Latest Mutant Hound Collars News

Novel Labs, the team behind Mutant Hounds and the Mutant Cartel, and Faraway are collaborating to create Serum City, a city builder game which thrusts Mutant Apes into the spotlight. 

The Deets:

• Mutant Apes are the main characters in Serum City
• Game's assets will be interoperable on Ethereum's mainnet
• Game is token-gated, requiring specific NFT ownership for access
• Launch slated for August
• Gaming details not yet provided
• Powered by ApeCoin

The Details

Serum City's main characters are Mutant Apes, and game access will be granted to holders of Mutant Apes, Bored Apes, Genesis Oath, and Mutant Hound NFTs. As the game progresses, access will gradually open up with each new in-game season of content. The game's setting is a dystopian world where Bored Apes are the ruling class, and Mutant Apes are underlings and outcasts. 

Serum City will feature an illustrated or comic book-inspired aesthetic, Faraway founder Alex Paley told Decrypt. While gameplay details remain limited, the developers aim to create a richer and more engaging experience than current NFT-based games.

Interoperability is a key focus for the game, with in-game items crafted as NFTs expected to be used in future Novel Labs games. Faraway has previously been building on Solana, potentially opening the door to cross-chain interoperability and functionality as well. 

❗Why It Matters

No one has attempted quite as an ambitious task with their commerical rights and IP ownership as Novel Labs founder Lior Messika, who now puts to use the BAYC and MAYC's he has access to in the build of Serum City and the unfolding lore of Mutant Cartel and Mutant Hounds. Messika aims to far surpass the elementary web3 games that have been developed thus far, adding sophisticated depth and lore and simply making Serum City fun to play. The task seems easier said than done, but perhaps the tangential attachment (there is no formal connection) to Yuga Labs' IP will provide a small leg up. 

An additional note of interest is the ApeCoin powered ecosystem in Serum City. Many have speculated that additional ApeCoin sinks will create long term benefits for the price of $APE. Might Serum City, a product not officially affiliated with Yuga Labs, ultimately benefit Yuga's ecosystem token? 

📊 By the Numbers

Mutant Hounds NFTs, one of three Mutant Cartel NFTs available, offer the cheapest possibly entry into Serum City at present time. The collection has fallen 26 percent in the last month to a floor price of 0.21 ETH. 

🎬 Take Action

Users hoping to gain access to Serum City in August will need a BAYC, MAYC, Genesis Oath, or Mutant Hound NFT.

🧠 Learn More

• Blue Chip Traded for Mega Collar

Mutant Hounds founder lior.eth outlined the project's plans for the first half of 2023 in a Twitter thread yesterday evening.

❗Why It Matters

After nearly hitting a 2 ETH floor in January, Mutant Hounds have suffered a slow bleed more recently. Time will tell if the project's lofty plans are enough to reinvigorate the collection.

🔜 What's Next?

Lior highlighted the following items on the project's roadmap, noting these items are expected to be completed over the first half of 2023:

1. The Fusing: a "point of transport" to the team's next collection.
2. REDACTED: A web3 gaming partnership.
3. The Chronicles: A decentralized storytelling initiative.
4. The Brain: A fully personalized app with AI capabilities.
5. Mutant Cartel Metaverse: Before the Otherside is opened up to builders, the Mutant Cartel will build experiences in its own custom environments.
6. 3D Hound NFTs
7. Merch
8. Gamified & Interactive Mega Reveals: Further plans to develop "The Hideout," the project's hub.
9. Community & Storytelling Activations: Decentralized storytelling with a rewards component.

🎤 Community Feedback

• Moonbirds Going Mainstream?

• Captainz Set Stage For Huge Week

• Yuga’s Turn to Pump

The Return of the NFT Bull Market

Question 1: It’s been a pretty remarkable start to 2023 for the NFT space, with high volume and significant gains across a variety of projects. 1. Are we back? 2. What has been the biggest surprise pump you’ve seen? 

Logie: It pains me to say it, but we are… not back. Surging prices on pixelated feet pictures provide a nice head fake, but the same market participants appear to just be swapping wads of cash as they have been for the last year. 

As for surprise pumps, I’ve been really caught off guard by the gains in these Yuga-adjacent projects, like Mutant Hounds. I’ll save some of my thoughts for the following question, but I did not envision a world where these collars are 1.86 ETH pre-reveal, with multiple 70+ ETH sales on the most rare items. Bonkers. 

Ghost: After an absolutely brutal year in NFTs, it has been a really fun start to 2023.

But, as Tyler and others pointed out earlier this week, I am concerned that the recent upticks are coming from excess leverage in the market, not new participants. So I hesitate to say we are back, and we’ve seen big releases/announcements from Yuga mark a local top before — so I’m in wait-and-see mode to watch how their upcoming mint shakes out. 

