Solana-based NFT projects DeGods and Y00ts plan to leave the SOL ecosystem for Ethereum and Polygon, respectively; DeGods had asked for $5M to stay on SOL

DeGods will bridge over to Ethereum while its sister project Y00ts will move to Polygon with a grant from the layer 2's partnership fund.

CoinDesk 2022-12-27 Eli Tan

Context & Ripple Effects

DeGods and Y00ts are splitting the pair’s Solana footprint between Ethereum and Polygon, with Polygon using its partnership fund to secure Y00ts. The move comes as Solana’s founders were working to distance the network from FTX’s association with SOL.

The Polygon move proved temporary: Y00ts later announced an Ethereum migration and the return of its $3 million Polygon grant. That later reversal makes the original migration a clear example of NFT collections treating chain affiliation as negotiable rather than permanent.

First-order effects

Solana loses two prominent NFT projects, while Ethereum gains DeGods and Polygon gains Y00ts through a funded partnership.
DeGods’ disclosed $5 million request to stay puts an explicit price on retaining a flagship collection, even though no Solana retention arrangement is reported.

Second-order effects

Polygon’s partnership fund becomes a competitive tool for attracting NFT communities, but Y00ts’ later exit shows that grants do not necessarily secure durable platform loyalty.
Ethereum benefits from inbound NFT brands from both Solana and Polygon, increasing pressure on alternative networks to pair technical positioning with concrete creator incentives.

Third-order effects

If collections continue to move across chains, NFT networks will compete less on permanent ecosystem allegiance and more on the cost and terms of attracting projects and their communities.
The Y00ts reversal suggests migration grants may increasingly be judged on retention outcomes, not merely on initial announcements.

The trend: NFT collections are becoming portable strategic assets, giving blockchains and scaling networks a growing incentive to compete for them with partnership funding and migration support.

