Cool Cats Are Going Multi-Chain—And Adding Customizable NFTs

NFT

Cool Cats was one of many hottest profile image initiatives to come back out of the late 2021 NFT market increase, however costs declined sharply final yr as collectors’ gripes piled up. Immediately the founders behind the undertaking unveiled a brand new path ahead with refreshed branding—and future enlargement past Ethereum with customizable, full-body avatars.

“With our new strategic route and rebrand, we wish to convey to the neighborhood and the broader Web3 area that Cool Cats is right here to remain,” Cool Cats Group CEO Stephen Teglas informed Decrypt. “We’re not simply constructing for the subsequent yr, or the subsequent 5 years—we’re planning for the long run.”

Cool Cats and Cool Pets NFT holders have been airdropped a free Fracture NFT as we speak, which co-founder and Head of Content material Robert Mehew described as “dynamic NFTs that allow a brand new storytelling expertise by way of digital collectibles.” The Fracture NFTs will evolve as holders full missions throughout the Cooltopia sport, and ultimately unveil potential rewards.

New PFP. New Chapter. Similar Blue Cat.

See you at our City Corridor streaming LIVE on YouTube tomorrow Feb 1 at 3PM ET: https://t.co/EDXbg2QrFU pic.twitter.com/m4AmFhSD9i

— Cool Cats (@coolcats) January 31, 2023

However the upcoming Explorers NFTs will signify a bigger enlargement of the Cool Cats undertaking later this yr, together with customizable full-body avatars that can be utilized throughout a number of blockchain networks and introduced into varied supported apps and platforms.

Particulars are nonetheless scarce on the complete extent of the Explorers performance, however it sounds just like what fellow Ethereum NFT undertaking Doodles simply did with Doodles 2. That undertaking not solely bridges over to a unique blockchain, Movement, however turns the acquainted profile photos into absolutely featured avatars that may be tweaked and outfitted with digital attire.

Ethereum NFT Hit Doodles Will Launch Doodles 2 on Movement Blockchain

A Cool Cats consultant informed Decrypt that the Explorers NFTs will work throughout a number of layer-1 blockchains and layer-2 scaling networks, together with some that aren’t Ethereum Digital Machine (EVM) appropriate. These platforms can be revealed within the coming months. Cool Cats has beforehand used Ethereum sidechain community Polygon for particular version NFT drops and a cellular sport.

“Our purpose is to take away as a lot friction as attainable,” a rep mentioned concerning the motion of Cool Cats avatars throughout blockchains. The workforce additionally plans to work with neighborhood members to develop belongings for use with the Explorers.

Immediately’s bulletins have been paired with a rebranding of the Cool Cats undertaking throughout social media and advertising supplies, which is able to correspond with new narrative content material centered on Blue Cat, the undertaking’s predominant character.

“Our new brand contains a forward-facing cat, a nod to our deal with constructing for the long run,” Cool Cats co-founder and Inventive Director Colin “Clon” Egan informed Decrypt.

An instance of the refreshed Cool Cats branding. Picture: Cool Cats

Cool Cats costs surged in late 2021 as the broader NFT market surged, pushing the ground worth—or the worth of the cheapest-listed NFT on a secondary market—leaping to just about 14 ETH (over $48,000) that October. The undertaking signed with main Hollywood company Inventive Artists Company (CAA) in March 2022 to discover media and licensing offers.

What Occurred to Cool Cats? The Rise, Fall, and Way forward for the Ethereum NFTs

However Cool Cats costs crashed final yr amid management departures, blended reactions to Cooltopia, and gripes that the founders weren’t doing sufficient to help the undertaking. As of this morning, forward of the bulletins, the ground worth sat at simply 2 ETH in response to knowledge from NFT Worth Ground. That’s lower than $3,200 value, given the depressed worth of Ethereum.

Thus far, Cool Cats has generated about $377 million value of secondary market buying and selling quantity, per knowledge from CryptoSlam, whereas the Cool Pets spinoff assortment has added over $105 million to that tally. Cool Cats collaborated with Time journal in 2021 for limited-edition NFTs, as properly, and as we speak introduced a advertising cope with {hardware} pockets maker Ledger.

Will a refreshed look, gamified reward NFTs for present house owners, and a larger-scale avatar push throughout a number of chains assist Cool Cats reaffirm its “blue chip” standing after an up-and-down yr? Teglas believes that going greater and broader is vital to rising Cool Cats into an leisure model that may attain past the Web3 devoted.

“We in the end imagine that scaling Cool Cats’ model consciousness and onboarding extra members into the model is among the handiest methods for us to ship on the expectations of our neighborhood,” he informed Decrypt.