Solana NFTs, the up-and-coming underdogs of the 20 billion dollar NFT industry. Will they flip Ethereum NFTs in the near future? Probably not. But does this mean Solana NFTs don’t have growth potential like their Ethereum counterparts? Absolutely not!
For those not trading Solana NFTs, you may wonder, what separates them from Cardano NFTs (which never really took off)? Or rather, why are Solana NFTs receiving so much attention? Well for one, OpenSea just listed a select few Solana NFT collections on its marketplace, giving them way more exposure to the NFT community.
In this article, we will be talking about the best of those select few Solana projects. If you’re an ETH maxi looking to load up on some Solana NFT blue chips, get ready, this will be a long list.
Best Solana NFT Projects
Disclaimer: All the Solana NFT projects listed below are that of my (Blowned.eth) personal opinion. They are not solely based on market cap/utility, but more on my perception of their future growth potential. As DCinvestor.eth perfectly put it, “One man’s garbage is another man’s future historical NFT.” This is an opinion piece, not NFT alpha. Without further ado, enjoy!
1) Solana Monkey Business – The CryptoPunks of Solana
Solana Monkey Business(SMB) is one of the OG projects in the Solana NFT ecosystem. Launching its extremely limited Gen1 Monkeys collection around a year ago in early June 2021, SMB didn’t immediately take off.
As August rolled around, SMB decided to launch their next collection of 5000 Gen2 Monkeys. With a mint price of $69 USDC (or 2 SOL at that time), and Solana’s market cap skyrocketing at this time, it’s no surprise that SMB sold like hotcakes.
Today, SMB’s floor price rests at a solid 200 SOL. But what makes SMB still a solid project to invest in?
For one, SMB is one of the only Solana NFT projects that have stood the test of time. While it may not be the first-ever Solana collection, it certainly is one of the most successful in terms of traded volume.
As for utility, you can expect to mix with the Solana NFT whales in their community. They also have an SMB NFT marketplace, the only place where you can purchase an SMB Gen1 monkey if an auction is hosted. So as far as Solana blue-chip NFTs go, SMB would be one of your top choices!
2) DeGods – Building “BAYC” on Solana
The moment you see DeGods NFT, you’ll be hit with BAYC vibes. The DeGods NFT collection launched in October 2021, around the height of Solana, but it has been going from strength to strength ever since. I would attribute their success to two key factors; An excellent team with ambition, and well-thought-out mechanisms that simply work.
One look at DeGods main site reveals the ambition of the DeGods community. They have staking mechanisms, raffle and auction houses, a native token, and even a “DeMap” showing the geographic locations of some DeGods holders. Upon getting a DeGods, you’ll have access to this host of utilities.
Another aspect of DeGods that appeals to me is their genius mechanisms. Take for example their “Paperhand Bitch Tax” right after mint, where paperhands (those who sold under buy price or floor price) were slapped with an additional 33.3% sell tax. The SOL collected from this tax was used to buy back more DeGods, and instead of them going to the core team’s wallet, these NFTs were “burned”, or permanently removed from the collection. This is but one of the methods DeGods leveraged to encourage HODLers, scare away FUDDers.
DeGods’ most recent venture is DeadGods, a “mutation” of DeGods that makes 3x more $DUST (their native token) per day compared to DeGods. The community behind DeGods is also determined to establish $DUST in the Solana ecosystem, and is working towards further $DUST adoption by other Solana NFT projects.
So, are DeGods worth the 180 SOL? It’s a “Yes” from me, especially if you dig the BAYC vibes.
3) Taiyo Robotics – De-Rugged Turnaround
Taiyo Robotics make it on this list because they’re one of the great turnaround stories in the Solana NFT space. Back in December 2021, the community of Taiyos was completely opposite of what it is today. With the floor price at 2-3 Solana and steadily declining, devs reluctant to continue the project, many were thinking that Taiyo Robotics would end up as a slow rug.
So Tom from Solport stepped in, and his team acquired the project. Since then, the Taiyo spirit has been revived, and it certainly has taken some finesse to rise to their floor of around 140 SOL today.
