The y00ts t00bs mint has come and gone, with 15,000 t00bs ending up in the hands of almost 7000 market participants. Whether you minted, picked one up off the secondary, or just watched from the sidelines, the past thirty-six hours have been more fun than this space has seen in a while. The anticipation was palpable for weeks, with delays sending the entire space into a tizzy. Even with the bugs, errors, Solana itself perhaps, or whatever plagued the mint process, there was a calm felt among the space, as if everyone internally knew “Frank’s got this”
There were positives and negatives, and enough content to chat about in Twitter Spaces for days on end. I am sure it will not be the last we hear or see of mass y00ts hysteria on the timeline either as there is still the y00ts claim to get through, and Frank and Co. have a ton more planned in the future.
Everything in here is opinion based only, as someone who got to participate in the mint process, it was a bit frustrating, but some of the mechanics set in place by the team helped soothe things, such as the locked trading for the first hour. Dive in a little deeper below!
NEGA-t00bs:
Let’s get these out of the way first, there were some things the DeGods team could have done better, things they left on the table or were lacking at time of mint. Prior to the mint itself, the announced date was given with an added disclaimer, one they needed as well, which made little sense.
If you think there might be a potential for delay, just abstain from announcing altogether until there is certainty that you can hit the goals you set for yourself. Announcing a date was something only they could do, but in doing so hamstrung themselves, I feel like that was a bit of a rushed process in of itself. Launching the mint when they did not only exposed weaknesses and imperfections of the software being developed by a start-up software company, but it derailed the conversation publicly as well, people got restless.
The issues prevalent in the mint process itself were disheartening to an extent; again, a self-proclaimed software start-up had immense issues with their software. Obviously, some of the issues are uncontrollable to the developers of the team and more blockchain dependent, but that cannot be taken as a reasonable excuse when the choice to launch on said chain was unforced.
As we take a step back from the whole ordeal, we must evaluate the scholarship process with which all the drama began, from the big-name celebs to influencers with known antics to the everyday participant and contributor in the space, there were wins and losses when it came to the curation of community aspect that was sought after.
The feeling of jubilation mixed with contempt on the timeline as the weeks passed gave an odd air of the in crowd and the out, with everyone tiptoeing around so many things in attempts to obtain or keep their spots. All-in, we must admit the drop was not perfect.
POSI-t00bs:
Always deliver the bad before the good, but end on a positive note, and there were many to take from this. The night was alive the moment the mint was announced, with an electric buzz on the timeline, everyone ready. Despite digital barriers and errors galore, the general vibe in spaces was one of bemused patience, such as an older sibling might have for their younger one trying to accomplish a mighty task.
Frank and the y00ts team managed to bring back the simple joy of communal gathering in the NFT space, and a significant run in the markets as well. For weeks, we all speculated at what the trading floor would open at, I think it shocked many, and has continued to perform quite well on the secondary the past few days.
Additionally, there has been an influx of volume to other Solana projects, as it seems people are shifting projects out of the DeGods ecosystem but keeping it within Sol, a pretty cool thing to see. The biggest positive of this whole thing lies right there as well, Frank brought together the Hatfeilds and McCoys when everyone said it couldn’t be done. He made the little brother cool enough to hang with, and to want to stick around and meet his friends. He made the big brother not seem as out of touch, brought him back down to earth for a bit.
As a communal whole we were brought together to pursue one common goal, y00tlist; but it shouldn’t stop there. Let us carry this into the space as a whole, and support mutual development and growth, both are necessary for mass adoption that we want in this space to happen, the infighting cannot continue. Public perception aside, forward progress is hampered when we don’t support from within. What comes next is yet to be seen, but the hopes and prayers of the space do not lay solely on the shoulders of an accomplished 23-year-old and his team.
As NFT space participants, we all have a vested interest in seeing this space progress towards the future of innovation, growth, and mass integration of the technology. We can no longer sit idly by, shout out criticism with no imminent action, soapbox without leading, and expect things to improve without us. It takes work from within.
The takeaways from this experience, no matter where you stood, are plentiful, but one sticks out above the rest; We are so early. Incredibly early, to this technology that is blossoming and evolving before our eyes. We are all the beta testers providing trial and error feedback, paving the way for mass adoption and a brighter tomorrow. The more we show up, support, uplift, and keep creating, the closer we move daily towards that future
