With the news of Solana being brought to OpenSea, the network has seen a steady increase in NFT trading since the Summer of 2021 on marketplaces such as Magic Eden. Solana has made a point to promote itself as Ethereum’s biggest competitor featuring fast transaction times and low gas fees, However, many NFT traders are unopposed to using different networks knowing that solid projects are available from both blockchains. These are the biggest projects that Solana has to offer:

DeGods

DeGods - DeGods is a project that launched in the Fall of 2021. With a floor price of 92 Sol at the time of this writing, DeGods aims to be the premiere collection on the Solana blockchain. The team behind DeGods has made staking a key utility for the NFTs which allow holders to earn $DUST, a token created by the DeGods team, as a reward. According to the project’s roadmap, the DeGods Team is working to make their $DUST token an acceptable currency on the Magic Eden marketplace which would create a higher value for the DeGods collection. For OpenSea users, the staking rewards offer an easy way to become acquainted with the Solana blockchain while also generating more purchasing abilities for NFTs on Magic Eden with $DUST. 

Aurory

Aurory - This impressive collection on Magic Eden is run by a massive team of over 40 individuals. Their NFTs known as “Aurorians” are used as avatars for the team’s play-to-earn game Aurory. The NFTs can also be used for staking which generates $AURY, the game’s necessary utility token. According to the whitepaper, this token is used to operate all functions of the game and will eventually become a governance token “allowing holders to vote on important game-development decisions.” With a total trade volume over 250,000 Sol and a floor price of 36 Sol, the popularity of the Aurory game (which shares similarities to Pokémon) is obvious and only expected to grow from listings on OpenSea. 

Cets on Creck

Cets on Creck - Since their launch in March 2022, the Cets on Creck collection has seen wide appeal among Solana users. The project, run by a team of 8, features mature-themed artwork of cats living a scruffy life. The team is quite open about their artstyle which boasts a collection of 6,969 unique pieces that are trading at a 28 Sol floor. However, transparity from the team is left to be desired. At this moment, the only roadmap available is a screenshot found on their Discord channel. The roadmap offers some hints of a $CRECK token being created, abilities to breed Cets, and a DAO established on Discord. With utilities like these, the Cet crew can generate notable buzz on OpenSea, but they will have to provide a more accessible roadmap that explains future utilities in more detail. 

Degenerate Ape Academy

Degenerate Ape Academy - Led by Toasi, this goofy project offers serious value. According to the website, the collection has been in circulation since August 2021 with a 6 Sol minting price. Today, the floor price for these NFTs is 90 Sol with daily trading activity. They are one of the earliest projects on Magic Eden and offer exclusive access to the Degen DAOO - “the largest Solana NFT DAO.” These sorts of voting measures can prove to be quite valuable in the future following Solana’s expected growth; and with an artstyle similar to the Bored Apes Yacht Club, attracting new attention won’t be difficult.

Solana Monkey Business

Solana Monkey Business - This is the essential blue chip NFT of Solana. Beginning in May 2021, this collection has exploded in popularity with two generations being minted. The tokens sit at a floor price of 230 Sol and offer access to the MonkeDAO where tensions between the team and its community have grown. Despite the disputes over royalties, the team at SMB remains optimistic, tweeting “We are setting sail monkees!” in reference to the OpenSea announcement. There is no question their addition to OpenSea will bring immediate activity. Moreover, the inclusion of prominent OpenSea users could provide stability to the MonkeDAO which might be in need of some new perspectives. 

The Solana network has a lot to offer new users from the OpenSea marketplace. The increase  of Solana activity will increase trading opportunities for everyone wishing to expand their collections.  expect to see many more exciting projects coming from Solana in the future.