DeGods has built a huge amount of hype heading into the mint of their upcoming 15,000 piece collection, y00ts. A particularly effective marketing tool has been the y00ts scholarship program, which allowed anyone to apply for a y00ts whitelist spot (scholarship applications closed on Sunday night). Every time someone is selected for a scholarship, a tweet is sent out announcing their acceptance. As big players in the NFT space receive scholarships, the excitement around y00ts has exploded. The DeGods team has also stoked engagement with the scholarship program by asking Twitter users to recommend others that are deserving of a scholarship.
Those wanting to mint a y00t will need a whitelist spot as well as 375 $DUST tokens, the DeGods utility token. Holders of a DeadGod (an upgraded DeGod) will receive a whitelist spot, but still need the requisite $DUST. These dynamics have caused DeGods/DeadGods to reach a floor price of over 580 SOL and the price of $DUST to reach $3.25. With the y00ts mint priced at 375 $DUST, the current cost to mint is $1,219 (or 38 SOL), a mint price previously unheard of on Solana for a 15,000 piece collection. But y00ts has also created unprecedented hype on Solana, with many people calling for DeGods to flip Bored Apes. Several BAYC holders on Twitter expressed interest in acquiring a DeGod over the weekend in order to get a y00ts whitelist spot.
With the y00ts excitement reaching a fever pitch, DeGods surpassed a lifetime trading volume of over 1,000,000 SOL and the floor price climbed above 580 SOL. While the price of Solana is only at ~$32, these DeGods numbers are all the more impressive considering that crypto and NFTs are currently in a bear market. Will y00ts and DeGods be the catalyst that finally brings ETH NFT whales to Solana? We'll have to wait until the y00ts mint on Sept. 2nd to find out, but it's looking increasing likely.
