Solana NFT Sales Surge 170% as y00ts Completes Delayed Rollout

Sales of NFTs on the Solana blockchain fell by 50% in October following a strong September, which had been aided by the initial launch of buzzy profile picture (PFP) project, y00ts. But November could see a return to fervent activity if today’s early trading is any indication, following the delayed reveal of the y00ts artwork.

Trading volume for NFTs minted on Solana has jumped 170% over the past 24 hours compared to the previous span, per data from Tiexo, up to about 229,000 SOL across the market. That’s over $7.5 million worth.

The vast majority of that trading revolves around y00ts, the successor to the popular DeGods project on Solana. The y00ts collection spans 15,000 unique profile pictures, each featuring a different mix of design traits. The project minted its NFTs—called y00ts mint t00bs—in early September following a hyped allowlist campaign that drew in celebrities and influencers.

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Each t00b NFT can be burned (or permanently destroyed) in exchange for the actual PFP NFT. That process was originally slated to begin soon after the September mint, but creator DeLabs—led by pseudonymous DeGods creator Frank—opted to scrap all of the existing artwork and start fresh, yielding a nearly two month delay.

Finally, this morning, y00ts opened up the process to swap t00bs for y00ts NFTs, revealing the artwork and sending secondary trading volume soaring in the process. Both the unrevealed t00bs and y00ts avatars are seeing soaring demand right now, based on data tracked by top Solana marketplace, Magic Eden.

People say NFT projects aren’t about the art.

We think they’re wrong. pic.twitter.com/mWhBMh06nM

— y00ts (@y00tsNFT) November 4, 2022

Secondary sales of the y00ts mint t00bs have jumped 496% over the past 24 hours, with 74,000 SOL (about $2.46 million) worth of trades thus far. The cheapest-available mint t00b NFT available on the marketplace is listed at nearly 100 SOL, or about $3,300.

Meanwhile, the revealed y00ts profile pictures have surpassed the t00bs in collective trading volume today, with about 78,000 SOL ($2.6 million) transacted so far since this morning’s rollout. The cheapest available y00ts NFT is listed at 72 SOL (about $2,400).

An NFT is a blockchain token that represents ownership in a unique item—in this case, a one-of-a-kind profile picture with distinctive visual elements. Other NFT use cases include artwork, collectibles, event tickets and mementos, and interactive video game items.

Overall Solana NFT trading fell hard in October according to data from DappRadar, which reported $67 million worth of organic trades compared to $134 million the month prior. It’s worth noting that DappRadar figures remove any wash trading—that is, trades done between a user’s own wallets at exaggerated prices to manipulate marketplace data.

Beyond slumping activity after September’s y00ts mint and potential rising competition from NFTs on new blockchain platform Aptos, sentiment around the Solana space also appeared to dip in October as marketplaces rejected creator royalties—either ignoring them outright or making them optional for traders to pay.

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Magic Eden initially resisted the move, but changed course after its market share plummeted due to royalties-shunning rivals. Creators typically set a fee between 5% and 10% of the sale price on NFT resales. Since its royalties flip-flop, Magic Eden has recaptured its former market share: the marketplace handled about 93% of Solana trading volume over the last 24 hours, per Tiexo.

Amid those marketplace moves last month, DeLabs slashed the creator royalty on both DeGods and y00ts mint t00bs NFTs to zero, with plans to do the same for the final y00ts NFTs. The team suggested that there was no point in setting royalties if they couldn’t be enforced on-chain, and called it the “next experiment” for the oft-pivoting projects.

Ultimately, however, DeLabs changed course for y00ts: the NFTs have a 3.33% creator royalty attached. But the studio suggested that it will not attempt to punish or limit buyers in some way for buying from marketplaces that do not honor royalties—an idea that Frank previously discussed.

“There will be no enforcement if you do not pay the royalties,” the project tweeted.

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