Foresight News: In December, Metaplex protocol fees soared to a record high of $3.1 million due to a surge in meme coin and AI token activities. Metaplex DAO spent $8.3 million to buy back MPLX tokens, demonstrating strong confidence and positioning for the future. Let's now dive into the highlights of this month.
Written by: @metaplex
Translated by: Nicky, Foresight News
Highlights
- Fungible Tokens: Over 10 million Fungible Tokens have been minted through Metaplex, with 1.3 million minted in December, the second-highest month on record.
- Core Adoption: Nearly 1.6 million assets have been minted through Core, with over 400,000 minted in December, a new monthly high.
- Active Wallets: In December, a record-breaking 980,000 unique wallets signed transactions through the protocol.
- Aura Growth: Aura's beta testing continues, processing 40 million read requests on Solana and Eclipse in December.
- Protocol Fees: Due to surging activities in meme coins and AI tokens, protocol fees exceeded $3.1 million (14,867 SOL), the second-highest month on record.
- MPLX Token Buyback: 12,000 SOL in Metaplex protocol fees were used to purchase $8.3 million worth of MPLX (around 1% of the total supply) for the Metaplex DAO, the largest MPLX buyback to date.
Protocol Activity
In December, 1.4 million Token Metadata assets were created, the second-highest month on record. Of these, 1.3 million (89%) were Fungible Tokens, making December the second consecutive month where Fungible Token mints through Metaplex exceeded 1 million. The continued creation of Token Metadata assets was driven by the sustained activity in meme coins and the recent increase in AI token launches. Since inception, the total Fungible Tokens created through Token Metadata have surpassed 10.1 million, accounting for over 20% of all Token Metadata assets.
December was another record-breaking month for Core asset creation. 401,000 Core assets were minted during the month, the highest single-month total ever, representing a 13% month-over-month increase.
Overall, in December, creators and developers minted 160 million digital assets through Metaplex, including 158 million Compressed NFTs. This marks a 678% growth in monthly Compressed NFT mints.
In December, 980,000 unique wallets directly signed transactions with the protocol, the highest single-month number of unique signers ever, representing a 12% month-over-month increase.
In December, Metaplex was the second-largest protocol on Solana by transaction volume and the fifth-largest by active wallets.
As of December, Metaplex has reached nearly 85 million unique wallets, adding over 25 million wallets per month.
Developer Platform
Aura
In December, Metaplex's decentralized data network Aura (built for Solana and SVM) saw significant growth and performance improvements. Aura now supports processing read requests for DAS methods and RPC calls on the Solana and Eclipse networks.
During December, Aura transitioned from private to public beta testing, with steady adoption by developers. The network processed 40 million read requests from Eclipse and Solana in December, reflecting rapid developer onboarding and growing demand.
Aura's initial documentation has been released, providing developers with the resources needed to build responsive applications leveraging Aura on Solana and Eclipse. Aura's integration with Triton also enhances RPC support for Eclipse developers, allowing them to execute RPC calls and DAS methods through a single endpoint.
Performance has also been a focus, with asset retrieval average latency reduced by 80% to 97 milliseconds, making Aura the fastest digital asset indexing solution on Solana. Read consistency has exceeded 99.9%, ensuring developers can access on-chain data with near-perfect accuracy.
Aura will soon provide a public gateway user interface (UI). The UI is currently in testing, and developers interested in early access can reach out directly for more information. With upcoming additional performance updates and new staking and reward features, Metaplex plans to further expand Aura's capabilities in Q1.
AI Agents
In December, Solana's AI ecosystem saw explosive growth, with more AI agent tools and platforms integrating with Metaplex. These agent tools are increasing access to the Metaplex protocol, allowing users to interact with the on-chain economy through simple commands.
SendAI, with the launch of its Solana agent toolkit, has sparked a storm in the ecosystem. The open-source toolkit for connecting AI agents to Solana utilizes the MPL (Metaplex Protocol Library), enabling developers to launch and mint NFTs and Fungible Tokens supported by Metaplex.
