse this situation will take time to materialize, if there really is political will to do so.
In this sense, the time factor is vital here to guarantee the survival of endangered species such as koalas; the main reason that has prompted the artists of the KRebels project to generate a unique collection of NFTs to protect this defenseless animal.
Enters: KRebels - Koala NFTs
KRebels is the first project to use non-fungible tokens (NFTs) issued through blockchain technology to raise awareness of the dangers inherent in climate change and its devastating effects on vulnerable species such as Australian koalas.
9,999 works of art tokenized on the Ethereum blockchain inspired by koalas are part of the theme of this collection presented by the KRebels Project, in order to generate the necessary resources to support foundations in charge of safeguarding this species, at the same time as raising awareness in the digital art loving crypto community.
KRebels is an innovative NFT project focusing on the intersection of cutting-edge technology, art, and saving the endangered Koala.
With KRebels NFTs it will be possible to preserve koalas beyond the virtual world, extrapolating these species to a virtual environment such as metaverses; where holders of these rare and unique NFTs will be able to use it in digital koala reserves on the Metaverse Blockchain.
NFTs to raise awareness for endangered species
The market for non-fungible tokens (NFT) is on the rise, although it may seem difficult to understand for most newbies. However, interest continues to grow in and out of this ecosystem as more artists, musicians, collectors and investors of all sizes converge in this digital world.
According to NonFungible.com, there are currently more than 500 million dollars in sales in this market, at a daily average of $ 2,666 of daily sales among the different digital collectibles issued on the blockchain, including everything from the arts to metaverses.
KRebels wants to take advantage of this ‘euphoria’ around NFTs to raise awareness in a sustainable project that can serve as inspiration for the preservation of the species through the fun use of digital collectibles with utility within the blockchain ecosystem.
The NFT collection of koalas is the first step of an ambitious project that aims to touch the most sensitive fibers of the crypto community and especially, of those who believe in the possibility that blockchain technology can help change the world into one in which species diversity is possible.
The collectibles market is proving to be a vital aspect of the growth of NFTs. And KRebels is developing a solid foundation to become a major player in this market segment.
With the KRebels NFTs, digital art collectors will be able to experience the power of blockchain technology while supporting a noble cause, which from the investor's point of view, can be an asset with great potential in the immediate future given the originality of the concept and innovation of combining technology with structural problems of daily life such as endangered species.
How does it work?
KRebels foresees in five simple steps the minting of NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain through a simple and powerful interface of digital works of art that can then be commercialized in decentralized marketplaces such as OpenSea.
The goal of the platform is to allow holders of digital koalas to participate in educational awareness events about this species while at the same time using their tokenized collectibles to play and be able to win cryptocurrencies inside and outside the metaverses.
To do this, its roadmap is based on six key points:
1.- Community: As the owner of a koala NFT, you will have participation rights and a voice in the management of the project and improvements to be implemented, in the best style of decentralized governance.
2.- Charity: The KRebels project has committed to giving a percentage of its profits to projects focused on the preservation of koalas.
3.- New World: As we have mentioned previously, the KRebels NFT koalas will be able to be used in the future in digital reserves within the blockchain metaverse.
4.- Video games: Within the metaverses, holders of the Koala NFT can use them in games within this virtual world, which will allow them to earn cryptocurrencies with them.
5.- Airdrop: KRebels foresees the launch of a token and a new collection after the launch of the first generation of KRebels NFTs as a way to reward its community.
6.- Long life: As part of the sustainability of the project, KRebels foresees a percentage of the royalty fees being returned to the community, in order to generate a circular economy with the holders of their NFTs.