Tyler: We are BACK! How could we not be back?!? NFTs are fun again, people are feeling real FOMO for the first time in months, and numbers are going up. Will we keep going up forever? Probably not, but can we just enjoy the ride?

As for the biggest surprise, it has to be ApeCoin holding up through the first month of staking. Every influencer on NFT Twitter called for it to tank and in fact, it’s up in price since staking started. Second biggest surprise - Friendship Bracelets going somewhat mainstream and leading the volume charts ahead of PFPs. Now, we just need generative art to go mainstream.

Jason: We’re (not) back! I don’t know. We’re probably not fully back. The general macroeconomic environment is starting to look better, the stock market saw nice gains, and cryptocurrencies are even pumping a little bit, but I’m skeptical. I don’t like to try to time bottoms, so like Ghost, I’m in wait-and-see mode. Give me a few confirmations that we are back and I’ll remove the “(not)”. The biggest surprise (not) pump to me, and the reason I’m not willing to say we’re back, is CryptoPunks. Punks can’t be steady during a true, sustained NFT pump.

Layer 2 NFTs

Question 2: The Mutant Hounds ecosystem has been on a tear, with several eye-popping sales of Mega Collars and some serious hype heading into the burn event. What are your thoughts on the concept of “Layer 2” NFT projects? Do they have long-term staying potential? 

Logie: I think “layer 2” NFT projects, or whatever we wish to call them, DO have staying power. But likely not with strong financial benefits for holders. I’ve long been a proponent of growing ecosystems to allow cheaper entry points and community growth, but the market is so focused on price, scarcity, rarity, etc. that it is almost always met with a groan. I don’t think it should be. 

Ghost: I’ll agree with Logie above on the Hounds being the pleasant surprise in 2023 so far. I had admittedly little faith in community-led “Layer 2” projects, but the Mutant Hounds have certainly struck a chord and the amount of insane Mega sales has been staggering to watch. I am not bullish on many other Layer 2 NFT projects, but I do think the Hounds have staying power and could find themselves as the prime success story of building community lore around a top project. 

Tyler: Layer 2 projects are the ultimate test of a the “Layer 1” project’s community. If they are strong enough to financially support a spin-off, like the Yuga community has done with Hounds, it shows how much they’re willing to look after their own as well as how others may want to find their own entry point. I do think these have staying potential in general, but only for the strongest communities (Yuga, Azukis, maybe Pengus).

Jason: Layer 2 NFT projects, or community-led ecosystem initiatives to be more technical, allow their parent projects or companies to flourish. It is, IMHO, the biggest advantage of NFT technology (in the specific case of company or organization building). 

Imagine if Apple or Microsoft had non-employees working on technological or design advancements for their companies that they could use at zero cost. Why would anyone do that? They wouldn’t. Unless… they owned a jpeg that rose in value every time Apple or Microsoft earned additional revenue or gained in popularity. 

I’m being intentionally frivolous, but the point is important: having stake in the success of a project, organization, community, etc. opens up a range of “Layer 2” possibilities. We haven’t even seen the start of community-led ecosystem initiatives. The most creative NFT communities will win long term.

Is Memeland a Blue Chip?

Question 3: Memeland’s Captainz rolled out this weekend, and have seen 6,500 ETH in volume and are holding steady at above a 5 ETH floor price. Is the Memeland ecosystem a blue-chip in the making, or a flash-in-the-pan? 

Logie: I couldn’t figure out why Bored Apes were such a big deal in 2021. CryptoPunks were obviously superior, right? Why would this stupid Ape collection become a big thing? But yet, people kept talking about it, and I stuck to my guns and just watched it blow up. While I don’t wish to compare Memeland’s rise to that of BAYC, it has the same type of arch, at least to me as a bystander (I own no Memeland assets..unfortunately). People love the ecosystem and there is tremendous support anytime the floor price dips to a “hmm, I could buy that” level. I think this is a blue chip in the making. 

Ghost: So many projects focus on selling product first, and then building a community. Memeland has been crafting a dedicated following for the entire bear market, and I think that will prove to be a successful path. The team has proven to have serious chops, and 9gagceo has been active for the entire year within the NFT space and the Memeland community. I think they just seem to ‘get it’, and have built a unique enough project that it can differentiate from other areas of the market. 

Tyler: I agree with Ghost’s point about how smart it was for 9gag and Memeland to focus on community first. And Captainz had a near flawless rollout. With that said, I’m not ready to put them in the blue chip tier, mostly on the weak volume in week 1. I just checked yesterday’s top movers - they were not in the top 20 and behind projects like feetpix and 8liens. That’s not a great sign for the first week of trading.

