With the first month of 2023 now behind us, it appears that much of the gains from the start of the new year are slowly being erased by announcements coming out from the SEC about banning retail staking and other lawsuits that have just begun. With a rare month of gains being slowly reversed, it leads many to wonder about the NFT market and if they’ve been able to capture an audience as they did in the prior 2 years; they haven’t.

Following the FTX crash, Solana has been going through some tough times with the Bonk coin being its only semblance of hope on the network. However, Bonk has quietly died down since it brought a large wave of liquidity to the blockchain network, and since then not much else has happened on the network to cast any sort of positive light on its future. 

In fact, one of Solana’s best performing NFTs - Solana Monkey Business (SMB) - announced that they are changing leadership following a buyout from the HadesDAO. While this has the potential to spell good news for the collection and its holders, it still creates the perception that even the best projects on Solana are beginning to fail.

The Meeting between HadesDAO and MonkeDAO Executive Team

The MonkeDAO, which is exclusive to SMB holders, announced on February 13th that they were in discussions with the HadesDAO about buying out the project and its IP. Talks among the two groups began shortly before the announcement was made.

As of this writing, it appears that no final decisions have been made, but the MonkeDAO has made it clear that an open dialogue exists between the two parties with both of them exploring how to best handle the decision. 

However, since the potential leadership reorganization was announced by the MonkeDAO, floor prices for SMB have risen. So, would the takeover be welcomed by the community?

The Impact of the Acquisition on SMB Holders and MonkeDAO

One of the key factors made clear by the MonkeDAO is that a transfer in team management would not change the exclusivity of the MonkeDAO, meaning that members of the HadesDAO will not be granted free access to the community. 

While this spells good news for the integrity of the DAO, it does appear that many members are unsure of what to expect. However, the floor price for the collection did rise after the announcement so the community does seem to hold a positive opinion of the change. 

The Future of Solana NFTs and Leadership Reorganization

Unfortunately, the future of Solana looks rough. The network took a major hit in 2022 with multiple failures in the market causing the price to drop from $200 to as low as $8, causing massive losses for investors and NFT holders. 

The network has also seen other big names begin to leave as well. Frank, the founder of DeGods and y00ts, has already transitioned both of his projects to Ethereum and Polygon. The move didn’t sit well with many in the community, but it’s become clear that Solana might be a dying network, and moving to more stable blockchains might be a wise decision in the long run. 

The significance of leadership reorganization in NFT projects

There is still a glimmer of hope that this potential leadership reorganization can create some good for the collection and its community. Last year we saw Pudgy Penguins go on to become one of the most successful NFT projects in 2022 (it even won BCCN3’s top spot) after their founder was replaced by Luca Netz. 

Since then, the project has gone on to lead the NFT market in terms of branding and marketing with toys, cereal box promotions, and a unique auction event hosted by Sotheby’s which has caused the floor price of Pudgy Penguins to nearly double in value. Although this kind of turnaround can’t always be expected by new leadership it does help alleviate some of the concerns created by the community, but only time will tell what the future of SMB turns out to be.