Each year since 2015, CoinDesk has released its annual “10 Most Influential in Blockchain,” a series of articles designed to profile the people making the biggest impact on the cryptocurrency and blockchain world (for better and for worse). This year, they decided to enhance the format and celebrate the rise of NFTs by issuing a series of collectible ERC-721s corresponding to the listed influencers.

The origins of the listicle reach back past living memory, but it wasn’t until recently that their effectiveness as clickbait made them pervasive. They’re even cropping up in the venerable New York Times. While they’re often dismissed as cheap and formulaic, the effectiveness of the listicle is undeniable. Buzzfeed’s 200 million unique monthly visitors can’t be wrong. So, in the spirit of number-driven journalism, we’ve collected some statistics from the project.

First, let’s recap who made the list:

• Brenna Sparks, prophecies fulfilled: 1
• Jeremy Allaire, stablecoins launched: 1
• Hester Pierce, SEC seats occupied: 1
• Tom Jessup, bridges to Wall Street initiated: 1
• Glen Weyl, books published: 1
• Jed McCaleb, XLM <> IBM partnerships established: 1
• XRP Army, shill cultures entrenched: 1
• Nouriel Roubini, moon trips planned: 0
• Elizabeth Stark, lightning bolts thrown: 13,000
• Chanpeng Zhao, Binance tattoos received: 1

The Auctions

CoinDesk issued 3 NFTs per personality, then created Dutch auctions on OpenSea for each of them, prices starting at 0.1 ETH and declining to 0.01 ETH. Incidentally, before the auctions had even begun one OpenSea user had already placed 4 bids on the items. From the time the first item was listed to the time the last item sold, 6 hours and 20 minutes elapsed. They all sold at prices within a few thousandths of 0.096 ETH. However, there have only been 5 sales after CoinDesk’s initial 30, the highest of which was for 0.75 ETH.

Remarkably, a single address now holds over 1/3 of these collectibles and the remainder of the supply is held by just 6 other addresses. In an effort to gain a favorable position in the secondary market, these power users may have calcified the market instead.

If you’re looking to make the cheapest possible investment in the series, 2 ETH will buy you any one of three collectibles. And if you’re curious about the other end of the spectrum, the highest asking price, shared by two tokens, is 110 ETH. If you’re looking to acquire the full set, you can also save yourself some time by purchasing a bundle containing tokens 1–10.

5 of the 10 most valuable stamps in the world earned their positions by virtue of their status as misprints. But NFT collectors don’t seem to put as much stock in such things if an absence of sales of the misprinted Elizabeth Stark card is a trustworthy indicator.

Popularity contest

The most viewed item? Brenna Sparks, of course. Be sure to scroll down and check out the offers on the card linked in the previous sentence; there’s an offer for 69 DAI from an unforgettably named OpenSea user. Brenna’s popularity on OpenSea is consistent with her popularity elsewhere; she’s by far the most searched name on the list. Only Nouriel Roubini can occasionally compete with her popularity.

In addition to the NFTs discussed above, CoinDesk also partnered with Dapper Labs to release 17 special edition CryptoKitties and with ChibiFighters to release 6 limited edition Chibi Fighters. Check out the selection of 7 Catzys, 10 Purremy Allaires, 3 battling Brennas, and 3 Glens on OpenSea!

By issuing a set of NFTs that correspond to items on the list, a publisher is not just creating a list that might become irrelevant in a week — it’s initiating a market with greater longevity and cross-platform activity. Would you buy an NFT of this type to socially signal your endorsement of its subject? Would you buy an NFT like this if it gave your comment on the article a top slot? How about if it gave you some power in selecting the next round of influencers? Comment below if you believe that CoinDesk hasn’t meaningfully expanded on the listicle format and let us know why!

To see what else is brewing in the world of NFTs, join us over at the OpenSea Discord server, follow us on Twitter, or check out the rest of our work on Medium. Let us know who should have made the list!