DeLabs, the startup behind popular NFT projects DeGods and Y00ts, received a $3 million grant from Polygon to migrate blockchains
According to a January 6 press release from the corporation, the team behind y00ts and DeGods received $3 million to transfer their collections from Solana to Polygon. The two projects’ founder, Frank III, posted the statement on Discord and copied it on Twitter.
The projects’ relocation to Polygon was originally revealed by the developers on December 27. This was viewed as potentially being the final blow to the Solana network, which was already under stress from the effects of the failed FTX exchange. However, there was no proof that the y00ts team had been compensated for the decision at that time.
The founder of y00ts and DeGods, Frank III, said in this new statement that the team was approached with offers for even greater quantities of money than those included in the Polygon partnership, but chose to work with Polygon because it would be the ideal platform for the projects.
Frank also made an effort to anticipate any criticism that might result from disclosing the payment made, saying:
“We didn’t take this deal for the money. That’s just a nice bonus and we will use it effectively. We did this because it’s the most exciting direction for y00ts as a project. Also, if you are really upset — all I ask is to just channel that energy into genuine questions before just automatically assuming the worst.”
Additionally, Frank III said he would “not be purchasing any Lambo” with the funds. In other words, the team won’t spend the money on personal expenses.
Instead, he said that the money will be used to hire new workers for “business development, graphic design, content creation, and events coordination,” which will help the initiatives become more well-known.
At least temporarily, Solana appears to have rebounded from the y00t and DeGod exodus as meme coins like Bonk are bringing back trading interest to the platform.