Something extraordinary about Taiyo Robotics is its dual-roadmap system. After taking over the Solana NFT project, the Solport team promised to stick to the original Taiyo roadmap, but deliver their own “value-added” roadmap as well.
To date, they have somewhat delivered on their promise. Staking Taiyos to earn the native token ($SCRAP) is up, along with “Breeding” Taiyos and an exclusive merch store to be set up soon. This fulfills the original Taiyos roadmap.
On top of that, you’ll get extra benefits by having a Taiyo once Solport.io’s affiliate program kicks in. Solport.io is a marketplace for Solana NFTs, a competitor of MagicEden, and Taiyos will earn a commission if they successfully refer other projects to launch on Solport.
In all, if the devs can overcome the challenges of de-rugging, I don’t see why they can’t bring Taiyo Robotics to even further heights!
4) Astrals – DAO Style
Astrals is one of the more affordable Solana NFT collections on this list, with its floor price sitting just under 20 SOL at the time of writing. What strikes me the most about Astrals is its DAO-style approach to further developments.
Being a part of Astrals means getting a say in their initial 2.5 million dollar Galaxy Treasury. The core team at Astrals has big plans; including a native token mint ($GLXY), metaverse and 3D integration of Astrals characters, and even a P2E mini-game sometime in Q3-Q4 this year.
This Solana NFT project goes by the conventional but underrated system of managing funds; a DAO. By being an Astrals holder, one can create proposals and put them to vote through the rest of the Astrals community, getting treasury funds if approved.
One interesting thing to take note of is that Shaq (Yes, the legendary NBA athlete), is part of the core team of Astrals. I guess that gives Astrals the marketing boost it needs… this project should blow up if the metaverse integration turns out well!
5) Cets On Creck – Strong AF Community
Cets on Creck is one of the best examples of a strong community upholding an otherwise “typical” project. As someone who skipped out on the CoC mint even though I had their WL token, I’m still regretting that decision today.
Back in early March 2022, there were three insanely hyped Solana NFT projects. Astrals was the “Utility” play, Drippies (never really took off) was the “Art” play, and Cets were the Degen play. It seems like Degen has won out.
Since Cets on Creck didn’t have a set “roadmap” or utility, they banked on Solana NFT Degens apeing into their project. I guess you could say they had good art, but so did Drippies.
What I think makes CoC an indestructible project is their community. Shortly after selling out, CoC had a dip to as low as 1.2 SOL. But it seems like many Solana NFT whales, and even some migrating over from Ethereum NFTs, have put their money behind CoC, pushing out paperhands and elevating the project to what they are today.
As of now, CoC has the funds to give back to the community. They have a Cets staking portal to earn $CRECK, and a merchandise shop for the fam. There’s also a “Bleck market” set up, for raffles and auctions (in the future).
If you believe community is everything, then perhaps degen-ing into at 50 SOL is worth the play.
6) Famous Fox Federation – Innovative Services
I always admire Famous Fox Federation for the host of useful services they provide to the community. Personally if I had the liquidity to spare, FFF would surely be a Solana NFT project I’d invest in.
While other Solana NFT projects create their native token for NFT staking, and try to establish themselves in the space, FFF goes another route. They provide helpful services to the community, and of course, owning a Famous Fox will be a “premium” version of those services.
Take for example, FFF’s Famous Token Market. This is one of the most widely-used services, where Solana NFT’ers can buy and sell Whitelist tokens for Solana NFT projects. Since WL-meta grinding is a thing, some people basically depend on FFF to make their flips! If FFF is not giving back to the community, then I don’t know which project does!
Aside from the Famous Token Market, FFF also provides bulk sending and listing services, floor-sweeping solutions, and even a P2P NFT trading portal with escrow secured by FFF themselves! All these services require $FOXY, increasing the adoption of FFF’s native token ingeniously.
If you’d like to be part of a project that provides supreme utility to the Solana NFT community, FFF is the one for you. After all, they’re still only at 33 SOL!
