- Solana sets a new NFT record as it nets over $2 billion in sales.
- The Solana yOOTs project also topped NFT charts as it raised $7 million in its seed round.
- The community dubbed ETH killer may be trailing in Defi projects, but it indeed leads in NFTs.
After years in Ethereum’s shadow, Solana’s $2 billion Non-Fungible Token (NFT) record is worth celebrating amid a price crash.
NFTs in the cryptosphere has sparked a new drive among users due to their monetization. With a mass adoption leading to growing sales and higher mint fees, NFTs have contributed to the crypto market cap in many ways.
The Solana blockchain, widely touted to be the ETH killer, has successfully attracted new projects to the network, with NFTs leading the pack. This year, Solana surpassed the $2 billion mark in NFT sales thanks to the Okay Bear projects and other leading projects on the network.
The Solana blockchain has also recorded a new minting record as the yOOts project launched by Dust Labs recorded $7 million in its seed round. Dust is the native governance token of the DeGods NFT collection trading on Solana.
The yOOt NFT mint was delayed by a “blocker bug”, as explained by the company, with many already losing hope that it will be as successful as planned. Blocker bugs are generally issues detected at the testing phase of a project. Amid nagging issues, the project generated a whopping $7 million, further placing Solana as a go-to blockchain for NFTs.
 
 
The yOOTs project was announced by influencers, including Wayne Rooney and rapper Lil Baby. Selected whitelist accounts had to purchase 375 of the Dust token to participate. The Solana blockchain is also expecting more Nft releases such as “Duck with Attitudes”, “Lion King at Job”, “Royal Kong Club”, etc.
NFTs making a difference
With Ethereum still being the most preferred blockchain for DeFi projects, NFTs can spur a new beginning for Solana. The network has endured a tumultuous year plagued by network downtimes, leading investors to question its ability to compete in the space.
Magic Eden, an NFT marketplace on the Solana blockchain, has thrown its hat in the ring to challenge OpenSea’s dominance. The marketplace attained unicorn status after its latest funding round left it with a valuation of $1.6 billion. Magic Eden’s focus on gaming NFTs and absence of usernames and domains could see it catch up with OpenSea.
However, the launch of the Ethereum Merge may be a setback for Solana as projects and developers might prefer a faster and cheaper Ethereum.