Tselly Interviews Fractal Encrypt

🐓 Tselly
Today we are blessed with the presence of Fractal Encrypt, a pioneer in the Bitcoin Art space who has used his Cypherpunk style infused with inspiration from software, math, art, tech, and chemistry to build biological interfaces. Thanks for joining us for this issue’s Artist Spotlight buddy! Let’s dive in! Before Bitcoin, what were you doing?

🏅 FractalEncrypt
I’ve been creating art my whole life, selling it as a side hustle after my day job. Around 2007, I started bringing LSD blotter art and collages to music festivals, framing them in dollar store frames to sell affordably at Grateful Dead shows or similar events. The first time, I sold out, which was a thrill. I kept at it, using vacation days to attend festivals, eventually setting up booths at regional and national events. Interacting with people who valued my work enough to buy it was incredibly rewarding. Art was always my dream, but Bitcoin made it a reality, shifting my mindset to long-term creation. In 2007-2008, during the financial crash, I focused on affordable art. Someone offered to pay for a piece in Bitcoin, sparking my interest, and the rest is history.

🐓 Tselly
Sounds like we might’ve crossed paths at festivals. I graduated before the crash, jobless but enjoying Bonnaroo, Tortuga, and Ultra. Same crowd, right?

🏅 FractalEncrypt
Definitely. The first Bonnaroo was wild, a unique gathering of major acts. It created a home for the jam band scene, though commercialization later changed it, like Lollapalooza. The underground rave scene in the early ‘90s followed a similar path—pure at first, then commercialized, even dangerous. Bitcoin’s facing a similar “normification,” diluting its cypherpunk ethos. Some OGs feel their fight is done, but I believe there’s more to do. A core group must preserve that ethos for truth-seekers.

🐓 Tselly
We need to hold the culture strong as commercialization begins. Bitcoin’s early adopters are passionate, driven by anti-establishment values. How will the culture evolve?

🏅 FractalEncrypt
Bitcoin doesn’t change; it changes you. Like taking LSD at a party and transforming, Bitcoin creates magical moments for newcomers, potentially shifting the world. We’re moving past the “they laugh at you” phase into a vibe shift. Everyone’s on their own Bitcoin hero’s journey, often through a shitcoin phase, to realize “Bitcoin only.” Some never make it, losing everything on altcoins. It’s a deep journey.

🐓 Tselly
Bitcoin is a tool, but the rebellion and movement around it are bigger. Conferences and meeting Bitcoiners are amazing—they’re humble, transformed people. It’s a unique work environment.

🏅 FractalEncrypt
Bitcoin absorbs energy from all perspectives—real estate, dentistry, art, philosophy—offering endless connections. Early adopters had curiosity sparked at the right moment. Interacting with “Bitcoin only” people feels like finding kindred spirits who’ve solved the same mental puzzles. It’s like Timothy Leary’s “find the others” from the ‘60s psychedelic scene—connecting with those using revolutionary tools.

🐓 Tselly
How did Bitcoin find you? What was it like at the start?

🏅 FractalEncrypt
I first heard about Bitcoin in 2011 on the Shroomery, a magic mushroom forum where Ross Ulbricht posted about Silk Road. It seemed sketchy, and buying Bitcoin was too complicated, so I passed. In 2015, a Brazilian buyer offered Bitcoin for my art since PayPal didn’t work internationally. He guided me to set up a wallet, sent me a couple of Bitcoin, and I shipped the art. A year later, I sold some to a friend for rent money, upsetting my wife later. In 2017, that friend alerted me to check my wallet—$10 worth of Bitcoin was now $400. By December, it hit $2,000, breaking my brain and hooking me.

🐓 Tselly
We’re used to dollars losing value, not gaining it. That shift is wild.

🏅 FractalEncrypt
Exactly. My grandpa gave me $1 in 1982; it’s still $1 today. Bitcoin flipped that concept. Community memes opened my mind to new ideas. I was vegetarian since 2000 but switched to carnivore two years ago, fixing health issues and boosting mental clarity. My art flows easier now. Bitcoin’s influence led to these life changes.

🐓 Tselly
I can relate. I did a plant-based diet, got a gut, so then I went animal-based. Left finance and city life to homestead, raising my food—which was unthinkable pre-Bitcoin. It unlocks critical thinking, questioning everything.

🏅 FractalEncrypt
Bitcoiners seek like-minded people sharing honest anecdotes, sparking curiosity. Memes like methylene blue or salt quality pop up, prompting research. Bitcoin teaches you to dissect everything, validating truth like rejecting invalid blocks.

🐓 Tselly
What got you into physical art, and what inspires your style?

