Moneta Divina

Moneta Divina: Divine Currency

Moneta Divina is my steampunk bitcoin art triptych: three animated artworks about the dollar-based fiat money system and the divine alternative that replaces it.

Three animated bitcoin artworks

Each of the three pieces uses a steampunk visual style reminiscent of Sound Money Stronghold and focuses on the issues with the dollar-based fiat money system, presenting bitcoin as the solution to the monetary madness.

1. Intervention focuses on fiat inflation, portraying the creation and development of bitcoin as an interventional act to solve the problems fiat currencies are bringing the world.

2. Transmutation shows a gloomy depiction of what's happening behind the scenes of the fiat money system, and how bitcoin is transforming the world for the better amidst the destruction.

3. Transcendence takes a more spiritual approach, showing the transformation of economic energy through 7 chakras in a meditative journey transcending the physical world.

The Title

"Moneta Divina" presents Bitcoin as Divine Currency. My earlier collection, Novus Moneta Seclorum, played on the Latin phrase "Novus Ordo Seclorum" to present Bitcoin as the New Currency for the Ages. This one takes the next step: from new currency to divine currency.

The NFT collection for Moneta Divina released on Nifty Gateway September 27th, 2021.

In addition to the main 3 animations (approximately 1 minute each), I created a set of 21 shorter animations, isolating animated elements and encapsulating 7 components of each of the 3 animations for a full set of 21. Each runs exactly 21 seconds, and they can be seen in the pack collection on Nifty Gateway.

Femme Satoshi's Most Divine Form

Over time, I've evolved my Satoshi icon character, beginning with more basic redesigns of the Guy Fawkes mask back in 2018, to more streamlined and elaborate Satoshi characters over the years, including the Femme Satoshi mask and characters.

Earlier depictions of Satoshi in a more spiritual or divine form include my Alex Grey-inspired pieces (Virus en Numeros, Fiat Accompli),

and Creation & Destruction, in which I depicted Satoshi as both Brahma the creator and Shiva the destroyer.

Bitcoin as the Solution to Fiat Inflation

Inflation is the primary focus of the story. Each of the three pieces explores a different take on the relationship between fiat inflation and bitcoin, demonstrating visually that inflation is a very real problem in our world today, and arguably the most important economic reason for bitcoin's creation in the first place.

Part 1: INTERVENTION

"The act of interfering with the outcome or course especially of a condition or process (as to prevent harm or improve functioning)".

The first piece in Moneta Divina focuses on:

1) The source of USD inflation: the fractional reserve central banking system.

2) The impact it has on the world: the destruction of value and savings, funneling all the free and cheap money to bankers while we're left to watch the dollar's value get destroyed.

3) Bitcoin: a money system which fixes the destructive fictional reserve system and gives the world a better form of money. Fix the money, fix the world.

The animation begins with a close shot of the giant owl overseeing money printing operations at the Fictional Reserve bank, making sure the printer keeps pumping that Funny Money at ever-increasing rates.

As we zoom out, we see the full Fictional Reserve building and its infinite dollar printer in action. Detailed touches include GMO money plants growing out of control, earth depicted as a fiat lake of fire, and a wolf chomping on his own stream of dollar revenues from the Fictional Reserve's loose monetary policies.

Characters

Cuckoo Bird (Fictional Reserve)

Sound Design

I created the audio track for Intervention using a thoughtful selection of sound FX and a licensed music track, Hooligan Swing by Soundroll.

In addition to the full animated artwork, Intervention features three individual smaller animations showcasing the intricately detailed vector artwork:

1) Fictional Reserve
2) Dollar Octopus
3) Bitcoin Citadel

The Intervention Collector's Acrylic Panel is a limited edition of 21, with the full animation viewable in augmented reality through the free Artivive app.

Part 2: TRANSMUTATION

"The act or process of changing something completely, especially into something different".

Possibly my most elaborate and highly detailed artwork to date, Transmutation shows a gloomy depiction of our present-day situation, with governments manufacturing demand for fiat currency by taking on more and more debt through things like military expenditures, and generally things that make the world a worse place.

The piece is composed using a heaping pile of mechanical junk,

intricately layered and opened in a cross-section revealing a factory assembly line at the base of the image, which illustrates the conversion of government debt into an endless flow of newly printed dollars, and thus inflation.

Once these toxic debt bags are filled to maximum capacity, they're passed on to the magic money printer, where money is created out of thin air and funneled directly to a private bank, plus interest!

When the money gets to the bank (they print, we pay), it's funneled directly into balloons so the bankers can run off with all the money before the inflation takes hold.

At this point in our story, the bank burns up and explodes along with the entire monetary system, leaving a hole for a new system to come in and replace it.

