Protocol Insights #1

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Jul 27, 2022

The number of active hotspots in the Helium network continues to grow adding another 31,502 devices in the last 30 days to reach a total of 906,254 devices. At this rate the network should reach 1 mn nodes by the end of Q3 2022

However, protocol revenue is ~50% lower, from a monthly high of $5.5M in April to $2.6 mn in June. In addition, one source indicates that just $6,561 out of the $2.6 mn generated in June stemmed from organic data-credit usage, whilst the rest from one-time installation revenues - confirmed by the CEO himself in a response to this tweet
Simultaneously, many Helium hotspot owners have been vocal about a significant drop in mined earnings (~$100 / Month » $20 / Month)

It is expected that the number of IOT enabled devices globally, will greatly overtake non-IOT enabled devices by the end of the current decade. We already saw the two switch places after 2020. This might mean that Helium still has a large room to grow since its target market is nascent, but growing at an accelerated pace. Lastly, recent updates (HIP-51) allowing greater network may provide further support over time

② Solana $SOL

Despite the slump in the overall crypto markets, daily transactions on Solana have grown steadily in the past 4 months, the number has grown from ~10 mn in April 22 to almost ~40 mn as of yesterday

The number of daily active addresses has not grown in the same way, in fact it has stalled since May 22, this could suggest an increased activity of whales and institutions on Solana

Solana validator count has nearly doubled between the start of Q4 21 to present; growing from 1000 nodes to 1875 as of July 25th. This coupled with a Nakomoto coefficient (which signals the distribution of staked tokens, an indication of validator control) of 27 (vs NEAR and Cosmos with 7), suggests Solana may be more decentralized than one would think

On 11th March 2022, both the IPs were purchased by Yuga from the original creator Larva labs at an undisclosed price.

The acquisition boosted BAYC’s median price from 75 ETH to the April high of 148 ETH. In contrast, punks median price dropped from their 71 ETH mark on 11th March to April lows of 52 ETH. As of today Punks are up to 89 ETH and BAYC at 106 ETH median price. The acquisition seemed to have boosted BAYC’s value more than Punks

As opposed to Punks, Meebits average secondary price shot up from ~3.3 ETH on 11th March to April high of 7.8 ETH. Currently the Meebit average secondary price is at 4.7 ETH

It is possible that Punks acquisition by Yuga solidified BAYC as the bigger brand and IP, as the two have contested for the top spot of an individual NFT’s price for a long time. Meebits seems to have gone up in value by joining the Yuga umbrella, because of their inclusion on Yuga’s metaverse roadmap and a lower entry bar to the ecosystem

Another noteworthy chart is the impact of Yuga’s acquisition on its overall market share. Yuga’s overall market share has decreased from 27% in Jan 2022 to about 23% in July 2022 . This is despite the addition 55k new NFTs to circulation, minted during the Otherside drop

On 11th March 2022, both the IPs were purchased by Yuga from the original creator Larva labs at an undisclosed price.

BAYC median price rose from 75 ETH to the April high of 148 ETH, the launch of Apecoin on 17th March further boosted the price of BAYC. In contrast, punks median price dropped from their 71 ETH mark on 11th March to April lows of 52 ETH, it has since recovered on the back of a few multi-million sales from the collection
CryptoPunks and BAYC have always contested for the top floor prices in the space. It is possible that the market believes, bringing Punks under the Yuga umbrella establishes BAYC as the bigger brand and IP. Resulting in Punks’ floor price struggling in comparison to BAYC

As opposed to Punks, Meebits average secondary price shot up from ~3.3 ETH on 11th March to April high of 7.8 ETH. Since then the median price has declined to 4.7 ETH as of 12th July. The acquisition seems to have been overall positive for Meebits

Yuga also created the ‘Apecoin’, the official currency of their upcoming metaverse. Apecoin prices peaked at 25$ in May, due to its use in the Otherside sale. The price has since declined to similar levels as of its launch day
Source: Trading View
Interestingly the number of holders of the Apecoin have continued to grow despite the prices dropping to the launch day prices. This could potentially support a more organic price discovery for the token
Source: @Marcov: Link