Solana NFT platform token down 65% after second airdrop
Metaplex token (MPLX) plunged more than 65% in the last 24 hours after Metaplex foundation announced a second token airdrop. MPLX is currently trading at $0.11, down from around $0.34 before the announcement. The Metaplex token is the native token of Metaplex, a Solana powered NFT platform.
MPLX Crashes After Metaplex Approves Another Airdrop of 40 Million Tokens
MPLX, the native token of the Solana-powered NFT platform Metaplex, fell approximately 65% in the last 24 hours to $0.11. The drop comes after the Metaplex Foundation announced a new token airdrop on Tuesday.
“Collectors are the lifeblood of the Metaplex ecosystem! The foundation has approved a collector airdrop of $40 million MPLX to Solana NFT creators. Visit our claims website to see if you qualify.”
Metaplex wrote in a tweet.
Metaplex’s first airdrop took place in September, aiming to reward creators who used Metaplex tools to launch their NFTs on Solana. Community members asked for an extension of the airdrop but were unable to secure one in the vote.
However, the Metaplex Foundation announced that they would be releasing an additional 40 MPLX tokens to reward the collectors. Those who minted a minimum of 5 NFTs via the first Metaplex minting module were eligible for the second airdrop.
More than 12 million MPLX tokens have been claimed in total so far, according to the official website. The project claims that Metaplex NFTs “have generated over $3.4 billion in total trading since inception in mid-2021, fueled by programs such as Token Metadata, Candy Machine and Auction House.”
The second airdrop takes place amid a noticeable slowdown in the NFT market, with sales plunging 68% year-over-year in Q3 2022. This marks a sharp turnaround from 2021 when NFTs recorded unprecedented growth.
Join our Telegram group and never miss a story about digital values.
Metaplex NFT Marketplace
The Metaplex Foundation unveiled its NFT marketplace in June 2021. The marketplace, which allows NFT artists to develop their own storefronts, was built on the Solana blockchain and the Metaplex protocol.
It also allows creators to hold online auctions and sell their art directly to buyers, without the need for a middleman. Deposits from the minted NFTs are made through the decentralized storage protocol Arweave, which also enables automatic payments to the artists after the sale.
Metaplex is best known for Candy Machine, a Solana-powered minting and distribution program for NFT collections. Candy Machine was the culprit behind Solana’s network outage in May, one of many in the past year.
Economy is changing.
Find out how, with Five Minute Finance.
A weekly newsletter covering the major trends in FinTech and decentralized finance.
Do you think the NFT market will reach new highs after the current decline? Let us know in the comments below.
About the author
Tim Fries is the co-founder of The Tokenist. He has a B. Sc. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Tim served as a Senior Associate in the investment team at RW Baird’s US Private Equity division and is also a co-founder of Protective Technologies Capital, an investment firm specializing in sensing, protection and control solutions.
