Written by Dustin
In the realm of NFTs, the idea of Degods is no longer unknown. It has stood out as one of the most rapidly expanding NFT collections in the past two years, even enduring persevering through the difficulties of a bear market. There was a period when Degods was seen as a trailblazer in the Solana ecosystem before completely moving to Ethereum and rising to become one of the top PFPs in the entire industry.
With its strong influence, a meaningful message circulates on Twitter: “If Degods failed, NFTs would fail.”, Frank, the co-founder and driving force behind Degods’ achievements, is someone who values new experiences. Throughout his journey in steering Degods from its beginnings to its current successes, he has confronted numerous setbacks and critiques.
*As Degods Season III on the horizon, Frank could be preparing for thrilling new adventures and valuable lessons.*
Season III was originally scheduled for June 2023, but as usual it faced delays and was finally introduced on August 9, 2023. Here are some highlights of this update:
- Migrate Y00ts to Ethereum
After the FTX crash in November of the previous year, which significantly shook the entire cryptocurrency market and particularly the Solana ecosystem, Frank had been considering a strategic shift for his two brainchildrens. As a result, by the end of March this year, the decision to migrate Degods to Ethereum and Y00ts to Polygon was executed. The Polygon Labs team had to spend $3M to bring Y00ts into their ecosystem.
After maintaining its position as the top PFP collection on Polygon for almost 5 months, Frank once again has made the decision to “move” Y00ts to Ethereum, aiming to foster a stronger bond between the two collections, establish a tighter connection between the Y00ts and Degods communities. Additionally, it entails a full repayment of the money received from Polygon Labs.
2. The Downgrade – Art Upgrade
Positioned as a prominent brand and one of the leading PFPs in the market, the Degods team appears to place significant emphasis on perfecting the artwork. This is something that most other collections do not consistently prioritize. More than a year ago, Degods upgraded their artwork. The transformation of Degods into Deadgods and the surrounding effects will likely remain unforgettable for NFT enthusiasts.
For Season III, Frank is once again striving to enhance his creation to the fullest. This time around, the NFTs are designed with greater simplicity and any traits disliked by the community have been removed.
To upgrade to Season III artwork, users have to spend 333 DUST (equivalent to $450 at the time of writing). This cost will be reduced by 33.3% each month to incentivize the community. The total funds gathered will be contributed to the Prize pool of the Point Parlor (more details in Part 3).
Several NFTs depicted in 3 attempts to perfect the artwork of the Degods team:
3. Point Parlor
Point Parlor is a mechanism devised by the Degods team to reward holders, aiming to provide a novel experience to the community with a win-win-win concept. In this regard, anyone who owns Degods Season III (with upgraded art) and stakes their NFT will be eligible to receive DePoints. On average, 1 NFT will earn 1440 DePoints per day (equivalent to 1440 minutes).
Using DePoints, holders have the ability to buy Packs containing a variety of rewards. Notably, beyond the funds generated by artwork upgrades, these rewards are also endorsed by one or more distinct brands. ** Frank is confident that under this concept, holders will enjoy novel and more delightful advantages, the Degods community will witness ongoing growth, and the participating brands will benefit from a synergistic marketing impact driven by Degods’ widespread influence.**
Essentially, Point Parlor is just a “mystery box” game, but instead of using tokens to buy Packs, Degods uses DePoint as holders’ loyalty points for the project. This point is not exchangeable like a token, thus incentivizing the community to staking more Degods.
Currently, Kraken NFT is the initial sponsor of Degods, and several tangible rewards have been unveiled on the website, as depicted in the image below.
Drawing from the insights shared by the project, it is foreseeable that Degods could attract an increased number of sponsorships from diverse brands down the line. This in turn acts as an incentive to propel the notion that NFTs extend beyond mere superficial profile images, gradually evolving into a realm of greater practicality than previously perceived.
Source: https://twitter.com/DeGodsNFT/status/1689619634075635718?s=20
Community response
Since the launch of Season III, the Degods team has found themselves amidst numerous debates and controversies. The community has placed high expectations on Frank, believing he holds the potential to bring forth a fresh wave to the NFT market in this period. Despite every effort to introduce a novel experience and a new direction for the project, there remains a disparity between these aspirations and the current reality. As a result, the Degods floor price has been consistently showing significant volatility in recent days.
Specifically, the value of Degods NFTs has plummeted nearly 50% since the debut of Season III. This has sparked concerns about whether NFTs have genuinely lost their appeal, particularly as the community’s high hopes for Degods have not resulted in positive outcomes.
Personally, I think that every effort aimed at linking Crypto, NFTs and Real World Assets should be acknowledged. In order for Point Parlor to demonstrate its effectiveness, it will require forming more partnerships with diverse brands down the line. It’s still too soon to tell whether Season III will turn out to be successful or unsuccessful. We all know Frank is known as the marketing wizard the realm of Web3, particularly in relation to NFT content. He has done a lot of things that were considered impossible, like the Degods competing with Yuga Labs was deemed impossible just last year. Let’s observe the upcoming changes within Degods in the times ahead.
Dustin (Author)
Ending
It seems that NFT creators are attempting to create a new incentive, a fresh mechanism to transform the landscape of the entire industry, as the old patterns have lost their appeal to users. Despite facing criticism, it must be acknowledged that what Frank and Degods are striving to bring to users is innovative. “NFT is not dead, it just needs renewal”. The innovation in the business model, exemplified by Pudgy Penguin, and the pioneering approach to Web3 content pursued by Frank, collectively present optimistic indicators of significant advancement within the mindset of NFT creators.
Ultimately, the primary benefit of possessing Degods extends beyond the rewards the project offers or the passive income derived from staking NFTs. Most importantly, it revolves around the sense of community. Having ownership of Degods grants you a more powerful voice and heightened engagement on Twitter. From a fair standpoint, considering the initial vision, the Degods team has unwaveringly stayed committed to their original objectives. While it’s entirely valid for the community to hold higher expectations for a project as substantial as Degods, it’s important to keep in mind that the NFT industry is still in its early stages. The evolution genuinely counts on visionaries like Frank to pioneer changes and advancements, ultimately enabling users to experience a more diverse NFT market as the upcoming bullish phase approaches.