Griffain has also emerged as a leading AI agent platform, allowing users to create core assets and memecoins using the Token Metadata standard.
More integrations are expected in the future, providing new growth opportunities for on-chain activity and protocol adoption.
New Metaplex Website Launch
In December, the official Metaplex website was relaunched with a refreshed experience, showcasing Metaplex's evolution and expanding role in the ecosystem. The new website offers improved navigation, a dedicated ecosystem page for building with Metaplex, and in-depth insights into Metaplex's growing product and service suite. The website also integrates educational resources, ecosystem news, and governance updates, becoming a central hub for all things Metaplex.
Core
In December, Metaplex Core's cumulative digital asset mints surpassed 1.5 million, further solidifying its leading position in NFT creation on Solana and SVM.
Integrations with new partners have further highlighted the widespread adoption of Metaplex Core, such as Backpack, which can now directly display on-chain attributes within wallets. This integration brings a new and improved gaming experience for players, allowing them to view critical asset features like level, health, and strength directly in their wallets.
Documentation and Developer Guides
In December, we released new resources aimed at helping developers optimize their workflows. A new guide details strategies for prioritizing transaction fees and compute units, providing tactics to improve on-chain success rates, accelerate transaction speeds, and reduce costs.
Additionally, Yuki from the Japanese Metaplex community created a series of video guides covering Metaplex's key tools and functionalities. These resources provide hands-on demonstrations, enabling developers to leverage Metaplex tools more quickly and effectively.
Metaplex DAO
Metaplex Protocol Fees and MPLX Token Buyback
Last month, we used 12,000 SOL to purchase 8.3 million MPLX (around 1% of the total supply) and contributed it to the Metaplex DAO treasury, the largest MPLX token buyback to date. This included 50% of Metaplex's November protocol fees (7,816 SOL) plus some historical fees (4,184 SOL).
This marks the seventh contribution of MPLX to the Metaplex DAO. As mentioned previously, 50% of Metaplex's monthly protocol fees plus historical fees have been allocated to purchase MPLX to support decentralized, community-driven governance.
The December protocol fees were the second-highest on record, generating $3.1 million or 14,869 SOL. This brings the cumulative protocol fees generated over the lifetime of the protocol to over 174,000 SOL.
Foresight News
December was a milestone month for the Metaplex DAO Grants Program, as the first batch of grantees was announced, driving innovation in the Core and MPL-404 domains. From the program's inception, multiple teams have received funding to develop on Metaplex.
One outstanding grant was awarded to SILICONS to develop Sili Launch, a NFT and hybrid DeFi launchpad supported by MPL-404. Publique, one of the first participants in the Metaplex Incubator, was also selected, focusing on expanding its narrative ecosystem using Metaplex technology. Finally, FaenoraVerse received a grant to integrate MPL-404 into its roguelite strategy RPG. Big Diggas was also selected for this batch, with more details to be announced in the coming weeks.
The Metaplex DAO Grants Program is actively seeking new applicants. Developers, creators, and projects interested in building with Core or MPL-404 can apply for the next batch.
Metaplex Yield Program
In December, the Metaplex DAO approved the "Metaplex Yield Program - Season 1" proposed by Forgd, which aims to allocate 1,000,000 MPLX to boost on-chain liquidity and reward liquidity providers. This two-month program will distribute MPLX across liquidity pools in major Solana DeFi protocols, enhancing trading depth and integration.
This initiative brings new reward opportunities for the Metaplex community and lays the foundation for deeper DAO participation through on-chain MPLX incentives. Any unused tokens will be returned to the DAO treasury after the program ends. The program will launch in January, with details on the reward distribution to be announced later.
Community
New Reports from Blockworks and Mint Ventures
This month, research platform Blockworks and Asian investment firm Mint Ventures released reports on the Metaplex protocol.
Metaplex Joins Token Warrant Podcast
In December, Metaplex was invited to the Token Warrant podcast to discuss building on Solana and the future of digital assets. Modular Capital co-founder James Ho and Metaplex Foundation's Head of Strategy Mackenzie Hom joined host Mike Zajko to delve into Metaplex's role in driving innovation and expanding the MPLX community.
