Trippin’ Ape Tribe, a community-first profile picture nonfungible token (NFT) project recently launched on Solana, is already shattering records. With hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter before its mint event even began, this community-backed project broke Solana’s record for 24-hour sales volume on its first day in the market. At OpenSea and Magic Eden, it topped the charts for 24-hour sales volume and seven-day sales volume, beating blue-chip Ethereum projects by a large margin.
These overwhelming sales numbers also supplemented Solana’s run to surpass Ethereum’s daily NFT sales volume for the first time. With $14.5 million in sales, Trippin’ Ape contributed more revenue to this total volume than any other NFT collection.
Trippin’ Ape Tribe breaks records at Solana
As 10,000 Trippin’ Apes ascend into the NFT realm, this list of broken records doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. The collection also broke the record for the highest opening price on the secondary market, trading several times the mint price.
One of the critical factors of the collection’s success and continuous growth is its engaged community. Community members and believers take to social media, especially Twitter and Discord, to show their support and raise awareness for the project, often by using the artwork as a profile picture.
Talking about the overwhelming response the collection has received, Fenrus, the marketing lead behind Trippin’ Ape Tribe, said, “It’s been exciting to see our project break all sorts of records for hype and sales volume right out of the gate. It shows how much the community has connected with the art, storytelling and mystique — really, the brand — we’ve been building. At the same time, it’s humbling to recognize we’re standing on the shoulders of giants. Solana is going through a massive influx right now, and it feels good to be a part of it.”
Building exciting new partnerships
To continue with an approach of building relentlessly, the Trippin’ Apes team is creating exciting new partnerships with the best projects in the industry. This includes Magic Eden, a key NFT marketplace on Solana; NFT Technologies, a leading investor and incubator; IBC Group, an industry-leading incubator and accelerator in the blockchain space; and numerous collaborations with Solana NFT projects and known personalities in the space. These partnerships will help Trippin’ Ape Tribe catalyze its operations, community and marketing growth.
Moreover, Lysergic, the co-founder of the collection, owns and operates various music festivals and live events in the United States, boasting a decade of experience. Backed by Lysergic’s expertise, the team also partnered with some of the biggest names in the Solana ecosystem to organize a major event at NFT NYC 2022 last month.
About Trippin’ Apes
Aside from its central focus on community development, what sets Trippin’ Ape Tribe apart from other Solana NFT projects is its strong and ownable branding, cheeky storytelling and innovative long-term utility. The project is built around the story of 10,000 apes who have fallen under the trance of a mysterious, charismatic leader, Chorles, who promises salvation to his followers but insists he is building a tribe, not a cult.
Operating under a parent company, Valhalla Labs, the founding team has ambitious plans to leverage its diverse experience in software development, branding and event production to add tangible value to Trippin’ Ape holders and the ecosystem as a whole. Most recently, Valhalla Labs has added its new creative director Tim Deasy, former design director for luxury fashion brand Off-White. Deasy will draw from nearly 13 years of experience to create a standalone apparel brand that appeals not only to the Web3 community but also to the global mainstream.
Trippin’ Ape holders have already received a free, mysterious airdrop that has led to speculation and fan theories around its role in the project’s lore and a gamified quest to ascension. Bucking the trend of a traditional roadmap, the team has maintained an air of mystery surrounding the next steps for the project in the spirit of storytelling and rewarding holders with the strongest conviction.
The project will continue to focus on developing rich lore and engaging on-chain utility that moves the entire space forward. In addition, Valhalla Labs intends to onboard new community members into Web3 by launching and establishing connections to physical brands and live events and eventually fueling the community’s growth and sustainability.