Moonbirds Goes Hollywood

Question 4: Moonbirds announced on Friday that the project signed with United Talent Agency, to help grow into a global brand. Are you bullish or bearish on this announcement, and on projects teaming up with mainstream hollywood-talent agencies in general? 

Logie: I’m neutral. I know many have laughed at web3’s attempts to “get in bed with web2” for growth, but come on people - web2 grew because the web2 peeps are great at their jobs too. Moonbirds may not be the brand that makes a big splash with the help of an agency, but it will happen and likely become a regular occurrence. I wouldn’t fade teaming up with talent agencies, just to fade teaming up with talent agencies. 

Ghost: I think generally people are cautious about seeing web2 companies join forces with web3 native brands, but I see this as a positive. Do Bored Apes ever reach the heights they’ve seen without Guy Oseary — my guess is no. The right strategic partnerships can make or break the future of a project, and United Talent Agency already has several other NFT projects (CryptoPunks, DeadFellaz) under their belt. With tons of other Web2/Hollywood connections, the potential to leverage partnerships makes this a no-brainer win in my opinion.

Tyler: Bullish. I think we all are often so short-sighted in the NFT space and focused on weekly price action. Building a global brand takes time, and these are positive steps in that direction. The reason BAYC had its first major surge was when the celebrity adoption started, specifically Jimmy Fallon’s ape. UTA can help with moves like that. Now, will that exact playbook work again in this market? I’m not sure, but more exposure always seems like a good thing to me, especially in this attention economy.

Jason: Bullish in theory, neutral in practice. Partnering with United Talent Agency is clearly a win for Moonbirds, but will it make an immediate impact? It seems unlikely considering UTA hasn’t made an immediate impact with any of the other projects they currently work with. It takes time to build, as Tyler alluded to, and this adds optionality for Moonbirds long term, but it doesn’t solve any near-term problems for Kevin Rose and company. 

Meet the Roundtable:

Ghost: Ghost is an NFT analyst at Lucky Trader. He has been in crypto since 2017, and entered the NFT space via NBA Top Shot in January of 2021 before minting Bored Apes and degenning into the broader market. 

Tyler: Tyler is a high-volume NFT trader, having reached the top 100 in NFT sales revenue using NFTBank’s rankings, a Pengu maxi (in Luca we trust), and a writer for Lucky Trader. Tyler’s writing spans market analysis, news breakdowns, project ecosystem overviews, and web3 opinion pieces.

Logie: Logan is a content lead at Lucky Trader and is best known for selling every good NFT far too early. He also maintains an irrational exuberance for clay-based NFTs. 

Jason: Jason is an NFT lead at Lucky Trader. He has been involved in the NFT space since CryptoKitties in late 2017, and, like most, he lost a lot of money on Top Shot in early 2021. But nevertheless, he persists (with his Series 1 Legendary From The Top LeBron James Block).

The Mutant Hounds Collar burn will be delayed by two hours to 7:00 p.m. ET, according to an announcement from the project.

Why It Matters: The highly anticipated burn-to-reveal will keep users waiting another two hours as the project ensures that all things are working appropriately.

What They're Saying: Founder Lior.eth tweeted, "Placing cherry on cake. @MutantHounds. Collars burn starts 2 hours later, at 7pm ET. You're gonna love this. !howl"

Action Items: At the re-scheduled time, collar holders can proceed to the Mutant Hounds Pit to burn their collars.

Go Deeper: 

• Blue Chip Traded for Mega Collar

The Transaction: OpenSea user La_Mere sold Fidenza #955 for 80 ETH overnight on Jan. 9, and then turned around and bought Mega Mutant Hound Collar #4300 for 79.690 ETH this morning. The NFT was later relisted for 299 ETH. 

Why It Matters: Since minting for 0.25 ETH in mid-December, Mutant Hound Collars have skyrocketed up to a floor price of 1.73 ETH (an all-time high floor price of 2 ETH was reached a couple of days ago). While the project is not affiliated with Yuga Labs, the project has gotten significant buy-in from members of the BAYC ecosystem.

This was a very splashy move away from a blue-chip like a Fidenza, and a big investment into the highest-tier Mutant Hound Collar. Mega Collars were randomly mixed in the 10,000 NFT collection throughout the mint process. 

What's Next: Today at 5:00 p.m. ET, collar holders can burn the collars to reveal hounds.  

What People are Saying: Prominent Yuga holder and Mutant Cartel founder lior.eth tweeted, "Fidenza for a Mega Collar. Good trade. $106,257 biggest sale in Hounds history, less than a month since mint. Love to see it!!!!! @MutantHounds"

🕳️ Go Deeper:

• Mutant Hounds Mint Begins Wednesday
• Mutant Hounds Twitter and Mutant Cartel Discord

NFT Total Volume

NFT Floor Price Increase

NFT Floor Price Decrease

Upcoming NFT Mints

Tyler Warner's NFT Market Summary

Wednesday was a roller coaster day in the NFT markets, likely headlined by the big winner of the day in Mutant Hounds. The project pulled off a bullish reveal, as its floor moved from 0.56 ETH to 0.5 ETH at the low, then rebounded hard to 0.86 ETH overnight for a whopping 54 percent gain on the day. The project is doing a two-part reveal, so owners only found out if they hold a Mega or not, with a full trait reveal still to come. Mega holders hit the rare lotto, with multiple selling already in the 38-39 ETH range.

