Doodles version of Crocs sold out in 3 days Blue chip NFT sells to save itself

Author: Mu Mu, Yuan Universe Sun Explosion

The crypto asset market is still in the cold winter. NFT, which exploded in the last bull market, is experiencing its first deep bear. Countless NFT projects have been purged by the market, and players are rushing to flee. The market has been so deserted that even blue-chip NFTs with the highest recognition of value have not been able to escape the predicament of continued plummeting, and some projects have begun to save themselves.

Recently, the well-known blue-chip NFT project Doodles and Crocs jointly launched a limited edition "Crocs", which sold out within 72 hours. Pudgy Penguins, another well-known blue-chip NFT, was combined with physical toys to launch Pudgy Toys. Within two days of its launch on Amazon, more than 20,000 units were sold, with sales exceeding US$500,000.

NFTs, which used to be disguised as "new blockchain applications", are now starting to sell goods. Although the price and sales of goods are far less than the return rate of selling a batch of NFTs in the bull market, these IPs that were originally only popular in the niche Web3 circle have finally entered the public eye with physical brands or physical derivatives.

Doodles on Crocs uppers

Even if you haven’t heard of Doodles NFT, you must know about Crocs, which are popular all over the world and are imitated by various copycat shoes. Now, Crocs has a new style of sneakers, with Doodles NFT design elements appearing on the uppers.

Yes, this world-renowned casual shoe brand has crossed over with NFT IP. It jointly launched a limited edition of Doodles Crocs, and buyers will also receive a unique Crocs Box digital collection. If the purchasing user destroys this collection, they can unlock two Crocs wearable NFTs that match the Doodles NFT image, as well as a Stoodio Beta Pass card that can be used in the dynamic Doodles 2 NFT series.

Doodles appearing on Crocs limited edition Crocs

The Crocs will be on sale at 12:00 EST on August 29th for $120. Three days later, the shoes were sold out.

Now, we can take a look at this NFT IP that attracts cooperation from international shoe brands.

The Doodles NFT series was launched on October 17, 2021, and was created by three Canadian artists. In the NFT market, it can also be regarded as the peak when it is listed.

At that time, only 504 of the total 10,000 NFTs were owned by the founding team. The remaining NFTs could be minted by users on the Ethereum blockchain for handling fees. The starting minting price (equivalent to the public initial price) was 0.123 ETH (excluding handling fees), which is equivalent to US$471. Not to mention that it sold out quickly, and the handling fee for minting it was once raised to 1 ETH (US$3830).

Doodles is one of the most popular series in the NFT market

You must know that the NFT market at that time was in an explosive period. Bored Ape and CryptoPunks, which popularized the NFT concept, were the biggest winners. The designs of these two NFT series have their own characteristics. One is a depressing and grotesque style. , one who pioneered pixel art.

Doodles' colorful colors and simple drawing designs have brought a fresh and soft aesthetic to the NFT market. Once launched, they have become one of the "most popular" series in the NFT market. The rarest Doodles NFT sold for a maximum price of 296.69. ETH, which was over $1.1 million at the time.

However, no matter how popular NFT is, it cannot withstand the "encryption winter". The current base price of Doodles is only 1.37 NFT, equivalent to US$2,220, and the 24-hour transaction volume is only 33.51 ETH. Although this floor price is still more than four times the initial price, at its peak, its floor price was 23.95 ETH, and the transaction volume that day was 2811 ETH.

The price of Doodles fell, but the trading volume did not increase. Fortunately, the value of the IP after two years of operation was not immediately discarded. The bright design was chosen by Crocs and made into shoes. A pair sold for US$120, which was much lower than the initial selling price of Doodles of US$471.

The founding team of Doodles also understood that NFT cannot only rely on selling virtual pictures. Founder Keast declared that Doodles’ ultimate goal is to become a comprehensive Web3 entertainment company that “builds a bridge between Web3 and the real world.” The implication is that NFT will not go far if it is just pragmatic. It must be pragmatic.

Deep Bear is forcing the NFT industry to turn from reality to reality

Doodles is not the only one selling NFT IP. Another blue-chip NFT project, Pudgy Penguins, started researching peripherals as early as May this year. It launched Pudgy Toys, a doll that combines blockchain technology with physical toys. With the NFT digital platform Pudgy Worlds, every toy can realize digital experience on this website.

