The grass is always greener, it seems. NFT projects on non-Ethereum chains aspire to see levels of liquidity achieved by top Ethereum-based projects, while Ethereum-based NFT collections see the ‘bigger fish in a smaller pond’ opportunity with leaner non-Ethereum chains. There are plenty more potential motivations for projects to move across chains – or grow beyond just one chain – and for the first time in recent months, this is action that we’re finally seeing come to life.
We saw a prime example of this in the final hours of 2022 when signature Solana-based projects DeGods and y00ts announced their move from Solana to Polygon.
Another case study is in the making this week, this time with a once high-flying Ethereum-based ‘blue chip,’ Doodles.
NFTs: To Ethereum, And Beyond
There’s been high ceilings and low floors in Doodles long – yet brief – history. However, the project still shows continued investment – quite literally as recent as September, when Doodles raised over $50M in a VC fundraising round led by Reddit co-founder and Doodle holder Alexis Ohanian and his investment firm Seven Seven Six.
At the time, many community members in the NFT space thought this was outlandish and flat out laughable, but it hasn’t tempered Doodles’ efforts to continue growing an IP powerhouse.
The latest news this week comes straight from the horse’s mouth. An announcement from the Doodles team on Wednesday shed more light around the upcoming ‘Doodles 2’ release, the follow-up collection to Doodles. In that announcement, the Doodles team shared that they would be launching the project’s latest iteration on Flow, rather than Ethereum – and sharing a sentiment of a “future of strong cross-interoperability” in doing so.
A letter to our community pic.twitter.com/M9kp0LK0Gq
— doodles (@doodles) January 25, 2023
A Cross-Chain Future
It’s hard to envision exactly how a cross-chain interoperability with NFTs actually comes to life in a way that is easy and free-flowing. The reality is that we’re probably a year or two away from even being close. However, kudos is due to projects willing to take risks and launch in new and unique ways – and many major community members in both NFTs specifically, and crypto at large, have been advocates for more cross-chain pollination.
The Flow blockchain is undoubtedly an interesting choice for the Doodles team, too; Flow has been a mainstay for sports NFTs, with the overseeing team at Dapper Labs securing partners like the NBA, UFC, and La Liga. However, Flow hasn’t been a top choice for traditional NFT collections typically – despite carrying similar market advantages to chains like Polygon or Solana, Flow’s business development focus hasn’t typically been focused on community-driven collections. Doodles, however, is clearly a project that Flow will welcome with open arms as the chain looks to diversify it’s roster of premier projects.
The ever-present and undeniably complicated question is always, what is the end game for NFTs? The answer is likely some multi-media, digital-first legacy IP emblematic of Disney franchises, Pokemon, etc. However, building brand loyalty in the space is not easy, and few will survive the long game. We’ll see how it shakes out for Doodles and co.
