After two years of development, the Ether project finally launched its long-awaited coin on June 30 to put members on the allow list. However, after the project launched its public sale a week later on July 9, the team shut down the public coin due to lack of activity. At the time of writing, less than half of the total stock has been minted.
While the low number of mints can be seen as a direct reason for the hiatus, the current state of the project has been shaped by a myriad of influences. These include community feedback and comments on elements such as price, offerings and the project roadmap.
Here are five factors that likely contributed to the halting of the minting process and the decline in demand.
Price of coin
The initial asking price for each Ether NFT in the public sale was 1 ETH, but was reduced to 0.65 ETH. Members of the admission list received a discounted coin price of 0.35 ETH or a free option with a 10-week blocking period.
Despite price cuts, many still believed the cost was too high. It is worth noting that Azuki Elementals also recently minted for a high price of 2 ETH. However, Azuki has already built a solid reputation within the NFT market, while Ether is relatively new and its brand identity less defined.
Cut in offer
It was originally planned to launch the project with a supply of 10,000 tokens. However, on July 2, the team announced a reduction to 5,555 tokens, attributing this decision to current market conditions and sentiment.
The custom token pool includes 5,555 NFTs, of which 3,678 have been allocated for public sale, 1,627 reserved for the whitelist coin phase, and the remaining 250 in the treasury.
While the team says they dropped the offer to focus on a smaller, tight-knit community, many saw the move as a lack of confidence in the project. A reduction in token supply combined with a price change can create a sense of uncertainty, potentially undermining investor confidence in the project.
“Just lowering the coin price without changing the mechanics would only keep the floor collapsing and the holders f*cked,” says NFT influencer Waleswoosh tweeted. “Supply cuts will not solve the core problem.”
Undoxxed team
Despite not revealing their identities, the Ether team has been quoted as saying founder VIII previous experiences in the art and gaming space with Sony, Nike and Epic Games.
However, with increasing transparency, it is becoming more and more important in the space, many NFT collectors rather invest in doxxed founders. When a team chooses to remain anonymous, it becomes a challenge for the community to do due diligence, including the founder’s experiences, previous successes and failures – all critical factors in building trust.
Today’s top projects started with undoxed founders who later revealed their identities. Some examples are Frank DeGods of DeLabs And Zagabond of Azuki. After revealing their identities, the founders moved to more transparent and open communication with their communities. This cultivated a sense of faith and responsibility, ensuring that an anonymous founder would risk his reputation and not just disappear with the holder’s money.
Time between admission list and public sale
Unlike many projects that immediately follow the whitelist with a public sale, Ether left a significant gap of more than a week between the two. Unlike Azuki Elementals, which sold out in presale and didn’t make it to public sale, Ether left most of its remaining inventory for public sale.
This strategy seemed to backfire, leading to a floor price drop when a large number of whitelist members decided to flip. Due to the lowered floor and the wait of more than a week, the project lost momentum and hype.
Vague roadmap
The NFT market has undergone a profound transformation since 2021. In the early days, mints shrouded in hype and mystery often sold out quickly, helped in part by the bull run and the newness of the space. However, the community has since matured and become more critical.
In the current climate investors are showing more caution, evaluate projects carefully before making commitments. While Ether has a roadmap that promises clothing, physical and digital goods, and stories, many are still finding it too vague without specific details.
What’s next?
Ether’s first coin experience provides valuable insights for future projects and even for minters looking for projects to invest in. Projects can view Ether as a case study, learning from the successes and challenges to underpin their own strategies and avoid similar pitfalls.
Despite the initial reaction, Ether still has one core group of believers that foresee potential and growth in the project. As of now, Ether has not disclosed its plans following the public sale resumption. Going forward, the team’s ability to respond to feedback and adapt their strategies will likely play a critical role in shaping Ether’s story and success in the marketplace.