Doodles ‘is no longer an NFT project’ and won’t cater to speculators, says co-founder

There is a growing tension between the carriers of the prominent NFT project doodles and the founders of the collection, as the project tries to make a mark in the increasingly competitive Web3 space. Now that the tension overflows thanks to comments from a Doodles co-founder fending off criticism– and it may not land well with collectors if the NFT floor price is any indication.

Doodles co-founder Jordan “poopie” Castro shared a message on the project’s official Discord server on Wednesday, defending the team’s approach to creating new features and products away from the spotlight — moves that some consider contrary to the “open” ethics of Web3. A screenshot of the message (which Decrypt verified is legit) is spreading on Twitter today.

“We are trying to grow from a startup to a leading media franchise. We are no longer an “NFT project,” Castro wrote. “The more time/money/resources we invest in tracking the latest ‘building in the public’ trends that fuel speculation, the less we need to achieve our long-term vision.”

“We are not going to expend resources to appease those who are financially motivated. We never have and never will,” he continued. “If we are going to focus our energy on anyone what [group] of people, they will absolutely be our most loyal collectors.

Decrypt contacted representatives for Doodles but did not immediately receive comment or clarification on Castro’s comments.

Response to comments has been mixed on social media. Some see Castro’s comments as ambitious, suggesting he’s saying Doodles isn’t just an NFT project anymore. because he aims higher. “The sooner we get rid of the term ‘NFT Project’, the better [to be honest]”, a founder of the Web3 project tweeted in response.

Others see it as a rejection of Web3 principles and a sign that Doodles is pushing back onto the scene, which helped the project rise to prominence in the first place. It follows previous complaints from licensees and other observers about the lack of communication of the founders, as well as an NFT NYC party last year which looked like a business presentation.

“SO [Doodles] got $50 million and then decided not to be an NFT project anymore,” tweeted Farmer Nashthe pseudonymous founder of the Goombles NFT project. “It’s basically a long way of saying, ‘We’re going to be a Web2 company and we don’t care about our holders. “”

Doodles has also been pushed back by some community members regarding the Wednesday launch of limited edition digital NFT socks. Many people on Crypto Twitter criticized it as a relatively small update after Doodles recently teased the big steps forward.

“It’s really crazy how out of touch some project founders are with the community,” said Fetty, a pseudonymous NFT collector. tweeted. “Doodles thinks they can put on a ‘socks’ drop after not tweeting for months.”

Prices for the doodles have fallen over the past 24 hours amid the pullback from the socks announcement and comments from the co-founder. The price floor – or price of the cheapest NFT listed on a secondary market – fell by around 13% during this period when measured in USD, down to around $5,850 (3.53 ETH) , according to data from NFT floor price.

The floor price in USD is down 33% since March 1. On the other hand, the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection is down 4% in the past 24 hours to a current price of $106,200 (over 64 ETH), and has fallen almost 7% since March 1.

Doodles launched its Ethereum NFT collection in 2021. The project raised $54 million last year at a valuation of $704 million, in a round led by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six VC. The original NFT Doodles have generated some $600 million in trading volume to date, according to data from CryptoSlam.

The company also has added musician Pharrell Williams as brand manager last year, and recently announced a larger-scale Doodles 2 project on the Stream Blockchain. Doodles 2 features fully customizable avatars with swappable NFT clothing and accessories.