7) Aurory – P2E on Solana
What makes Aurory different from all other projects promising a P2E game? Well the incriminating difference is: Aurory started with an awesome P2E game. Not just a promise in the air.
The Aurory team is huge, comprising software developers and project leads from established gaming companies like Ubisoft and EA. Thus, it’s no surprise that they’ve gotten the backing of top-tier VCs such as Animoca Brands (the company behind The Sandbox).
The Aurory game is as well-designed as what you’d expect from a web2 MOBA, even though Aurory is technically web3! Aurory being both a PvE and PvP game, filled with character quests along with turn-based combat rounds, the gaming atmosphere in Aurory is diverse. They’re currently sitting at a 40 SOL floor price.
It should come without saying that Aurory also has their own token $AURY, thus allowing the game to be “P2E”. For those who believe in the future of metaverse games, Aurory is one of the select few to choose from in the Solana NFT P2E arena.
8) Portals – Virtual Property Metaverse
Portals is a “city-themed” metaverse built on the Solana blockchain, and is one of the more promising virtual property plays. They are still building Portals downtown, or the city where you can vibe in web3 at.
Currently, the build is still in BETA. Holders of Portals NFT would have early access to this virtual world, and will be granted ownership of real estate in this metaverse.
But if you don’t have 50 SOL to spare, Portals also has a collection of Standard Citizen Cards. For just 0.6 SOL, you’ll get a personal “pod” outside of the city center (Downtown), essentially a vibing spot where you can invite friends and chat in your personal space.
I see Portals as an established Solana NFT project with a bright future. Despite being still in the world-building phase, Portals have partnered with VCs such as Solana Ventures, secured Angel investors, as well as collaborated with metaverse-focused agencies.
Could Portals be the Decentraland of Solana?
9) Space Runners – Fashion Experience
Space Runners is a metaverse fashion brand, with the motive of bringing famous athletes and fan communities together. At the moment, their fashion element is concentrated on the shoes. This really gives me the RTFKT feeling, Space Runners could live up to their Ethereum counterparts!
Most notably, Space Runners has collaborated with Kyle Kuzma and Nick Young, their NFT champions. This gives Space Runners holders the opportunity to receive courtside tickets, admission to exclusive sporting events, and even signed merch from the NBA champions themselves!
Space Runners is also building a metaverse called Spaceverse, where you can flex your Space Runners and other wearables. In fact, they already have a teaser for this metaverse, and the UI looks superb to me.
Finally, Space Runners is developing their Augmented Reality system, which would let users view their web3 merch IRL. All these new initiatives and technology being implemented by Space Runners comprehensively bring fashion into the metaverse, so they’re surely a Solana NFT project you should look out for.
10) SOLGods – A Successful Arts Story
And last but not least, we have SOLGods. Throughout this whole article, it seems that a bulk of the projects had some sort of utility, or external factor that pushed them to success. Well not SOLGods, they relied clearly on literature and arts.
SOLGods to me is all about the story. With a background story (a few chapters!) to set the context for SOLGods, further NFT airdrops to keep its holders up-to-date with the progression of SOLGods lore, and not forgetting amazing art, SOLGods have soared to a respectable Floor price of 42.69 SOL. (LOL I’m not joking, really is this fp rn)
While SOLGods have not initially planned for things such as a DAO or merch, it seems that they’re actively listening to the community for suggestions. You can expect developments on SOLGods to come soon.
Another interesting aspect of the project is their page “The Final Enigma“. In classic riddle-style format, SOLGods give a short extract of lore before asking the readers to crack the riddle, and possibly earn a prize. I can see that if SOLGods goes in this direction, the project could be huge.
Wrap Up
And… done! If you’re still reading this, thanks for sticking to the end!
I hope this list of Solana NFT projects helped you find some collections that flew under your radar, I made sure not just to cover the top 10 “Expensive” projects.
Once again, the recommended projects here are not endorsed by us, but more of a personal opinion for great NFT projects in the Solana space. Hope you loved the read!