Enter: the Better Money Tree

The Better Money Tree is composed of 100% digital cogs bearing the bitcoin logo and bitcoin-inspired messaging, each spinning independently in the Transmutation animation.

Inhabiting the Better Money Tree are the BTC Eagle (representing liberty and freedom), the Bitcoin Orange Crow (representing truth and knowledge), and the Bitcoin Sparrow, representing bitcoin as a peaceful protest against a fiat money system that can only be enforced by violence.

In addition to the full animated artwork, Transmutation features five individual smaller animations:

1) Debt Bombers

Low-Flying Debt Bomber

BTC Orange Pill Bomber

Big Debt Bomber

BIG Orange Pill Bomber

2) Up, Up, & Away

This is the getaway scene. The bankers' balloons, stuffed with freshly printed dollars straight off the assembly line, lift off and float away from the chaos below. The people who created the inflation don't stick around to pay for it. They rise above it, carried by the very currency they debased, while everyone on the ground gets left holding the bill.

The balloon is the perfect vehicle for the metaphor because that's exactly what a fiat dollar is: something inflated, weightless, and drifting further out of reach the longer you stare at it. Up, up, and away goes the purchasing power. This animation isolates that moment so you can watch the theft in slow motion.

The Up, Up, & Away acrylic panel captures this scene as a 40x40cm encapsulated collector edition.

3) Birds in the Trees

BTC Eagle: inspired by the Federal Reserve seal's eagle, the BTC Eagle carries the banner of Better Money. Detailed touches include layered wings (feathers animate individually), a set of cogs (nodes) representing Bitcoin's decentralized network structure in the eagle's right claw, and a rocket representing Bitcoin's pumpamentals in its left claw.

Bitcoin Orange Crow: modeled after a blackbird/raven, using color tones centered around bitcoin orange.

Bitcoin Sparrow: a small, peaceful bird, also created using machine parts.

4) Market Participants

Bear Market Elephant

Bull Market Elephant

Bitcoin Minotaur, a humanoid bull

Bitcoin Bear: modeled after a grizzly bear, created using 100% repurposed digital machine parts.

Bitcoin Tiger: modeled after a Japanese tiger, created using 100% repurposed digital machine parts.

Bitcoin Lion: created using 100% repurposed digital machine parts.

5) Moneta Divina

The fifth animation is the title piece itself: the Femme Satoshi goddess at the center of the artwork, the most divine form of the Satoshi character I've been evolving since 2018. She's the still point of the whole collection. Around her, debt factories burn and balloons full of dollars drift away, but the divine currency at the center doesn't move. That contrast is the entire thesis of Moneta Divina in one frame.

Part 3: TRANSCENDENCE

"Existence or experience beyond the normal or physical level".

In contrast to both Intervention and Transmutation, Transcendence takes a fully 3D and metaphysical approach to animated visuals, focusing on the chakras and drawing parallels between what each symbolizes and money.

1) Root

Provides a base or foundation for bitcoin's security, making it possible to securely verify that a transaction has been accepted by the network.

The root chakra, or Muladhara, is located at the base of your spine. It provides you with a base or foundation for life, and it helps you feel grounded and able to withstand challenges. Your root chakra is responsible for your sense of security and stability.

2) Sacral

The sacral chakra, or Svadhisthana, is located just below your belly button. This chakra is responsible for your sexual and creative energy. It's also linked to how you relate to your emotions as well as the emotions of others.

3) Solar Plexus

The solar plexus chakra, or Manipura, is located in your stomach area. It's responsible for confidence and self-esteem, as well as helping you feel in control of your life.

4) Heart

The heart chakra, or Anahata, is located near your heart, in the center of your chest. It comes as no surprise that the heart chakra is all about our ability to love and show compassion.

5) Throat

The throat chakra, or Vishuddha, is located in your throat. This chakra has to do with our ability to communicate verbally.

6) Third Eye

The third eye chakra, or Ajna, is located between your eyes. You can thank this chakra for a strong gut instinct. That's because the third eye is responsible for intuition. It's also linked to imagination.

7) Crown

The crown chakra, or Sahasrara, is located at the top of your head. Your Sahasrara represents your spiritual connection to yourself, others, and the universe. It also plays a role in your life's purpose.

In addition to the full animated artwork, Transcendence features seven individual smaller animations, one for each chakra.

Collect Moneta Divina

Collector prints for this collection have sold out, but limited edition acrylic panels are still available in the Moneta Divina collection. Each panel is a hand-certified limited edition with a certificate of authenticity timestamped on the bitcoin blockchain via Verisart.

Fix the money, fix the world.