Rekt.news Celebrates Its First Anniversary With Merch and an NFT Auction

Twelve months have elapsed since rekt.news launched with its "Hello World" post. Over that stretch, the outlet has put out 100 pieces of investigative reporting, commentary, and incident breakdowns, adding more than 50 protocols to its leaderboard and tracking a combined total value lost exceeding $1 billion.

Beyond the output, the publication points to the community it has built around itself. Reader donations have consistently ranked it among the best-supported projects on Gitcoin, and even some of the subjects covered less flatteringly in its stories have publicly voiced support.

To mark the one-year milestone and help fund continued development, rekt.news is launching a limited-run merchandise line alongside an auction of 20 exclusive NFTs.

Seventeen of these "rekt.news genesis" NFTs originate from the outlet's debut video, "Hopium Diaries - Dystopian Dreams". Three additional NFTs were created specifically for the anniversary, each tied to one of the year's most notable stories: Poly Network, Pancake Bunny, and Meerkat Finance.

As the announcement puts it: "If you believe in the future of DeFi, then you believe in the future of rekt.news." The NFTs are framed as artifacts of the brand's founding year, with holders expected to gain access to further utility as the project grows.

All 20 genesis NFTs will go up for auction on OpenSea, running six days from September 24, 2021 through September 30, 2021. Whoever wins each auction also receives a full, customized package from the "rekt 365" merchandise line.

Given how often the community has asked for merchandise, a limited selection is now being made available for direct purchase through the rekt.news site as well. Starting September 23, 2021, visitors can go to merch.rekt.news and mint an NFT corresponding to the merchandise bundle they want. Seven days later, on September 30, 2021, that NFT can be burned to redeem the physical items.

Three products make up the merchandise line:

• The "365" t-shirt — a heavyweight, long-lasting screen-printed design in a relaxed, crew-neck fit, made from 220g/6.4oz 100% combed cotton.
• "R.I.P: rekt in print," a "for your eyes only" printed edition running 24 pages, featuring the outlet's journalism alongside exclusive illustrations from rekt comics.
• The rekt.news cap — a structured six-panel, low-profile design with a pre-curved, fabric-covered peak and short touch strap.

These items are bundled into three purchase tiers:

• One hat plus one newspaper: 0.05 ETH, limited to 500 units.
• One hat, one newspaper, and one medium t-shirt: 0.1 ETH, limited to 250 units.
• One hat, one newspaper, and one large t-shirt: 0.1 ETH, limited to 250 units.

Minting is available here. Questions can be directed to the outlet's Telegram group.