Stephanie Douse 
ShapeShift DAO, a non-custodial cryptocurrency platform, has announced a new nonfungible token (NFT) auction in support of female artists in the NFTs and blockchain industries.
Between April 4 and 11, the auction for “Block 495559—Crypto Kitties and the Great Hairball in the Tubes,” a joint one-of-a-kind NFT series produced by female artists LunaHawk and ShapeShift DAO director GrayMachine, will take place on OpenSea.
The NFT series will comprise creative, animal-themed digital imagery that represents the history of crypto-assets through diverse animals, and will be minted on the Ethereum mainnet.
LunaHawk’s 10-piece NFT series was authorized by ShapeShift DAO members in October 2021. The collection was first shown in February at the ETHDenver conference.
The NFT auction will be the first in a series that will begin in the “coming weeks and months,” according to GrayMachine.
ShapeShift DAO intends to donate 10% of the earnings from the NFT to the Women of Crypto Art Fund, a community organization that encourages women in the digital art world. Giveth, a crypto-focused charitable financing platform, will be utilized to make donations.
ShapeShift DAO said the auction will fund the requirements of the decentralized autonomous organization as it grows, in addition to encouraging women in blockchain.
ShapeShift began decentralizing its entire company in July 2021, in an unprecedented effort that featured the world’s largest airdrop and full open-sourcing of its platform code, as previously reported.
Beginning June 2, 2021, the ShapeShift DAO Governance Treasury, as well as the company’s workers and stockholders, will be subject to a three-year vesting schedule.
Meanwhile, the market for NFTs has slowed significantly from its explosive growth rate in 2021. Monthly NFT purchases had fallen below 800,000 for the first time since October in early March, as search volumes for digital collectibles plummeted. Despite the pause, NFT usage looks to be on the rise as more people become aware of the technology.