Ethlings created the first on-chain completely customizable NFT collection. The collection features a complex mix of an ERC-721 token of each avatar with ERC-1155 tokens as wearables that can be used to customize each avatar. Ethlings also features an ERC-20 token which is used to upgrade the customizability of each avatar. With less than 1,000 unique owners for 7,777 customizable Ethlings and several wearables from different artists, the developers and community decided to come up with a 60-day plan, starting on September 1st, to increase the unique ownership percentage and increase engagement with the platform.
Everything was pretty normal until the last week when the developers went quiet and then resurfaced with a hammering announcement on September 23rd titled “To the Ethlings Community and Beyond”
“The Ethlings Universe will go into stasis.”
We shared an update today that was a tough decision.
— Ethlings (@ethlings) September 23, 2021
Our message is that: everyone will still have access to their Ethlings, their customizability, and $ET going forward.
But we have to face reality: this is a protocol that lacks community engagement. Here are indicators:
(1/3)
Evidently, Evaluation and Economics were the primary reasons behind the team's decision. They are no longer willing to spend resources continuing to build on the platform as they see it reaching a saturation point.
The team experimented with multiple resources, in their words, paraphrasing “its an improper market fit to the current requirement of the market,” shows a lack of commitment to the project and the completion of the agreed-upon 60-day plan. They tried to justify it with some measure of the following metrics.
In their recent medium post, they wrote; “The ecosystem we’ve created is not sustainable for collectors and artists alike, and the larger NFT community has not picked up on Ethlings.
This is clear when observing.”
- Number of trades on OpenSea per week
- Unique owners of new wearables and skins after drops
- Number of customizations per day
- Engagement on social media and in live sessions
- Interest level in community grants
Though initially shocking to the community, there was an important metric that was discounted, community consensus. This is evident from their community members showing eagerness to carry the torch on discord discussion. Some have taken a lead role in uplifting the community. They will work with the developers to decide how to move forward. This much is clear: the community is refusing to accept the developers’ plans to let the project go into stasis. Do reach out to them if you have programming and developing skills or can support them by lending a hand in community building.
Here is a link to their discord: https://discord.gg/GVvKyq6C
We will keep an eye on the community negotiation expected to take place on Sunday with the team and will cover their developments. Kudos to the community for taking responsibility and we wish you all the success.
