The world of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) is dynamic, to say the least. One established trend in the space is the concept of 'free minting'. In essence, a project allows anyone to mint or create tokens associated with it for free. It's a high-risk strategy that has paid dividends for some projects, while leaving others in the lurch.
But what does Hangry Animals, an upcoming player in the NFT arena, think about this? Let's delve deeper into our stance on free minting and its potential implications for minter royalties when we launch our project.
Understanding Free Minting for NFTs
Free minting is an unconventional approach that offers the possibility of increased accessibility and wider distribution. The end goal is to attract a broad user base and establish a vibrant community around the project. However, this comes with substantial risk. As there are no upfront costs, the project becomes susceptible to 'mint and dump' or 'mint and speculate' strategies, which can harm the long-term viability of the project if not managed correctly. Moonrunners and Goblintown are likely the most well known examples of a free mints that made a success out of a word of mouth campaign to get launched. Currently valued at of $50 Million, Goblintown proved that organically rolling out a collection for free, would have it's merits. That's one way to grab attention: https://news.bitcoin.com/free-to-mint-nft-collection-goblintown-is-now-worth-over-50-million/
Hangry Animals’ Position
At Hangry Animals, we believe in a balanced approach. While the concept of free minting intrigues us for its potential to democratise access and get our precious asset into the hands of genuine fans, we also understand the risks involved. We feel that introducing a small minting fee could deter potential 'dumpers', while still keeping the barrier to entry relatively low. This way, we can ensure that our community is made up of genuine enthusiasts who are here for the long haul.
Minter Royalties from launch
In terms of minter royalties, our strategy is designed to incentivise creators and reward longevity. Every time a Hangry Animal NFT changes hands for a fee, a small royalty fee will be given to the original minter. This means that even if you mint and sell your NFT, you continue to earn from it as it gains popularity and trades frequently in the marketplace. By doing this, we aim to foster a sense of ownership and encourage creativity within the Hangry Animals community. But equally. Those that hodl and embrace the adventure with us won't miss out. Our treasury will hold a proportion of the royalties for solid hodlers and placed into a staking pool using Revests NFT Lockers.
An LCX article stipulates the development of ERC721-C and a new standard adoption which would require the major marketplaces to update their platforms in order to support such a change: https://www.lcx.com/an-overview-of-erc721-c-and-creator-royalties/. The space is maturing thats for certain, but not quite at the pace projects wish to drop new collections with minter incentives such as ERC721-C. It's too complex, convoluted and not widely adopted.. yet.
At the moment of writing automating these royalties is not adopted or even possible by most of the primary marketplaces. With this in mind, we are building a marketplace dapp to facilitate the transactions away from centralised marketplaces who control royalty fees to creators as it stands. This way we can visualise and control the flow of royalties authentically. Yes we know what we've just stated in contradictory to Opensea being centralised, but projects are starting to embrace the notion of ownership and flow of trading via their own communities and tech introduced by the projects they represent. Watch out big guns... projects are starting to recognise the financial manipulation of the markets and doing something about it for their own survival.
We believe that this blended approach - adopting a nominal minting fee and offering claimable minter royalties - provides a balance between accessibility and sustainability, making Hangry Animals an exciting prospect in the world of NFTs and digital collectibles.
Stay tuned for more information about Hangry Animals and our upcoming launch. We look forward to seeing you in the Hangry Animals community!
