1/ Solana has been blessed with a plethora of amazing projects over the last year. Their rise, fall, and resilience has been fascinating to watch, to be a part of.
The latest piece w/ @degenpoet is a celebration of 4 of those projects and the journey we’ve all been on together.
The four projects we chose to chart are @MonkeDAO, @DegenApeAcademy, @DeGodsNFT, and @okaybears.
No disrespect to the other myriad of kings out there from @solBOOGLE to @GenesysGo, but had to keep it tight.
We love all of SOL though.
On August 3, 2021, some 5,000 pixelated Monkes landed. The mint was literally sending 2 SOL to a wallet and hoping that wallet would actually send you part of the collection back.
And you’re worried about rugs today anon? This was the dark ages!
The Monkes were popular, but had little help from the creators to push it along. Out of necessity a DAO was born to carry the project. Along with prominent Twitter accounts rocking them as a pfp, Monkes ascended quickly through the nascent ranks of Solana NFTs.
I’ve come to appreciate how hard it is to do great pixel art. It seems so simple, but that simplicity also makes it hard to really speak volumes given the limited pallet. (Much like telling stories while confined to 140 characters at a time.)
When done well though, it’s magic.
The artists of the Monkes nailed it. It’s clean af. The collection is varied and interesting. It looks great in a tiny Bird circle.
Like with Boogles or @zen0m’s art, it just hits different.
SMB is the most purely community driven project on any chain, now on their FOURTH board epoch, which is made up of dedicated and brilliant volunteers.
And now that community will buy out the project from the devs! (🤞)
It will be fascinating to see how it plays out.
Monkes have stood the test of time like few others have. They are no longer the highest floor priced collection, but their durability is unquestionable.
The Soul of SOL.
Reject humanity. Return to Monke.
On August 13, 2021, a collection of 10,000 Degenerate Apes launched on the first version of Candy Machine.
…and promptly broke it.
The mint, like many things with the Apes, did not go as planned. But the mint, like many things with the Apes, also helped push the ecosystem forward.
The great @packyM did an article on the Apes as part of his write up on Solana, as they were the first 10k SOL collection.
The art was fantastic, a 3D masterpiece of sneakers, crayons, and fur.
Though Monkes were first, it was @DegenApeAcademy that put #solana on the map.
Their floor price responded quickly, rising to over 100 before you could sniff glue.
Later, they launched @DegenTrashPandas and broke the SECOND version of the Candy Machine.
Which is truly incredible when you think about it. Not only did it demonstrate incredible demand for the collections, but was also amazingly, hilariously, on brand.
Much like Monkes, the floor isn’t where it once was, and that’s okay. It’s at a healthy place, and also like SMB they’ve proven durability in a space that likes the shiny new toys.
Speaking of, anybody else excited about those eggs?!?
Third, we have the brain child of @frankdegods.
This story is one of my favorites because the path was about as smooth as broken glass.
On October 8th, 2021 this 10k collection minted with the now infamous Paper Hands Bitch Tax.
There were some problems implementing the tax though. There were problems with overpromising and underdelivering. There were even some problems with Frank typing…
What is amazing is how that fire didn’t burn the project down. Instead it became a forge that tempered it into steel.
Frank removed the PHBT after 2 months. But he added incredible artwork by @SCUMSOL, $DUST, and, of course, we have @DuppiesNFT incoming.
I’m psyched!
DeGods rose to the top of the Solana ecosystem and has held there with incredible tenacity.
DeGods holders are huge believers, and Frank has rewarded them for it.
@SOLBigBrain has @SolanaMBS as his pfp, but even he rocks a (33.3%) in his handle. The legend of PHBT lives on.
Lastly, let’s talk about a project that’s real ok.
At a time when the markets were crashing, on April 27, 2022, a 10k project launched with the cleanest art I’ve ever seen and absolutely flawless branding.
@okaybears in a bear market where everyone wanted to be okay?
NAILED IT
The volume for Okay Bears was so high it was topping charts on OpenSea for ALL NFT projects. It got the attention of ETH and probably made @ChartFuMonkey’s heart race as sale after sale was processed by @MagicEden.
For perhaps the first time, Solana become IMPOSSIBLE to ignore.
After an insane roller coaster of an early ride, Bears have settled in right around 100 FP. Very respectable (one might even call it okay), standing tall as one of the highest market caps on Solana.
This piece represents the Souls of Sol. 4 of the top 5 highest market cap projects on Solana. The most popular and enduring collections in our ecosystem. (So far…)
Enjoy!
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