According to the official introduction, Pudgy Toys buyers will receive a "birth certificate" to unlock the trait box of the first season of Pudgy World, and obtain identity tokens and corresponding NFTs. Users only need an email address to register a blockchain wallet and dress up their own penguin on the website.

Amazon data shows that Pudgy Toys sold more than 20,000 units within two days of launch, with sales exceeding $500,000, making it the top 1 new product on Amazon. This also shows that NFT users/ordinary users recognize the design of Pudgy Penguins.

Pudgy Penguins launches physical toys

The deep bear in the NFT market has not only affected a single project, but even Opensea, the world's largest NFT trading market, is a bit unable to bear it. This trading platform is actively seeking to cooperate with "platforms that support e-commerce, ticketing or any 'off-chain' experience." or enterprise” cooperation.

All signs indicate that the hype of small pictures of NFT has become a thing of the past, and all links in the industry chain that go against this trend are likely to be abandoned by the market.

In June this year, the blue-chip NFT project Azuki launched a new image. The new series of Azuki Elementals caused dissatisfaction among the community due to the highly repetitive features of the previous generation Azuki NFT. The practice of changing the hairstyle of the original image into a new NFT was ridiculed by the community. As a result, the bottom price of Azuki itself fell below 10 ETH.

Azuki Elementals is so angry that the community is complaining about pictures

Christianeth, a major NFT player, said bluntly on the social platform, "If a team has no new ideas, no innovation that can drive the community, or no new business model and development direction, it will be very difficult in the next cycle."

Obviously, Doodles and the "Fat Penguins" have seen this and are trying to find new ways to survive from the depleted liquidity. Cross-border marketing, launching derivatives that combine physical and digital products, etc. are all attempts. After all, even physical companies are issuing NFTs themselves, and they all have real products. "+NFT" or "+Web3" is just a step towards digital upgrade.

For example, Starbucks’ NFT membership program Starbucks Odyssey, Nike’s NFT sneakers Crypto Kicks, Visa and Mastercard teamed up with different Web3 companies to develop cryptocurrency debit cards, etc.

Some people are also worried that blue-chip NFTs are busy crossing borders and will stay away from the innovative exploration of Web3 and embark on the old path of centralization. Pudgy Penguins believes that the key to the problem is how to ensure the rights and interests of NFT holders, "without creating Ponzi and without interfering with market prices."

Pudgy Penguins chooses to give the income from physical toys to NFT holders accordingly. They came up with a solution: Project Overpass. Simply put, it is an “IP licensing market”.

Although various NFTs are designed and launched by the founding team, the blockchain determines that the ownership of a certain NFT belongs to the person who spends money to mint it on the chain or later buy it from the secondary market. When an NFT is selected and wants to be commercialized, it needs to obtain the authorization of the holder. Even if the initiator of the series wants to "sell" an NFT initiated by himself, he must ask the holder for authorization. .

Binding the ownership of digital assets directly at the underlying technology is a unique rule of the blockchain. Project Overpass provides a matching market accordingly: individuals or companies who need to be authorized can directly list the NFT series they want on this website, and NFT holders can also set their own authorization conditions, such as available scope, remuneration, etc. Once a match is formed, both parties can complete authorization and authorization on the chain.

It is reported that 16 "fat penguins" have been purchased by Pudgy Penguins and authorized to be made into toys. This is similar to the operation method of "Boring Ape". This leading NFT project has transferred the commercial use and sales rights of IP to the holders. The holders can redesign and recreate these "apes", or they can Transfer the equity held for a second time.

Spanning art, fashion, entertainment, and catering, Boring Ape has achieved great commercial success. It is no longer just a JPEG avatar circulating on social media, but an IP ecosystem that has grown from a niche circle into a phenomenal NFT trendy brand.

Rather than focusing on indicators such as reserve price and transaction volume all day long, the most important thing for NFT right now is to get out of the circle and let people outside the Web3 world see how this visual application based on blockchain can transform existing businesses. The integration of NFT IP and physical IP is actually a two-way exit after cross-border marketing, finding new growth points among each other's customer groups that both want to have.