Blue Chip NFTs 101 – With Mint Impending, Is y00ts A Blue Chip Lock?

Our Blue Chip NFTs 101 series is now approaching six months in the making, and we’ve taken healthy deep dives into some of the biggest NFT projects in the market; while everyone has heard of Bored Apes and CryptoPunks, we’ve taken the time to provide hefty due diligence around other major blue chip projects like World of Women, Art Blocks, DeGods, Moonbirds, and more.

We’re back in the mix and looking to keep you ahead of the curb as an upcoming mint for NFT project ‘y00ts’ has generated so much traction and talk, we suspect it could easily be a blue chip in the making. It’s invite-only whitelist thus far, which brings all the pros and cons of exclusivity, and most notably the hype and anticipation that limited access can bring. Let’s take a deep dive into y00ts and what we’ve seen thus far.

From DeGods To y00ts: Is Blue Chip Status Really That Easy?

It’s been over three months since we published our Blue Chip NFTs 101 piece on DeGods, the standout Solana project that really took Solana-based NFTs over the top and helped surge the blockchain into the firm #2 position in the NFT marketplace, second to only Ethereum. At the time, DeGods were commanding a floor price at roughly 200 SOL (roughly $15K with SOL prices at the time). Despite an ongoing bear market for NFTs, today the DeGods collection stands at nearly a 600 SOL floor, which at today’s SOL prices, equals almost $20K. Step aside, bear market, because DeGods have been enduring the storm.

Why do DeGods fit into the equation in this discussion? The team behind DeGods is largely that behind y00ts, with both projects spearheaded by increasingly popular NFT figure, . We’ve taken the time to review DeGods at length, so let’s shift back to y00ts; is Frank simply a community mastermind who understands the secret sauce of NFT projects, or is DeGods the exception to the rule, with y00ts riding the hype train? Only time will tell, but in the meantime we can take an objective look at what has gotten so much excitement behind y00ts to carry it to where it is today. This year, DeGods have certainly exceeded many expectations, securing a firm position as the top Solana NFT project with few competitors even coming close.

Solana (SOL) has been showing real potential at being a top NFT blockchain; can y00ts help secure the blockchain's #2 spot, and even look to have Solana contest Ethereum in the NFT realm? | Source: 

Current Moves As Mint Approaches

What’s the catch around all of the current hype? Few NFT projects have had this much hype pre-mint, and you could argue that this will be the first NFT project on the Solana blockchain to bring this much hype before mint. While the project is slated to head to mint at the end of this week (September 2, to be exact), the hype has been fueled by a whitelist application process over recent weeks. The window closed last weekend, but y00ts have been announcing major whitelist spots to recognizable talent and influencers – which is always bound to be a controversial strategy as normies feel left for the dust with public mint. Thus far, however, it seems to have paid off for the project, who have also accepted handfuls of applications from non-recognizable names – even in crypto. Meanwhile, the project’s vision outlined in the is to challenge traditional lines of thinking around NFT intellectual property. The project looks to integrate streamlined IP utilization tools that are owner-first, and build out a storefront that allows users to custom their NFT assets at their discretion; in short, it’s a roadmap for what the project calls “y00topia.” Meanwhile, y00ts have filed a registered trademark earlier this month which can provide added perspective, too. The filing spans a variety of use cases, including broad software goods, NFT-related retail and marketing efforts, digital asset and NFT marketplace classes, entertainment and education and more. While projects and firms typically overindex (rather than the alternative) when it comes to trademark applications, the move also signals y00ts desire to go big. Stay tuned to see if y00ts can take over DeGods for the top spot on Solana.