MonkeDAO Acquires Solana NFT Project SMB for $2 Million
Solana Monkey Business (SMB) has been acquired by MonkeDAO, the independent collective of SMB holders that formed around the popular NFT project. MonkeDAO has purchased the SMB IP and all related keys, assets, and accounts from Hadeswap for $2 million, following a governance proposal approved by nearly 97% of token-based votes. The purchase marks a significant moment for MonkeDAO, which framed the occasion as its “independence day” in social media posts.
SMB was one of the first notable NFT projects on Solana, launching in June 2021 with a small Gen1 collection before dropping the 5,000 pixel profile pictures that have since become synonymous with the project. The Gen2 collection has yielded some $164 million worth of trading volume to date, according to CryptoSlam.
The acquisition by MonkeDAO comes after a dispute between the collective and the original pseudonymous creators of SMB, with MonkeDAO requesting a share of secondary market royalties to fund initiatives it believed added value to the project. Following this disagreement, MonkeDAO considered “wrapping” its SMB NFTs as new tokens to direct royalties away from the creators and towards the DAO treasury. Eventually, the two sides came to an agreement over funding.
Hadeswap had successfully purchased the SMB IP from the creators in February 2022 with plans to expand the IP and “[bridge] the gap on its shortcomings,” but MonkeDAO had also been in the process of trying to buy the IP at the time. The collective and Hadeswap appeared to be uneasy allies following the surprise deal, with DAO members pushing back against Hadeswap’s planned governance model.
For the future, MonkeDAO plans to expand what it means to be a part of the collective, stating that it represents “the best community of builders, founders, devs, and degenerates in the Solana ecosystem.”
Clever Robot News Desk 22nd April 2023
