The grass is always greener, it seems. NFT projects on non-Ethereum chains want to see the level of liquidity achieved by top Ethereum-based projects, while Ethereum-based NFT collections see a ‘bigger fish in a small pond’ opportunity with leaner non-Ethereum chains. There are more potential motivations for projects to go across chains – or to grow beyond just one chain – and for the first time in months, this is an action we’re finally taking.
We saw a prime example of this in the final hours of 2022 when Solana-based project DeGods and y00ts announced their move from Solana to Polygon.
Another case study is underway this week, this time with the high-flying Ethereum-based ‘blue chip’, Doodles.
NFTs: For Ethereum, And Beyond
There are high ceilings and low floors in Doodles’ long – but brief – history. However, the project still shows continuous investment – literally as in September, when Doodles raised more than $ 50M in a VC fundraising round led by Reddit founder and owner of Doodle Alexis Ohanian and investment company Seven Seven Six.
At the time, many community members in the NFT space thought this was weird and laughable, but it didn’t interfere with Doodles’ efforts to continue developing their powerhouse IP.
The latest news this week comes straight from the horse’s mouth. An announcement from the Doodles team on Wednesday gave us more details on the upcoming release of ‘Doodles 2’, the follow-up collection to Doodles. In the announcement, the Doodles team indicated that they would be launching the latest iteration of the project on Flow, rather than Ethereum – and shared the sentiment of “a strong future of cross-interoperability” in doing so.
A letter to our community pic.twitter.com/M9kp0LK0Gq
– doodling (@doodling) January 25, 2023
Flow blockchain (FLOW) secured a major win this week with it's new support of upcoming 'Doodles 2.' | Source: FLOW-USD on TradingView.com
A Cross-Chain Future
It is difficult to imagine exactly how cross-chain interoperability with NFTs actually comes to life in a simple and free way. In fact, we’re probably a year or two closer. However, kudos to projects that are willing to take risks and launch in new and unique ways – and many key community members in both NFTs specifically, and crypto in general, have been advocates for more cross-pollination.
Blockchain Flow is definitely an interesting choice for the Doodles team; Streaming has become a mainstay for NFT sports, with the oversight team at Dapper Labs securing partners like the NBA, UFC, and La Liga. However, Flow is not the main choice for traditional NFT collections – despite having the same market advantages as chains like Polygon or Solana, Flow’s business development focus is usually not on community-supported collections. Doodles, however, is clearly a project that Flow will welcome with open arms as the chain looks for a diverse list of major projects.
The ever-present and undeniably complicated question is, what is the end game for NFTs? The answer is likely some multi-media, digital-first heritage IP emblematic of the Disney franchise, Pokemon, etc. However, building brand loyalty on board is not easy, and few will survive the length of the game. We’ll see how Doodles and co.