Ethereum tries to put its noisy neighbor Solana back in check
A collection of NFTs on Solana called Okay Bears has been replicated and reversed, then launched on Ethereum as Not Okay Bears, and now these copy bears outsell the original NFT collection. Solana is also home to countless Ethereum clone collections like Degenerate Ape Society. However, this time around the Ethereum NFT community flexes its muscles to put its noisy neighbor back in check.
Some call this a full circle moment for Solana as it is far more common to find knock-off top Ethereum collections like CryptoPunks and Pudgy Penguins on Solana than the other way around. Okay Bears, one of the hottest NFT collections on Solana, has been effectively copied, reversed, and pasted onto the Ethereum blockchain. They are doing more sales volume in the last hour than the previous day on Solana.
Not Okay Bears is an Ethereum-based NFT PFP collection project that launched on May 16, with a collection of 10,000 bear illustrations with a variety of traits. The imagery looks the same in a bold move because it’s the same artwork from Okay Bears on Solana—just reversed so that the bears are facing left instead of right. Now that’s what we call innovation! (note: this is sarcasm)
Is it Okay?
The Solana community is somewhat miffed by the move. Still, ultimately it can be seen as the highest compliment possible for a collection that until now has been mostly under the radar. Amidst the second wave of interest in NFTs, specifically those on Solana, this writer’s spidey sense wonders whether the collection wasn’t launched intentionally by a team close to Solana in an attempt to spur more NFT trading on Solana. Either way, both collections will be receiving increased media interest today and in the days to follow.
At writing, Okay Bears are trading on the leading Solana NFT marketplace Magic Eden at a floor price of 235 SOL, or around $13,335. Interestingly, just two days ago, the floor price was 94 SOL, or approximately $5,345. While it’s true that Okay Bears had been receiving increased interest along with several other Solana collections, the launch of Not Okay Bears appears to have pushed it to new highs in less than 48 hours.
The trading volume of the Solana Okay Bears collection in the last 24 hours is just over $2 million, while the Not Okay Bears collection has already racked up more than $6 million in secondary market trading volume on OpenSea in just a few hours since launching. The Not Okay Bears collection has burned 15.84 ETH or around $33,000 as investors pay transaction fees to mint on Ethereum. The collection has a current floor price of 0.3 ETH, or about $600, and OpenSea shows about $6.3 million worth of secondary trading at writing.
While the value of a Not Okay Bear NFTs on Ethereum is still way under that of an original Okay Bear on Solana, the event shows how clever marketing can create a wave of demand. This actually is a compliment to the original collection.
In another jibe at the Solana network, which has had its infrastructure and uptime issues lately, the description of the Not Okay Bears collection on OpenSea reads, “Bears on the blockchain that actually works.”
Is it sustainable?
Early data suggest that while the Not Okay Bears collection is receiving a lot of interest, listings are starting to outweigh sales, meaning that demand is less than supply as newly minted NFTs seemingly end up on secondary marketplaces as buyers immediately try and flip a profit.
Another risk is that the team at Okay Bears eventually takes action against this rip-off collection for various infringement issues. One Twitter observer was quick to point at recent updates to OpenSea’s policy on copy and paste collections. Therefore, it’s possibly just a matter of time until OpenSea will take down Not Okay Bears, blocking the collection from trading on the marketplace. However, there are always other NFT marketplaces to sell your NFTs, like Rarible, X2Y2, and LooksRare. Overall, being just 48 hours old, it’s too early to speculate on the outcome.
Solana NFTs are getting noticed
As mentioned, NFT collections on Solana had been garnering increased attention lately. NFT trading volume on Solana grew 90% from March to April, reaching $295 million, with Okay Bears and DeGods making their way into the top 30 most traded NFT collections. In the same way, it is worth noting that the average sale price of NFTs in this network has risen to approximately $350, showing value in these assets.
Moreover, the Solana NFT hype can be partially attributed to the network’s integration with OpenSea. The leading NFT marketplace increases the visibility of these NFTs exponentially, reaching new communities. Collections like Solana Monkey Business, Aurory, Degenerate Ape Academy, and marketplaces like Solanart and Magic Eden are the true pioneers in Solana’s ecosystem.
At writing, Okay Bears has not commented on the collection or stated any course of action against the Not Okay Bears team. However, it is worth noting that other collections like CryptoPhunks that nodded at an original OG collection, failed spectacularly. We will continue to monitor the story as it unfolds.
Newsletter
The above does not constitute investment advice. The information given here is purely for informational purposes only. Please exercise due diligence and do your research. The writer holds positions in various cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, and RADAR.
