The Journey Of Mad Lads

Introduction

Web3 is a constantly evolving technology that has brought about many innovations, including Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). NFT has gained popularity among Web3 enthusiasts, as they allow for digital ownership, new revenue streams for creators, community building, and new forms of collectibles. The goal of Web3 is to promote decentralization, and NFTs are one way to achieve this.

In 2014, Kelvin McCoy minted the first-ever Non-Fungible Token (NFT) called Quantum on Namecoin. However, early NFT projects like Rare Pepes were not widely known outside the cryptocurrency and blockchain community. It wasn't until 2017 that NFTs gained mainstream attention with the launch of the first NFT collections on the Ethereum blockchain.

In 2021, interest in blockchain technology increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic and social media platforms like Twitter and Clubhouse, which have strong NFT communities. Despite this, Solana's NFT ecosystem is currently experiencing a decline as major players like DeGods and y00ts move to other platforms. However, Mad Lads has stepped up to save the Solana ecosystem, following in the footsteps of other successful NFT projects like Bored Apes, Azuki, and Checks.

We will be exploring how Mad Lads achieved this through the inception and evolution of Mad Lads, and the Backpack team, Analysis of Mad Lads' secondary market sales, Milestones that contributed to its reputation as a premier NFT collection on Solana, Factors driving the community's growth and engagement as well as the Future outlook of Mad Lads.

The inception and evolution of Mad Lads, and the Backpack team

What is Mad Lads?

Before we dive into the inception and evolution of Mad Lads and the Backpack Team, you must have been wondering what Mad Lads is. you may think they are a group of crazy guys right🤣

Well, you may be right or wrong. Mad Lads is a collection of 10,000 NFTs that features a variety of illustrated humans or humanoid Profile Pictures(PFPs) with specific clothing, weapons, accessories, and even rare biological attributes, portraying celestial, robotic, and undead characters as shown below 👇

You know what your answer is now 😁

The Inception and Evolution

The birth of Mad Lads can be compared to the inception of any other project, with a clear goal of solving a problem. Coral, a Solana framework development company led by Armani Ferrante and Tristan Yver, created this project. Mad Lads was not the only project born at this time, as it was accompanied by Backpack and xNFTs, all of which exist in close proximity to one another.

During the Consensus 2023 by CoinDesk, one of the co-founders of Mad Lads, Tristan Yver, shared the backstory of Backpack's journey.

He said the Backpack team aimed to create a consumer application in the crypto space to attract new users beyond the existing crypto community. They understood the challenge of distribution and focused on enticing individuals from platforms like Coinbase to explore on-chain applications. The team also recognized the importance of wallets and sought innovative solutions beyond mere user interface(UI) and experience(UX) enhancements. Being inspired by WeChat's ecosystem model, they explored decentralized native applications and ultimately found success with the concept of xnfts. This success justified launching their business, assembling a team, and securing funding.

He went further to explain what xNFTs are, as third-party decentralized applications built using their open developer tooling, usable directly within Backpack(a mobile wallet) by integrating existing metadata standards of these NFTs on Ethereum and Solana, augmenting rather than replacing them with additional new URI line pointing to a code bundle. Through the process, the creators can customize their xnfts within Backpack. This allows for distribution to users who can launch and use these applications natively within the wallet, similar to accessing apps on the iPhone App Store.

To create a seamless process for their users of xNFTs, the team had already built a mobile wallet called BackPack, a name coined from a versatile bag designed to be carried on one’s back. This announcement was made at the Solana SMS Saga event held in New York by Armani Ferrante.

Backpack is a wallet that aims to serve as a universal hub for all kinds of crypto assets. One of the wallet's unique features is that it can handle xNFTs, treating them the same way as regular NFTs - you can buy, sell, and hold them. What sets backpack apart is that it allows these xNFTs to function as actual applications within the wallet interface. This means that backpack was designed to be a one-stop-shop for all of your crypto needs. You can view not only your tokens and NFTs but also all of your cryptocurrency assets and protocols from various blockchains, all in one convenient place. in addition to this, You can easily search for and purchase your desired NFTs from any NFT marketplace all within the Backpack.

In conclusion, Mad Lads spearheaded everything the team was building. They recognise the significance of community in the current landscape of NFTs and acknowledge that the value of NFTs primarily lies in their collectible aspect rather than expanding into areas like gaming or real estate on the blockchain. Creating the Mad Lads NFT project serves two main purposes: showcasing technology and building a community of evangelists. By engaging with the community through Mad Lads, the aim is to attract a mass consumer audience and encourage the adoption of products like Backpack. The community's energy and passion are seen as vital for expanding beyond the current crypto circle and attracting new users to the space. Despite challenges in reaching broader audiences, the emphasis is on leveraging the existing community to drive growth and adoption.