German Superteam Bootcamp
In early December, the Metaplex team assisted the German Superteam in hosting a three-day Solana bootcamp, where developers had the opportunity to dive deep into Solana fundamentals and NFT development. Metaplex's Developer Relations Lead, Leo, facilitated a workshop focused on digital asset creation and Candy Machine setup, allowing participants to experience the process of building and deploying collections. The team also engaged with the developers and distributed Metaplex memorabilia.
Metaplex Evangelist Program
Metaplex launched its Evangelist Program in December, distributing 19,000 MPLX tokens weekly for five consecutive weeks to reward community members for promoting Metaplex on social media. The first week saw positive global participation, and subsequent activities continued to drive community engagement and raise awareness of the Metaplex suite and DAO.
AthensDAOx
Metaplex will participate in the third edition of AthensDAOx at the end of January, with team members Scharko, Leo, and Tony representing the project. Tony and Leo will host a workshop on building with digital assets, providing hands-on training for builders interested in delving deeper into Metaplex tools and the Solana ecosystem.
Application Ecosystem
In December, the application ecosystem of Solana and Metaplex saw significant growth as developers launched new products, added features, and explored new use cases. Here are some highlights from the month:
- Send Arcade integrated Metaplex's AI assistant to enhance the user experience, combining AI-driven interactions with on-chain assets.
- Griffain, an AI agent platform, launched, integrating multiple on-chain protocols to create new on-chain experiences. Griffain agents can generate Core assets in 60 seconds, expanding the channels for asset creation and providing momentum for the next wave of on-chain AI-driven tools.
- Nosana AI added support for Metaplex, providing developers with new tools to automate on-chain processes.
- Truffle launched a Metaplex-supported hybrid issuance, introducing a dynamic pricing model and enhancing NFT distribution.
- Magic Eden launched the ME token, allowing users to directly claim and stake tokens through the MagicEden app. Supported by TokenMetadata, the ME token introduced governance, reward systems, and future tasks for stakers.
- higherrrrrrr.fun migrated to Solana, utilizing Metaplex's infrastructure to support its platform and assets.
- 3land launched a platform for trading meme token cards, combining NFTs with meme token mechanics, and issued the first batch of trading cards.
- Wasabi Protocol joined the Solana ecosystem, collaborating with Metaplex to launch its Spicy Tokens, which provided the underlying asset framework.
- Jpegs.fun announced its launch on Solana, supported by Core, bringing a new NFT and meme token trading experience to the ecosystem.
- Pix.fun launched and used Token Metadata to support the creation and trading of meme tokens, featuring revenue sharing and security.
- print.world launched as a Solana-based platform, utilizing Token Metadata to support the issuance of meme tokens, providing customizable token pages, dynamic bonding curves, and automation tools for creators.
- Curved, a new launchpad for minting hybrid NFTs on bonding curves, announced an exclusive partnership with Magic Eden, leveraging its marketplace to bring new opportunities for NFTs and the ecosystem.
Creator Ecosystem
In December, creators across the ecosystem continued to push boundaries, building on-chain communities, and engaging audiences through digital assets. Here are some notable highlights from the month:
- Pudgy Penguins launched the PENGU token, supported by Token Metadata, integrating its community into the Solana ecosystem.
- Portals, after showcasing its next-generation AI agents and games, was selected to collaborate with the founders of xAI and Grok. Portals plans to integrate AI agents into its expanding virtual worlds and provide early access opportunities for developers and creators.
- MonkeDAO hosted its annual "24 Days of Monke" event, a Christmas-themed activity that offered over $50,000 in prizes and daily free-to-play games for holders. Participants could play a custom claw machine game to win rewards, with MonkeDAO matching all ecosystem-sponsored prizes 1:1.
- The CRAB launched the first NFT-driven book, using Metaplex to combine literature with on-chain assets, creating a new interactive experience.
- Hermans used Metaplex and AI to create mood-changing NFT PFPs, supported by the Core AppData plugin.
