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When DeGods accounced their second collection on the horizon, many were skeptical. The space has seen many proven projects attempt and fail to provide enough value to avoid diluting their collection with an additional mint. However, founder Frank has a few different ideas to make Duppies the exception to the rule. The actions of the team show that in close second to providing value to holders is providing value to the Solana ecosystem itself, or at the very least, support its health.
Duppies is a 15k collection minting around 15/07/2022, subject to change depending on the market conditions. The price of minting is 375 $DUST, the DeGods native token. At the time of writing, $DUST is $1.23, making Duppies a ~15 SOL mint. The mint is 100% whitelist, coming from DeadGods holders, “Scholarships,” DAO $DUST pool, and another source that is unrevealed.
Naturally, any time a collection makes bold decisions, especially a collection with a pre-existing large platform, it is met with controversy. DeGods are not new to FUD, and they have proven their community and team strength through a run to the top of Solana that started slowly with little momentum. Therefore, one way the high mint price is justified is that the project is part of a sub-ecosystem that is proven to be one of the best in all of NFTs. However, some are not convinced the pricing is conducive to expanding the community; rather, they think it is more of a “rich get richer” situation, where DeadGods holders are able to leverage their position to gain more profit. Although this is true, Frank has been committed to being thoughtful, honest, and transparent in his approach. Though the collection has a large supply, there is just too much demand to be able to satisfy everyone. Balancing supply and demand is key to a successful project, and Frank’s main focus is on the success of his project.
Besides holding a DeadGod, the other ways to get whitelisted for the project are through DAO $DUST pool allocation and scholarships. DAOs are able to buy $DUST, contribute it to a pool, and depending on the percentage of $DUST in the pool for a specific DAO, they will get a number of whitelist spots allocated, and then they can individually decide how to distribute them. This approach has created some unique problems in the space after its announcement. Projects are popping up whose main/only utility is to buy a DeadGod and contribute $DUST to the pool to get whitelist spots to the community, but since this was brought to Duppies’s attention, it has since been stated that these projects will not be approved. However, there is another more subtle debate in the space about DAO funds and whether it is appropriate for a project to use a large percentage of funds to gamble on having a large allocation of spots and Duppies’s success.
Scholarships are another way that non-DeadGods holders are able to enjoy a piece of the project. Though it is unannounced what the “application” will entail, it seems as though interested members are able to pitch themselves through the application, and spots will be granted to members who the team believes to deserve them.
Through the other methods of whitelisting besides owning a DeadGod, there is an opportunity for someone who is priced out of DeGods/DeadGods to participate in the action. Although there is no way to please everyone, the unique and thoughtful ways in which the team is allocating whitelist spots reflects the care and intentionality they have for their community of holders. In this way, it appears again as though the DeGods team wants to achieve a way to effectively expand their legacy without diluting the original project.
Another way the team aims to create this smooth addition to the community is the fact that Duppies will not be run by the same people as DeGods. This will be a collaborative but also an element of lighthearted competition between the projects to maintain and elevate the success of both. Though they are born from the same team, the Duppies project will act as a separate entity from DeGods. In terms of the art, Frank has decided to give no sneak peeks until the mint itself. This is a first from a Solana project, and it is a bold move that brings more attention and anticipation to the mint. The mint will not only include the excitement of joining Duppies, but the excitement of being able to be one of the first to view the art. Given the amazing details and execution of the DeadGods art, the expectations for Duppies art is high. If it meets these standards, the plan will likely create a lot of buzz and excitement on mint day, but if it fails to meet expectations, it will likely be a large disappointment.
The fact that the (expensive) mint is in $DUST not only benefits the value of the token, as it creates buying pressure, but also the Solana ecosystem itself. For DeadGods holders, this is essentially a free mint, and this is a manifestation of the value of owning a DeadGod. In this bearish, fragile market time, it is clear that minting a large supply project, extracting that Solana from the circulating liquidity, and most likely selling the mint funds into stables to protect against volatility is damaging to Solana. Large, hyped mints like Okay Bears and Trippin’ Ape were followed by a crash in Solana price that has yet to recover. Based on the platform DeGods has, it is unarguable that this mint will have the same if not more attention and hype, and therefore, by minting in $DUST, the whole Solana ecosystem is being protected as well.
All in all, it seems as though Frank and the DeGods community are interested in adding value to their sub-ecosystem by making waves, and they have a second intention to support the whole ecosystem. Though it will be a tough mint to get your hands on, it is good news for everyone in Solana that more buyers and attention will be directed to the chain. This attention and excitement will trickle into other projects besides DeGods, as well.