Discussion

@degodsnft DeGods III on x
DeGods will officially bridge to Ethereum in Q1 of 2023. The bridge is not the destination. It is on the path to get there. https://twitter.com/...
@y00tsnft @y00tsnft on x
y00ts will officially bridge to @0xPolygon in Q1 2023. https://twitter.com/...
@degodsnft DeGods III on x
The details of the bridge will be released when it's ready & tested. This has never been done before at this scale. We want to make sure that it's airtight. In the meantime, we will be releasing the Season III roadmap in January (for real this time).
@aeyakovenko @aeyakovenko on x
.@solana unicorns like @MagicEden @phantom @DeGodsNFT are going multichain. It's bittersweet to watch. It would be awesome for them to 100% focus on @solana. But reality is that these projects want to conquer the world. But so does the @solana community!🧵
@primitivcrypto @primitivcrypto on x
If my sources are correct, Polygon paid DeGods (y00ts) $6million to move y00ts to Polygon. The move to ETH was already planned 5+ months ago. Polygon deal was secured a week ago.
@thejonnyjpegs @thejonnyjpegs on x
1/ I've been listening to the “y00ts on Polygon” space. The Founder of Polygon mentioned that Solana did a good job with their community and Polygon didn't really have one but he's looking forward to Frank bringing that over with y00ts.
@altcoindailyio @altcoindailyio on x
Solana's top 2 NFT projects (DeGods & Y00ts) to migrate to Ethereum & Polygon
@aeyakovenko @aeyakovenko on x
What @solana needs is twenty more unicorns that are so ambitious that @solana can't contain them.
@ivanontech @ivanontech on x
Solana is now below Tron and even SHIB 😅 Sadly, I think this is EOS 2.0 Devs don't want to build on a dying infrastructure, Solana projects likely migrate to EVM L2s
@litecoinyagami @litecoinyagami on x
Explosive green day for Solana JPEGs. Global market sales up 58.99%. Gotta love NFTs. https://twitter.com/...
@moludotsol @moludotsol on x
Sold my y00t, what Solana project are we buying into? Not riding with you to Polygon, sorry Frank. https://twitter.com/...
@solamimamis @solamimamis on x
So @y00tsnft waited months to reveal their second collection the day Solana breakpoint started Made millions off t00bs royalties before front running magic eden to 0% royalties No event at Solana breakpoint most team didn't show Took 7m in funding for Dust Labs Left for Matic htt…
@whalechart @whalechart on x
It was meant to happen for Solana https://twitter.com/...
@ahoc_milan @ahoc_milan on x
TVL on #Solana vaporized. It was all fake. https://twitter.com/...
@ercwl Eric Wall on x
Solana TVL dropped by 98%
@jtoyts @jtoyts on x
Yes you may be angry that @DeGods and @y00tsNFT are leaving SOL BUT @frankdegods might be on to something, and here's why:🧵 https://twitter.com/...
@apedurden Tyler on x
Solana is the 3rd worst performer in 2022. Only beaten by FTT and LUNA.
@rainnen23 Rain on x
DeGods leaving solana reminds me of when my neigborhood Chili's shutdown. Very sad day, but it was eventually replaced with a Chick fila. Don't give up
@curvethots @curvethots on x
I'm sure I'm not the only one wondering if this is a good idea - going from #1 Solana success to another ETH-based NFT brand. Admittedly I don't know their ecosystem too well https://twitter.com/...
@modestrebirth @modestrebirth on x
Some will say it's a bottom signal. I would say this is a death signal. The argument for Sol was its adoption, if big projects leave, what's left is a deserted land. The ‘Sol trade’ look like it will be found in Matic, both adoption and chart are much better. https://twitter.com/…
@solanasensei @solanasensei on x
Grateful for DeGods and y00ts. This is a new chapter in SOL history. Leave the past behind and move on. We are resetting the SOL space and I am super hyped and bullish about it. Community is everything and there is nothing like the SOL community. Let us unite and build.
@sandeepnailwal @sandeepnailwal on x
The NFT summer on @0xPolygon in 2023! #zk23 https://twitter.com/...
@0xpolygon @0xpolygon on x
👉🏾 y00ts found a new home #onPolygon https://twitter.com/...
@basche42 Ben Basche on x
I'm not seeing anywhere that Polygon offered DeGods money to move So, they wanted to move on the merits, and the “pay for play” option to stay was $5m Sure it's a bit naked and transactional...like a lot of the economic arrangements on and behind Solana https://twitter.com/...
@solanasensei @solanasensei on x
Solana is responsible for the success of DeGods and y00ts, not their brand, not frank. It was all the Solana community. We were their most valuable asset. Solana is more than fine guys. Today we celebrate!!! I love you.
@pons_eth Pons Asinorum on x
Not sure why people are shocked by y00ts move Pretty simple Polygon is the chain where normies will buy NFTs without knowing they are buying NFTs Trump NFT, Starbucks NFT, Reddit, etc Frogs are building on Polygon as well Ya'll are still focused on the wrong things
@baerevo_ Baer on x
24 hour volume of @DeGodsNFT and @y00tsNFT is 300,100 SOL = 2768 ETH 24 hour volume of BAYC and MAYC is 1379.26 ETH DeGods + Y00ts have done over 2x the volume of the #1 ETH project in ETH value.... https://twitter.com/...
@wublockchain Wu Blockchain on x
CoinDesk: The DeGods team asked the Solana Foundation for $5 million to stay on SOL. A representative from the Solana Foundation confirmed the figure to CoinDesk. But Polygon paid for the move with a grant from its partnership fund. https://www.coindesk.com/... https://twitter.co…
@0xfoobar @0xfoobar on x
live video of all the y00ts migrating from solana to polygon https://twitter.com/...
@solbigbrain S◎L Big Brain on x
0/ This @DeGodsNFT move has proven one thing that we all already knew. ETH $$ is much bigger than SOL $$. DeGods ran SOL for a while. How much higher could they have taken the brand sticking on SOL?
@r89capital @r89capital on x
Raise $7 million & make millions more on #Solana.. Publicly trash the network the same day FTX collapses at it's lowest moment. Announce you're leaving for Polygon after taking more money.. On Christmas Day. Frank & Kevin and the entire DeGods crew are pieces of shit.
@0xlightcycle Lionel Lightcycle on x
In bear markets, back when VCs were still alive, you'd see a lot of treasury management offers float around Now we're seeing chains directly taking projects from each other When the pie stops growing, what's left is taking more of the pie ($5M is a great deal) https://twitter.com…
@berko_crypto Berko on x
Even with the article ending on a skeptical note, I love how the @FT highlights several leading NFTs, including @BoredApeYC, @doodles, and @pudgypenguins, and their own unique propositions as futuristic brands. https://www.ft.com/...
@acemaxx @acemaxx on x
b/w Jan and Mar 2022, more than $19bn was spent on #NFTs - representing the majority of this year's $36bn worth of sales; since then, monthly spending has tumbled more than 87% to just over $442mio in Nov, chart @FT https://www.ft.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@degeneratenews @degeneratenews on x
BREAKING: @pudgypenguins FEATURED ON @FinancialTimes ARTICLE “NFT CREATORS DIVERSIFY INTO REAL-WORLD ASSETS TO GENERATE NEW REVENUES” https://twitter.com/...
@venkatananth Venkat Ananth on x
very interesting. how NFT creators are pivoting to the real, post-crash world. one of them, knights of degen (also behind the football team Crawley Town), wants to get into “celebrity meet-and-greets, IPA beer and an upcoming line of vodka-based sauces” https://www.ft.com/...

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