A close runner-up for the top headline was Bored Ape Yacht Club releasing the first trailer for The Trial of Jimmy the Monkey yesterday evening. The trailer shows the main character Jimmy swallowing a special key to the mystery box teased in most of the promotion materials, and the accompanying website lays out a timeline for The Trial. Key Dates are Jan. 11 to "Prepare for the Mint," Jan. 18, when the interactive mint begins, and Feb. 8 for the "Mint Reveal."

The Yuga NFTs were mostly unchanged on the day, with BAYC holding at 66.9 ETH, MAYC at 15 ETH, and BAKC at 8.2 ETH. Azuki and Moonbirds remain in the top 5 in daily trading volume, though it's mostly Blur farming, and both project's floors are down slightly at 11.1 ETH and 7.13 ETH respectively.

The Memes by 6529 continue to grind up ahead of the next holder snapshot this Friday, capturing the top 500-1000 holders. Friendship Bracelets ran to 0.37 ETH at peak on Wednesday before retracing to 0.3 ETH, with strong action on palettes as well. And The Plague had a nice day, up 19 percent to 0.53 ETH. A notable loser on the day was Degenz Access Pass, which fell 46 percent to 0.21 ETH, but this was expected as the snapshot for the upcoming Alien Queen Tabz drop is now complete with the Tabz mint happening today.

Other top news from NFTs and Web3 includes Blur recalculating its Airdrop 2 rewards, leading to most users getting a significant bump. OpenSea adding a new "Drop" feature allowing anyone to mint from their platform. The Meebits are releasing a musical album in collaboration with WarpSound. The Lascaux Editions appear to have entered a new chapter in the "game," with the free mint Trust taking place yesterday. And metaverse-blockchain Lamina1 is launching a fund to invest in metaverse builders.

NFT Total Volume*

• Bored Ape Kennel Club (4,125 ETH, 8.2 ETH Floor Price)
• Azuki (2,776 ETH, 11.1 ETH Floor Price)
• Bored Ape Yacht Club (1,962 ETH, 66.9 ETH Floor Price)
• Mutant Ape Yacht Club (1,778 ETH, 15 ETH Floor Price)
• Moonbirds (1,382 ETH, 7.13 ETH Floor Price)

NFT Floor Price Increase*

• Mutant Hounds (55%, 0.85 ETH Floor Price)
• Trump Cards (33%, 0.23 ETH Floor Price)
• Wolf Game - Farmer (17%, 0.92 ETH Floor Price)
• The Plague (19%, 0.53 ETH)
• DigiDaigaku (13%, 7.35 ETH)

NFT Floor Price Decrease*

• Wolf Game (-12%, 0.76 ETH Floor Price)
• QWERTY (-16%, 1.3 ETH Floor Price)
• Dooplicator (-7%, 0.88 ETH Floor Price)
• Degenz Access Pass (-46%, 0.21 ETH Floor Price)
• Wool Pouch (-24%, 0.02 ETH Floor Price)

Upcoming NFT Mints and Reveals

• Tabz (TBD)
• NBA Top Shot: Holiday of Hoops Pack (3:00 p.m. ET)

The market for new projects is clearly hot right now, based on the success of recent drops like Hounds and Valhalla. The key is capturing enough of the market's attention to reach a significant level of volume. Tabz is next up, with a high-profile artist in Alien Queen and founding team with Mando and OSF of Degenz and Rug Radio. The art is similar to Matt Furie's Hedz or Pegz in some ways, projects that saw major success. 

Based on Degenz Access Pass price action, the market is valuing the Tabz at ~0.2-0.25 ETH pre-reveal. Any surge beyond that will be a win for minters (as the Degenz have fallen by that margin). The mint will be open for 3 days, allowlist only, and does not appear to be over-allocated (but there's no reason to wait and DYOR). There should be a nice rare lotto on these, with the reveal coming on Dec. 26.

Enjoy this write up? Follow me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email tyler.warner@luckytrader.com.

For all volume and floor price data, see Lucky Trader's Project Rankings page.

For all upcoming mints, see Lucky Trader's Project Schedule page.

*data retrieved at 8:00 a.m. ET. Volume and percentages are based on the last 24 hours. Notable projects are included, typically with a 0.25 ETH minimum on the projects listed in this roundup.