What Are Duppies, And Why Are People Excited About This NFT Collection?

If you have a grasp on Solana NFTs, then you surely know DeGods. For those who don't, I'll briefly mention that DeGods is a project managed by a very creative team and the leader behind it, Frank. The collection has a token DUST with multiple utilities, good-looking art people happily use as their profile image, and one of the most devoted communities in the Solana NFT world.

Since March 2022, every DeGod holder has a chance to upgrade their DeGod into a DeadGod for 1000 DUST. At the time of writing, the token $DUST is valued at $2.75, so the upgrade can cost close to $3000. However, DeadGod generates three times more $DUST (30 per day) than a DeGod (10 per day). So, the investment pays off, especially when the use cases for DUST can be exceptional, but more on that below.

So, why am I speaking about DeGods and DUST in an article about Duppies?

Duppies NFT collection is created by the same team that runs DeGods. To be clear, the goal is not to launch a complementary collection to DeGods but as a stand-alone brand. Regardless, high demand for Duppies is practically guaranteed because people trust the DeGods team, and the already established and passionate community will be a powerful marketing force.

What do we know about Duppies?

The details about the Duppies are pretty secretive. At this point, there are no art sneak peeks, roadmap, and a clear definition of where the project is going. All we know is that the collection will have 13,333 NFTs, it will be minted in June, and every DeadGod Holder will be whitelisted for the mint.

What’s interesting is that the Duppies will be minted exclusively for $DUST, and it will cost 375 DUST to mint one NFT, which is way above the average mint price on Solana. $DUST equals ~25 SOL (SOL=$40.00), this is a big difference from most collections you can regularly mint for 1-3 SOL.

Why does pricey mint make sense?

Some people are unhappy with the high mint price, but perhaps it isn’t based on greed. The high starting price will dictate different post-mint dynamics, which could benefit the collection and the brand.

Look at the recently hyped mints Communi3 and the Trippin Ape Tribe. Both projects allocated most of the whitelist spots to people who grind on social media promoting the project from its inception. But a large portion of those who contribute to the community growth before mint sells their NFT as soon as they can secure a decent profit.

The mint price for both projects was relatively small–Trippin Ape Tribe 3SOL and Communi3 2SOL. Collections were hyped, so both started to trade at a high floor price as soon as the NFTs were available on a secondary market.

This meant that tones of people who minted a project for a few SOL were in a tempting position to sell because they could make over 10x return on their investment.

Don’t get me wrong, we want people to make money and improve their lives, but intense sellouts create unhealthy price action. When the total valuation of a collection decreases from the start, it will be harder to keep the community engaged in the project and attract new members regardless of how solid the project foundations are.

Duppies and $DUST supply shock

There are more than a few mid-tier blue-chip NFT projects where NFTs are priced at 20-40 SOL. So, the 25 SOL cost for an NFT coming from one of the most respected teams in the Solana NFT world sounds pretty reasonable. Plus, pricier mint brings a few benefits: stronger community right off the bat and healthier supply/demand mechanics. On the other hand, it's good that not many NFT projects have the luxury of setting the high mint price. Duppies is one of them because DeGods don't need marketing to bring demand for a new NFT collection.

Speaking about supply and demand, let's not forget that the launch of Duppies will likely create a supply shock for $DUST. Some portion of the DeadGods owners will not need to buy any $DUST as they can generate 30 $DUST a day. Currently, there are ​​8278 DeadGods, so the rest of the people who will be minting the Duppies will need to get 375 DUST, and they can only get it by buying. If we do the math, 1,895,625 of DUST will be required to mint the rest of the Duppies. Plus, this demand will come during the time when people are less likely to sell their $DUST. More than that, the fact that DeadGod holders get a spot to mint Duppies without competing with hundreds of bots brings an incentive to transcend a DeGods to a DeadGod. If you remember, this transformation requires 1000 $DUST.

If that's not enough to create a supply shock, DUST halving is coming in about a week, right before the launch of Duppies. For those who don't know – halving means that the emissions of $DUST will be cut in half once a certain threshold is reached. To put it simply, it means that in about a week, every DeGod holder will generate 5 DUST per day, and the DeadGod holder – 15 DUST per day. You can learn more about DUST and its halvings in the official document.

We'll post updates about Duppies when more details are available on our Twitter account. Make sure you follow to stay informed.

Nothing in this post is financial advice. Make sure you understand all risks involved and always do your own research.