Nerds Republic is an NFT project launched by the team behind Foton. The collection consists of 10,000 unique characters. Launched as the first NFT initiative on Radix, each Nerd in the collection represents a unique identity, granting its owner full access within the Republic. The project aims to create a virtual space for the exploration of habitable planets and the research of alien life forms.
Concept
Set in a fictional universe, the base for these digital characters is the 'TinCan', a space station orbiting Earth. The overarching goal of the Republic is to search for habitable planets and study extraterrestrial life, emphasizing the need for skilled and unique individuals.
Features
Artwork as Token: The NFTs are implemented as SVG files, ensuring that the artwork is compact and directly stored on the Radix Ledger. This feature guarantees that the artwork is inseparable from its proof of authenticity and allows for interactive elements or animations.
High-Resolution Graphics: Regardless of the display size, the artworks retain their sharpness and accuracy, thanks to vector graphics.
Commercial Rights: Owners have the liberty to use their Nerd artwork commercially, such as for merchandise.
Efficient Transactions: Hosted on the Radix Ledger, these NFTs benefit from low transaction fees and high energy efficiency.
Tokenomics
Each Nerd initially comes with a 10k allowance of Foton tokens, the Republic's currency. These tokens can be used for various activities within the Republic, like trading, supporting research, or even teaching newcomers about cryptocurrency. The total supply of Foton tokens is set at 1 Billion.
Reservation and Distribution
Starting from August 7, 2021, Nerds could be reserved by sending $XRD to the Republic's wallet. Each Nerd was priced at 150 $XRD. The project employed a system of Genesis Nerd Tokens ($GNRD), which were later swappable for the final NFTs upon the launch of smart contracts on Radix.
Roadmap
The Nerds Republic has a dynamic roadmap, with milestones based on the percentage of Nerds reserved. Achievements include the introduction of alien species, the opening of a Mars base, and the eventual goal of transforming the Republic into a Metaverse game. Further ambitions involve the creation of a platform for NFTs on Radix and even the production of a movie.
Status
The project stopped where it stood. nerdsrepublic.net still answers on 26 August 2026, and the site is the reason the date can be given exactly: it is a Webflow build, and the build comment in its source reads Last Published: Sat Mar 12 2022 10:34:11 GMT+0000. Nothing has been published to it in the four and a half years since, through the whole of the Babylon upgrade that finally brought smart contracts and native non-fungible resources to Radix mainnet in September 2023.
The ledger says the same. Genesis Nerds ($GNRD) was read live on mainnet at epoch 338,430 on 26 August 2026: a supply of exactly 10,000, divisibility 18, with minter, burner, freezer and recaller all DenyAll and the rules locked. It remains a fungible resource, which is to say it is still the reservation receipt described under Reservation and Distribution above, and not the collection of 10,000 individual avatars it was to be swapped for. The reservations therefore sit where they were left: fully subscribed, permanently uncancellable and permanently unexpandable, against a swap that the project has not published since.
The Foton team behind it has kept building on Radix, so the description above should be read as a record of the 2021 project rather than a live roadmap.