NFTgators has revealed that the NFT lending market is experiencing a significant surge, with BendDAO using 59 Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFTs as collateral. This surge resulted in a six-month high, with a weekly volume reaching $67 million.
In addition, Blend, an inventive NFT lending protocol, has emerged as a prominent participant in this sector. Within two weeks, Blend facilitated over 75,000 ETH (approximately $135 million) in loans, demonstrating the platform’s effectiveness and the demand for liquidity among NFT holders.
NFTgators also reported that Reddit’s collectible avatars on Polygon had attracted over nine million users. The recorded sales of 132,000 and the average sale price of $114 highlighted the value and positive response to these digital collectibles.
There are over 9 million @onPolygon_-based @Reddit Collectible Avatar holders.@DuneAnalytics dashboard by polygon_analytics pic.twitter.com/ocyn8mDcjS
— NFTgators 🐊 (@NFTgators) May 14, 2023
Gen 3 Reddit NFTs
In April, Reddit introduced Gen 3 Reddit NFTs on Polygon. In the past year, Reddit’s foray into the world of NFTs has received widespread praise for its artist-centered approach and its success in capturing the attention of new Web3 users.
This initiative holds great potential as a gateway for mainstream audiences who may have had limited exposure to NFTs before, as Reddit offers millions of free avatars to its users.
The initial release of Gen 1 went relatively unnoticed, and it took about a month of trading before there was sufficient social awareness for the premium avatars to sell out. But when Gen 2 launched, there was already considerable anticipation and speculative excitement surrounding the collection, leading to the NFTs selling out within 24 hours.
Since June 2022, Reddit has gradually launched previous collections on Polygon. These collections showcased Reddit’s alien mascot Snoo in various styles and themes.
To surpass its previous achievements, the latest collection seeks to provide a considerably more comprehensive selection of artistic creations. Unlike the first two collections, which involved the collaboration of 32 artists, the Gen 3 drop alone showcases the contributions of over 100 artists.
Decrypt conducted interviews with three artists participating in Reddit’s Gen3 NFT project. Among them were one new artist joining the project and two who had previously contributed to earlier drops. The interviews shed light on their involvement in Reddit’s NFT initiative and the inspiration behind their avatar creations.
Recently launched @0xPolygon-based Gen 3 @Reddit avatars already saw a total of 153K mints by 79K minters, and a trading volume of $750K from 4,151 sales, averaging $181 per sale.@DuneAnalytics dashboard by polygon_analytics. pic.twitter.com/shfeFVBBKz
— NFTgators 🐊 (@NFTgators) April 13, 2023
Alicia Freeman, a visual artist and children’s author based in Australia, told Decrypt that Reddit initially contacted her to join the original collection launched last year. But she had no idea about the wide-ranging impact it would have.
“I didn’t even realize I’d be getting paid for my work,” she said. “I was obviously happily surprised at how big the project became.”
Freeman is known for her artistic inclination towards mythical and fantastical creatures. However, given the Gen 3 collection’s theme of future realities and the assumption that other artists would lean towards a sci-fi or robotic aesthetic, she created three visually organic avatars that diverged from those expectations.
She explained that her decision stemmed from her aspiration to depict the rising ocean levels, the diminishing bee populations and the eventual death of the universe.
The artist disclosed that Reddit granted artists complete creative freedom to pursue their artistic visions, with the only requirement being that their artwork aligned with the template framework of the Snoo character.