Analysis of Mad Lads' secondary market sales

In the context of cryptocurrencies, a secondary market refers to a platform or exchange where investors buy and sell digital assets or tokens they already own. The secondary market sale of Mad Lads has been successful judging according to data on Flipsidecrypto as shown below 👇

The data shows that there has been $29.08 million in secondary sales volume over the last 90 days. There have also been 1,298 sales from 861 buyers and Royalties of $1.15m.

In addition, the Share of Volume by Marketplace shows the percentage of sales volume contributed by each marketplace. As of March 23, 2024, Tensor holds the majority share at 80.87%, followed by Magic Eden at 18.64% as displayed below👇

Milestones that contributed to its reputation as a premier NFT collection on Solana

To understand the factors that contributed to the milestones of the Mad Lads collection in the Solana ecosystem, let's revisit the problem that the team set out to solve - distribution in the crypto industry. The team did not create the same product as their competitors. Instead, they took their time to understand the needs of their users and developed a product that simplified the complexity of NFTs. This approach greatly contributed to the success of the Mad Lads collection and set new standards, bringing glory to the Solana NFT ecosystem.

Some of the milestones include:

1. Technological Infrastructure: The implementation of dynamic NFTs on the Solana blockchain different from the traditional NFTs draws attention to the innovation.

2. Community: The team recognises and acknowledges its users and brings them in a welcoming atmosphere with consistent community engagement to contribute to this milestone.

3. Partnership and collaboration: The partnership, awareness and collaboration of other blockchains, protocols and other marketplaces is another facilitator in Mad Lads's successful story. Endorsements from influencers, and celebrity founders such as the Solana blockchain’s Co-Founders Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal joined as collectors, changing their Twitter pictures to support the budding project.

   %[https://twitter.com/rajgokal/status/1674642994694172672?t=oYb3hbuK_QLaaW3tuf9D9A&s=19]

   %[https://twitter.com/aeyakovenko/status/1674646295280238593?t=iDBq-Cr1OQOVisAoDMOuxw&s=19]

Factors driving the community's growth and engagement

Community has always been a top priority for the founders of Mad Lads. They realize the importance of building a sense of community among their users. As a result, they have integrated chat rooms for every NFT in their Backpack wallet. This means that users no longer have to search for other NFT holders. Now, they can easily connect with fellow NFT holders in one convenient location.

Furthermore, some of the factors that foster the community's growth and engagement are:

1. Recognition: The team has always recognized and emphasized the importance of community. They greatly value their community members and make efforts to show appreciation. For instance, during his presentation at the Consensus 2023 event, Tristan acknowledged the community and expressed his appreciation toward the community members. As humans, we find this kind of gesture highly appreciated.

2. Integration: The team allows developers to create their xNFTs and utilize the infrastructure in their applications. More details here.

3. Regular Events and Contests: The team hosts events and contests, such as giveaways, trivia challenges, and art competitions. These events are not only fun and engaging but also offer rewards and incentives for participation.

4. Rewards and shared opportunities for engagement: The team provides rewards to community members who actively participate engage and share other benefits.

👉Join the Mad Lads community on Discord and Twitter

Future outlook

Although the team has achieved a lot so far, it is safe to say that Mad Lads and the team have a bright future ahead.

Some of the big plans to look out from the team are:

1. Launching new products: One of the products from the Backpack team to look out for is the BackPack Exchange. It is a platform for trading and determining the market value of cryptocurrencies. Although this application is still in beta and has not yet gone live.

   

2. Expansion of team: The community is rapidly expanding and more products are being developed. Consequently, there will be a need for additional team members to speed up work and meet the demands of users and community members.

The team is committed to significantly increasing its collaboration with partners, organizing a plethora of events, and taking proactive measures to enhance its community engagement shortly.

Conclusion and Personal Opinion

In this article, we have been able to explore the birth of Mad Lads and other products such as BackPack and xNFTs and their potentials, Analysis of Mad Lads' secondary market sales, Milestones that contributed to its reputation as a premier NFT collection on Solana, Factors driving the community's growth and engagement and the Future outlook of Mad Lads.

After conducting my research, I have concluded that this is one of the most promising innovations that will bring significant benefits not only to the Solana ecosystem but to the world of decentralization as a whole. This innovation allows people to have a sense of ownership over their content and simplifies trading in general. It has the potential to make a significant impact on the world at large.

References

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