PROOF Signal: Week of July 23

Welcome to the inaugural edition of PROOF Signal, your exclusive gateway to the world of all things PROOF. We're excited to bring you the latest updates, community highlights, and in-depth looks into niche and controversial topics in the NFT and Digital Art markets. Let’s jump in!

PROOF Updates

We're still buzzing with excitement from last week's Grand Opening of Foundry by PROOF and the epic Mythics Launch Celebration! The Mythics Exhibition will stay open through July 30th, where you can take a behind-the-scenes look into the captivating journey that led to the creation of the Mythics collection. Mark your calendars for July 30 as we wrap up the Mythics Exhibition with a family-friendly Mythics Mask-Making event. Join us for a fun-filled workshop creating your very own Mythics masks. Don't miss out on this chance to connect with the community.

The Hearth Feed is LIVE! Mythic’s slow-reveal mechanic and choice-based minting have led to a beautifully community-curated NFT collection. The Hearth Feed serves as a single source of truth to view freshly hatched eggs, the Mythics that have been chosen, AND those that have been forever sacrificed. Stay in the loop with up-to-the-minute information on all newly minted Mythics. Check out the Hearth Feed here.

And here's some exciting news for Moonbird holders! If you own a Moonbird and have participated in the recent Toobins Run, you'll be entered into the weekly Toobins Run Raffle. Starting this week, we will be running a WEEKLY raffle for a chance to win a coveted Mythic Egg. Do you own a Moonbird and want to participate? Get involved with the share-to-mint community experience and obtain a soulbound Toobins Charm. It’s as easy as that! Learn more about the Toobins Run Raffle here.

Are you ready for GRAILS SZN? We're thrilled to announce the return of Grails with the hyped return of the 'Eli Walk and Talk' intro video! Since the inaugural season of Grails, it has always proven to be a community-driven treasure hunt, centered around extraordinary art. Stay tuned for the Grails Season IV website launch, and if you're curious about past Grails seasons, you can explore Seasons I - III here.

Community Updates

The Mythics art has received highly positive remarks across NFT Twitter from holders AND non-holders alike. This would not have been possible without our community members bringing the heat to the Twitter timelines. Special shoutout to @mythicsdaily, @mythicsreveals, and @mythicsbot for building Twitter bots showcasing newly revealed Mythics and first-time traits capturing everyone's attention! Your efforts have elevated the collection and brought more excitement to the community. Keep up the great work.

You can expect weekly content alternating in focus between industry research and art. This week’s research piece comes from PROOF’s own @WarDaddy, highlighting the recent push from the Solana builders and community to embrace initiatives, mechanics, and projects that embody attributes that can only be accomplished on Solana.

An Inside Look: ‘Only Possible On Solana’

Recently, Solana and its community have rallied behind "Only Possible on Solana" (OPOS) to showcase the platform's unique capabilities in the face of increased competition.

Despite being considered a consistent runner-up to Ethereum, Solana's NFT ecosystem faces challenges with Bitcoin Ordinals surging in volume and Polygon's NFT ecosystem gaining momentum. In the last 30 days, Ethereum recorded $386 million in NFT volume, Bitcoin $94 million, Solana $67 million, and Polygon $25 million.

Solana seeks to push innovation and technological boundaries by focusing on low gas fees, high transaction throughput, and compressed NFTs. While Ethereum remains the leading smart contract platform, Solana aims to carve out its own niche with cutting-edge projects that harness its distinct advantages.

Compressed NFTs Unlock New Possibilities

Solana’s distinct capabilities have empowered projects like DripHaus to flourish, offering users once impractical experiences. DripHaus, an emerging digital art platform, stands out for its innovative approach to compressed NFTs, minting over 16.9 million NFTs to more than 789k wallets. This would cost a small fortune on other blockchains, but DripHaus has only incurred 84.5 SOL ($2,140 USD) of total fees for minting AND airdropping the compressed NFTs.

By reducing storage expenses, NFT compression enables developers and creators to mint large quantities of NFTs, fostering a new wave of crypto-powered applications and on-chain gaming.

In a compelling comparison, Polygon charges around $50 million to mint a billion NFTs, while Solana, with compression, achieves the same feat at a mere $11,000. The affordability of compressed NFTs on Solana opens the door to an array of use cases, from immersive MMORPGs to scalable digital art ecosystems.

The OPOS Hackathon: Showcasing Solana's Potential

Next week, the OPOS hackathon kicks off, pushing innovation while focusing on Solana’s unique potential. Hosted by mtndao, the event seeks to demonstrate unprecedented use cases that can only be achieved on Solana. Participants will explore niche areas within the Solana ecosystem, highlighting the platform's potential for innovation in various fields. The hackathon offers a stage for creative minds to collaborate and unveil projects that push the boundaries of what's possible with Solana's strengths.

As Solana embraces the "Only Possible on Solana" narrative, its community demonstrates resilience and a commitment to unleashing new possibilities. With compressed NFTs revolutionizing the digital art world and the OPOS hackathon driving innovation, Solana is poised to showcase its prowess in the NFT and crypto space.

This Week in PROOF Media

Here is a quick rundown of some of the top highlights from PROOF’s weekly content!

PROOF Daily NFT Countdown

This week, our Director of Research, Sam, highlighted Vera Molnar’s NFT drop on PROOF Daily NFT Countdown. Catch the insightful discussion here. 

Mythics Chronicles

Check out every video of the Mythics Chronicles, a behind-the-scenes look at building the Mythics collection.

100 PROOF

Don’t miss last week’s 100 PROOF chatting all things Mythics launch, featuring an exclusive guest appearance by Michael Bouhanna from Sotheby’s.