DeLabs is the startup behind top Solana FFT collections DeGods & y00ts. It has now revealed that it has received a $3million grant to move y00ts over to Ethereum sidechain Polygon.
According to Frank Vora (founder), a statement was posted on Discord. DeLabs will use the funds to hire and create a crypto incubator that will support its NFT ecosystem.
Y00ts is a spinoff profile photo NFT collection of the DeLabs group, which was first successful with its DeGods PFP Collection On Solana.
There are no strings attached to the money, other than the promise of a move to the new blockchain. Frank said the funds are coming in as a “non-equity grant,” meaning Polygon is not receiving a stake in DeLabs in exchange.
“DeLabs as a company has been understaffed for a while,” said the DeLabs founder. “Securing extended runway with non-dilutive capital is huge for us, because it means we can be a Very little less conservative in our monthly burn.”
While Polygon has not yet publicized the y00ts grant sum on its own social channels, the firm is supportive of Frank’s decision.
“Polygon fully supports Frank and the y00ts team’s dedication to transparency and we look forward to all of the projects that will build on Polygon via their launchpad,” a Polygon spokesperson told Decrypt via email.
DeLabs’ move away from Solana to Polygon and Ethereum comes just a month after the collapse of FTX. The company’s former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, was a major investor in Solana and various projects building on the network, including the now-defunct decentralized exchange Serum. Serum was built by Bankman-Fried, FTX and FTX. It was at its peak the backbone for all DeFi activity in Solana.
SOL fell 6.5% over the last month, and dropped 91% over the year according to CoinGecko data.
But Polygon wasn’t DeLabs’ only option for y00ts. Frank said that “much larger offers” had been under consideration but that DeLabs chose Polygon for y00ts because “it’s the most exciting direction for y00ts as a project.”
Polygon has already secured deals with major brands, such as Disney, Coca-Cola, Starbucks and Coca-Cola. Frank suggested that y00ts might play a part in future big-brand partnerships for Polygon.