Overview
I. Top News
II. Sales Report
II. Recent Proposals
IV. Town Halls
V. A Look Ahead
I. Top News
Botto has hit 2025 running in a January marked by landmark sales, huge leaps in its code art capabilities, and a windfall of active reward incentives for BottoDAO voters. Over the past few weeks, the Botto community has congregated around the training of p5.botto as we venture to narrow down thousands of Botto’s outputs down to just 22 completed works.
The primary sale of the storied Genesis period work Err Hold, coupled with the revenue received from Botto’s Sotheby’s sale in the Fall, are leading to what may be the most robust Active Rewards season seen so far.
Elsewhere, CyborgDAO recently published an interview with Mario Klingemann, and recent Twitter Spaces have given the DAO a chance to dive deeply into the ideas behind Botto’s code art: Botto p.5 (Jan 16) and Is Botto’s Art Any Good? (Jan 31st).
p5.Botto Approaches its Final Form
Botto’s p5.js training is nearing its completion, and Botto has begun pruning the thousands of code art works it has created to achieve a final selection of 22 algorithms to be auctioned by Verse. Each algorithm will be offered fully on chain
Over 500 voters in the Botto community have participated in providing feedback to Botto’s sketches, contributing over 35,000 votes to guide Botto’s creative direction, and the DAO is eagerly anticipating the final results.
A fuller picture on the ins and outs of Botto’s code art experiments can be found here.
Key info for collectors
On February 11th, pre-sales will open for the release of a x/x/1000 edition of Geometric Fluidity #000, the highest voted algorithm from Botto’s initial p5.js training phase.
On February 18th, the final 22 algorithms will be exhibited at Solos Gallery in London, with an opening reception from 6-9pm.
Two of the final 22 algorithms from p5.botto will be reserved for the BottoDAO treasury, and the remaining 20 will be released for auctions at a rate of 5 per day over the course of 4 days.
An Err Hold Blockbuster
Err Hold is officially under new ownership after a landmark 100 ETH sale concludes a thrilling 48 hr auction.
After an incredibly competitive vote on BIP-73 to sell the previously unsold Genesis period work, Err Hold, to Kanbas, the DAO moved forward with bringing the work to auction at a reserve price of 75 ETH after receiving a bid for that amount by a mystery collector who goes by the moniker El Grande Penguino.
The DAO quickly moved to create and vote on BIP-74 to allow a 75 ETH reserve, and the ensuing 48hr auction closed at an even 100 ETH from El Grande.
This total ties the high water mark for a Botto primary sale in ETH terms, and comes in second in USD terms (at $333.8k) to Botto’s second ever minted work, Scene Proceed.
Rewards Aplenty
The DAO has received the proceeds from Botto’s Fall Sotheby’s auction, and 40% of that revenue will be distributed to Botto voters throughout the current period as Active Rewards.
In addition, the aforementioned sale of Err Hold and the forthcoming proceeds from p5.Botto will both be contributing boosts to Active Rewards. Long story short, it’s a good season for dedicated Botto voters.
Governance Gets Botted
January saw the debut of BottoDAO’s new AI governance agent, AG1, which is now tracking all interactions within the Discord while learning about all the DAO’s past governance activity from BIPs and Voting metrics.
DAO members can converse with AG1 with requests for info and insight on all governance related matters. The agent is learning to track, note, and highlight noteworthy governance behavior. And it is currently undergoing testing to autonomously ideate proposals for the DAO to consider.
We held a Twitter Space on January 8th to discuss the progress of AG1’s development, which you can listen to here.
II. Sales Report
January saw the closing of 3 auctions, which together produced 27.8 ETH in total sales and royalties before fees.
Total Rewards for January
Total Sales: 33.04 ETH
Total Active Rewards: 13.216 ETH
Total to Treasury: 13.216 ETH
Total to POL: 6.608 ETH
These totals include revenues from the Sotheby’s sale (dispersed equally throughout each week of the period) and royalties from secondary sales.
#001, Mythic Picnic Under Coral Tree
Acquired by: @elgrandepenguino
Price Realized: 12.6 ETH
#002, Alien Gardner Contemplates Earthly Blooms
Acquired by: @bott0x
Price Realized: 9 ETH
#003, Planetary Reliquary
Acquired by: al_fernandz
Price Realized: 6.2 ETH
III. Proposal Roundup
Recently Passed:
BIP-74: Err Hold Auction w/ 75ETH Reserve
This BIP follows the narrowly failed BIP-73 that proposed selling the Genesis period work Err Hold to the collector, Kanbas. After approval, Err Hold was brought to auction at a reserve of 75 ETH, resulting in a bidding war that brought the final hammer price to 100 ETH.
Upcoming:
This BIP proposes a new initiative that sees the DAO commission artists to create commemorative artworks at the conclusion of each Botto period.
BIP-75: Initiation of Botto BooksThis BIP proposes funding for a self-publishing initiative in which the DAO will produce a limited edition book to represent each of Botto’s periods, beginning with the Genesis period.
BIP-76: Letting Botto Choose Its Own Descriptions
This BIP proposes that Botto be granted autonomy in selecting the description for its weekly minted artworks, and eliminating the current description voting process.
IV. Town Halls
In this Townhall, we share significant updates including transitioning the Townhall to new Twitter/X Spaces and exciting progress on agents. Eric has been pivotal in these developments, and we discuss the upcoming new period and the launch of the p5.Botto project.
The primary focus is on the progress and development of a new internal platform for spinning up agents, highlighting the governance structure of Botto that documents all major decisions. We also discuss the evolving nature of Botto as a renowned AI artist, the implementation of functional agents for better governance, and the upcoming p5 launch where Botto self-evolves its algorithms through a new evolution protocol.
The conversation also touches on governance challenges, rewarding contributing DAO members, and Eric’s updates on agent developments. Finally, we explore Botto’s potential as both an art engine and a community-driven project, looking ahead to an exciting future in scaling the DAO and improving governance participation.
V. A Look Ahead
-p5.Botto is a couple weeks away from its full realization, and we're sure that there will be much discussion to come about Botto's entry into the traditions of generative art.
-There's growing buzz about an incoming agent swarm to support the Botto ecosystem, keep your eyes peeled for more info.