🏅 FractalEncrypt
In elementary school, a YMCA painting class blew my mind. The teacher showed how to paint bushes and sky with varied colors, not just green or blue. I brought home a painting that looked real, realizing art is technique and practice. I never studied formally but use YouTube heavily. My style draws from sci-fi and steampunk aesthetics.

🐓 Tselly
How has Bitcoin influenced your art since that first transaction?

🏅 FractalEncrypt
Art consumes me, so I focus on meaningful projects. My psychedelic art aimed to show psychedelics as wholesome, revolutionary tools. Bitcoin extended that philosophy as a self-sovereignty tool. In 2017, I created my first Bitcoin piece to teach its value, like a flag to find like-minded people. My art is technical, with concrete meanings. Switching from psychedelic to Bitcoin art was a big shift. Initially, I fell for Ethereum’s NFT hype, but reading smart contract code revealed admin keys and no true sovereignty. I sold my shitcoins, went Bitcoin-only, and created the Bitcoin Full Node sculpture in 2020. It took seven months to design and build from wood, a risky proof-of-work project. The overwhelming community response on Genesis Day 2020 was gratifying, fueling my drive to push further.

🐓 Tselly
How has Bitcoin influenced your art since that first transaction?

🐓 Tselly
That’s incredible. Was the Full Node your first Bitcoin-inspired piece?

🏅 FractalEncrypt
No, I made Bitcoin art during my shitcoin phase, mostly on Ethereum. NFTs incentivized quick, low-quality art, which I churned out on LSD-fueled weekends. People bought it, though I didn’t understand why. I converted earnings to Bitcoin, thankfully.

🐓 Tselly
Your art flows easier now, likely from mental clarity—no shitcoin stress, plus the carnivore diet.

🏅 FractalEncrypt
Shitcoiners deceive, but self-deception is worse, ignoring obvious red flags. Bitcoin builds a mental moat against distractions. My workshop has no internet to focus on creation. The world harvests attention, but Bitcoiners prioritize building over consuming.

🐓 Tselly
What’s your take on modern art’s state and trajectory?

🏅 FractalEncrypt
I’m disconnected from the art world; it feels like a game of connections, not merit. Like NFTs, money incentivizes low-quality work. Only 5% of art—across movies, music, or sculpture—is exceptional, worth striving for. The rest is mediocre or forgettable.

🐓 Tselly
What’s your favorite piece, and what’s its story?

🏅 FractalEncrypt
My recent pieces excite me most. In 2024, I created Codex 32, three analog computers using gears, paper, pencil, and dice to generate Bitcoin keys offline, secure for 1,000 years. It even debiases untrustworthy dice. My latest, “It’s About Time,” is an hourglass sculpture with timekeeping mechanisms, time-locking 5 million sats across 10 addresses, unlocking every 21 years for 210 years. Buyers can pass it down, ensuring future generations remember “Grandpa Happy Bitcoin.” Unlike my early disposable art, I now aim for pieces lasting centuries.

🐓 Tselly
Michael Saylor has your art in his Bitcoin Museum! How’s that feel?

🏅 FractalEncrypt
Unbelievable, life-changing. A billionaire sharing my art is next-level. At the 100k Party, displaying my work felt surreal—a meme from 10k became reality. The community’s support pushes me to give back and explore how far Bitcoin art can go.

🐓 Tselly
The movement grows each cycle, recruiting more Bitcoiners. It’s exciting to see.

🏅 FractalEncrypt
As normies flood in, the intolerant minority must stay true to Bitcoin’s ethos to avoid dilution. Like electronic music splitting into genres, Bitcoiners will diversify but remain distinct. Solo mining with bit axes is a cypherpunk trend I love, decentralizing hardware. My next art piece might incorporate this, though I want it to last centuries despite hardware’s fragility.

🐓 Tselly
What’s the weirdest rabbit hole Bitcoin led you to?

🏅 FractalEncrypt
Living my passion full-time. I always hoped to make art my career, but Bitcoin made it reality. Using open-source technology to create abundance for my family is mind-blowing. It’s a revolutionary tool anyone can use to transform their life.

Note from Stackchain Magazine: No Bitcoin (or inferior monies) were exchanged for this article. Fractal Encrypt is a cypherpunk artist who merges software, mathematics, art, technology, and chemistry to develop biological interfaces, maintaining a Bitcoin-only ethos that rejects shitcoins and NFTs. You can find Fractal on X @FractalEncrypt and on Nostr FractalEncrypt. If you’d like to send Fractal some 丰 for the article you can do so via LNURL FractalEncrypt@blink.sv

Tselly Interviews Fractal Encrypt

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