y00ts (Polygon)

What is Y00ts NFT Collection?

The y00ts NFT Collection is an eagerly anticipated project brought to the Solana NFT space by a highly experienced team with a remarkable track record. This initiative not only offered captivating and distinctive artwork, but also introduced tools that have the potential to foster the growth of the entire ecosystem. Comprising 15,000 yeti-like avatars, the y00ts collection is the brainchild of the same team behind the successful DeGods NFTs.

Designed as a separate collection, y00ts caters to a more relaxed and casual audience of collectors. In an interview on Overpriced Jpegs, Frank, a key figure in the project, explained that y00ts specifically targets individuals who are less intensely involved in the NFT space, and perhaps even those whose primary focus lies outside the web3 realm. By doing so, y00ts provides an opportunity for enthusiastic supporters to connect with the DeLabs team, even if they were unable to participate in the DeGods collection, which is oriented toward the more speculative side of the community.

Originally known as Duppies, the y00ts NFT collection underwent a transformation on the Solana blockchain, giving rise to its current form. Each y00ts NFT features a single image of a sheep with various layered metadata, contributing to their unique characteristics and attributes.

This project quickly gained recognition within the NFT space, attracting the attention of notable celebrities such as Allen Iverson, Howie Mandel, and Wayne Rooney. However, the journey to success was not without its challenges. A Twitter hack disrupted the initial plans for the project, prompting the team to regroup and embrace a fresh approach with the declaration, "We tried some stuff. We learned some stuff. Now, we're trying some new stuff."

Amidst the overwhelming excitement surrounding the y00ts NFT collection, the popularity and value of DeGods also experienced a significant surge. As a result, the DeGods project attracted both existing DeGods holders and NFT enthusiasts, fostering a vibrant community of 15,000 individuals who eagerly participated in the y00ts project. Utilizing an innovative scholar system and transparent mint list, this venture brought together a diverse group of individuals in the Web3 space, fueling the growth of both y00ts and DeGods, while enthusiasts continued to join the prestigious y00tlist.

The Y00ts Whitelist Experiment

The y00ts whitelist experiment was an innovative initiative introduced by the y00ts team to enhance the selection process for up-and-coming NFT projects' minters. The team aimed to address the challenges faced by many NFT projects with the existing whitelist setup, where whales could exploit the system and adversely impact the floor price by dumping their minted NFTs on secondary markets.

To test the effectiveness of this approach, the team implemented the Scholarship program within the y00ts collection itself, serving as a proof-of-concept. The program allowed projects to carefully handpick deserving individuals based on the value they could contribute, creating a more robust and verified community.

The y00tlist played a crucial role in this experiment, functioning similarly to a presale for an NFT project. However, interested users were required to submit an application for approval, which was subject to the team's discretion. Once approved, users needed 375 DUST, the native token of the DeGods ecosystem, to mint their y00ts NFT. The y00tlist quickly became oversubscribed as collectors eagerly sought to participate in the project during its highly anticipated launch.

Initially scheduled for release on September 2, 2022, the y00ts NFT collection faced delays due to a Blocker Bug. The minting process, which was slated to begin on September 5, was subsequently rescheduled to September 6 at 8 PM PST. Despite the challenges and delays, the y00ts team remained committed to refining the whitelist experiment and creating a platform that could revolutionize community formation in the NFT space, attracting the interest of various projects seeking to leverage its capabilities.

What is the Y00ts Store?

The y00ts store introduces a unique marketplace where the community can access personalized NFT traits and collaborate with artists for commissioned designs. Creators are encouraged to submit their customized y00ts traits, subject to certain approval criteria. The designs should maintain the same size as the original traits and be recognizable using the original metadata tag. Additionally, submissions must adhere to guidelines that prohibit hate speech, pornographic content, and the use of copyrighted intellectual property. Once approved, creators receive the Ⓨ designation for their customized traits, granting them various advantages. The Y00ts Store is set for a revolution in the NFT world.

But, what is the Y00ts Copyright, and how does it work?

The y00ts team is exploring a new copyright and ownership system known as ⓨ for NFTs. This system aims to replace the traditional copyright symbol ⓒ and introduce a custom approach to intellectual property rights. The team acknowledges that this concept is still in the experimental stage and welcomes feedback and criticism to refine the system.

In the current landscape of NFT collections, holders typically possess IP rights only for individual NFTs they own. Alternatively, the Creative Commons license (CC0) allows NFT assets to be part of the public domain. However, these approaches often overlook the broader benefits for the entire collection. The y00ts project introduces ⓨ as a means of registering copyright within an NFT collection, with each collection having its own ⓨ registry. This empowers projects to determine who has permission to use the NFT's IP and enables them to approve or reject usage requests at the speed of Web3.

The ⓨ system ensures that only the ⓨ owner has the rights to the trait, theme, style, or brand associated with it. Any attempted derivatives or copies listed on the marketplace will not be approved. The y00ts store will no longer accept user-generated traits after a 6-month period. Moving forward, new traits added to the y00ts store will come through limited supply collaborations with prominent lifestyle brands and apparel companies.

Owning the ⓨ for a trait grants users various monetization opportunities. They can set the price and supply of the trait on the y00ts store, sell the entire ⓨ to another party, or collect a 5% royalty on every sale of the trait. Artists can leverage ⓨ to generate revenue by creating individual traits and charging SOL or DUST for them. They can also engage in commission work for holders, earning a percentage of royalties. Non-artists can also benefit from ⓨ by creating sub-communities or "clubs" within the y00ts ecosystem. By commissioning a custom set of traits and registering the club with ⓨ, community members can monetize their sub-communities. They have the potential to earn royalties from y00t NFT sales and can charge upfront costs for the traits themselves.

The introduction of ⓨ aims to address these limitations by establishing a copyright registry specific to each NFT collection, allowing projects to efficiently manage user requests in the Web3 environment. The implementation of this mechanism is being initially tested within the y00ts project, paving the way for further exploration and adoption.

The Polygon Migration of the Yoots NFTs

The migration of y00ts NFT from the Solana blockchain to Polygon was successfully completed, marking a significant shift in the ecosystem. The decision to migrate y00ts to Polygon was driven by various factors, including the allure of Polygon's robust network and its collaborations with renowned corporate entities like Reddit, Disney, Nike, and Starbucks.

This migration opened up new possibilities for y00ts, allowing easier access and potential partnerships with Polygon-native brands. The migration process facilitated seamless integration and provided y00ts with enhanced opportunities for growth and engagement within the Polygon ecosystem. Additionally, we cannot ignore the hard time that Solana is having since the FTX collapse. Moreover, the migration was officially announced on December 2022, when Solana was really struggling. All in all, these facts make the Y00ts team take the leap to a, hopefully, better future.