The illusion of hyped NFT collections

The NFT space has seen the sudden rise of hyped projects, often with flashy teasers and cryptic tweets that attract hundreds of thousands of followers seemingly overnight.

However, this trend has also resulted in disappointment, with hot collections often fizzling out quickly and leaving a trail of fear, uncertainty, and doubt in their wake. The questionable tactics of some projects, such as allow-list gatekeeping, have soured the reputation of the hype culture.

While such projects are now rare, they serve as a reminder to creators, collectors, and builders that maximum exposure is not always a good thing in 2023.

The characteristics of a hyped NFT are not always easy to identify, but there are a few telltale signs. One such sign is that they often seem too good to be true and use FOMO as a marketing tactic. In addition, they may feature unknown founders, influencers, or builders. Established brands in Web3, on the other hand, typically have anticipated ecosystem expansions.

Even if a hyped NFT project has a reputable development team, it may still experience exponential growth without a clear explanation. While it’s difficult to prove unethical growth tactics, some projects seem to accrue massive followings on social media platforms such as Twitter and Discord in a matter of days. However, there is more to hyped NFT projects than can be easily categorized. To gain a more complete understanding, one must dissect examples of projects that have become hype archetypes and cautionary tales for Web3.

MekaVerse

However, a potential insider trading scandal emerged soon after, with accusations that the developers had acquired rare Meka NFTs before the reveal. Although the developers denied these allegations, the project’s reputation was already tarnished in the NFT community.

The NFT reveal was also plagued by issues, as MekaVerse encountered identical feature problems that were not fixed, leading to users exhibiting near-identical NFTs aside from single color changes. As a result, MekaVerse’s floor prices rapidly dropped, leading to doubts about the project’s ability to recover from the setback.

HAPE PRIME

The NFT space saw the launch of Hape Prime and Pixelmon after the infamous MekaVerse, but neither of them reached the same level of success. However, they did teach the industry important lessons about the drawbacks of overhyped NFT projects, the impact of hype on a collection, and the need to approach new offerings with caution.

Hape Prime generated buzz through Twitter and Discord as people scrambled to gain access to its limited release. The collection sold out quickly, but once buyers received their NFTs, they were disappointed to find that the quality didn’t match the initial promises.

The art featured errors and lacked detail, which some likened to catfishing. Just like with MekaVerse, the hype quickly faded and prices fell, leaving collectors feeling uneasy about the future of these types of projects.

Pixelmon

The NFT community is a vocal one, and the hype around a project often leads to heightened expectations and increased attention, which can ultimately lead to disaster. After the mint, or at the latest after the reveal, the attention goes on to the next project. Additionally, those who couldn’t secure a spot on an allowlist or are opposed to a collection may publicly spread negative information, which further fuels the hype cycle.

However, creators and builders cannot avoid hype altogether in the fast-paced NFT space. Instead, it is important to avoid artificial hype tactics such as buying followers or promoting FOMO, and to build in the open with transparency and accessibility. The mistakes of hyped NFTs passed have reinforced the value of these principles in Web3.

Related posts:

The LAMT token is the native token of the Lamina Trade platform. It is an evolutionary token that will power the market’s largest on-chain algorithm platform. Investing in the LAMT token presale…

So how is everyone going so far with your new year resolutions? Mine so far I’m on track as I’ve promised myself that I will write every day this year. Of course, making it realistic by breaking…

The key to constructive confrontation is vulnerability. Let me give you an example. Rather than, “What you’ve asked of me is too much and I can’t help you” try instead “I’m feeling overwhelmed and I…