PRGuitarman's Nyan Balloon: A game that started with 20k editions
The Breakdown
- The initial Nyan Balloon was published with an Edition page as an Open Edition
- For each trade a BurnRedeem campaign was created
- To display the NyanBalloon collection PRGuitarman utilized our Curate tool
The Story
In early 2023, PRguitarman, the creator of Nyan Cat, launched Nyan Balloon — a remastered animation of a 2011 origin story, minted as an Open Edition. Over 21,000 editions were collected in the initial drop.
Then, the real experiment began.
Immediately following the OE mint, PRguitarman introduced Sky Map, a time-bound burn-and-redeem mechanic. For seven days, holders could burn their Red Nyan Balloons in exchange for a new color each day — a different balloon released daily.
Final redemption counts:
Results from the initial burn
R: 5,532
O: 2,261
Y: 1,318
G: 1,248
B: 1,282
P: 1,253
S: 2,765
The culmination was the Multi Balloon, a unique animation unlocked by collecting all six colors — a clear incentive structure designed to reward commitment and coordination.
Nyan Balloon gave control to the community. Collectors had choices. Artists found inspiration and the success of Nyan Balloon inspired other creators to launch their own Open Editions using similar mechanics.
From PRGuitarman:
After the Super Nyan balloon I figured why not, let's keep this going.
One of the cool things about this collection is that I can curate directly to existing holders, which is something I've wanted to do for a while. I've always been into making fun and unique collectibles, going all the way back to trading cards in the 90s. The goal has always been to make stuff that's accessible to everyone, not just a few people. The burn mechanic helps shape it over time into more of a premium experience.
Also it's just fun trying weird new things. The collection is over 2 years old now and everything past the original experience has been offered completely for free to those who want to trade in their artwork for new artwork
Overtime the collection has grown and now there's a collection of Balloons with a combination of requirements to collect.
🧠 What Worked
Nyan Balloon gave agency to collectors. Each decision — to mint, to burn, to hold. It was a structured, opt-in game.
Soon after, artists adopted similar burn-redeem loops, proving that OE mechanics could be more than just quantity — they could drive narrative and rarity through participation.
TL;DR
- Nyan Balloon creates an OE drop that minted 21,000+ editions
- A game was created with OE editions and burn mechanics
- Powered by Editions, BurnRedeem, and Curate
- Inspired a new wave of creator experiments across web3