Metaplex February Round-up 2025

Highlights

• Transactions - Metaplex surpassed 1 billion transactions since inception, outpacing entire chains and rollups designed for scaling.

• Fungible Tokens - Over 1.2 million fungible tokens were created in February, the fourth highest month of all-time. 

• Core Execute - Core got a major upgrade. The new Execute feature introduces Asset Signers, allowing NFTs to sign transactions, transfer assets, and act autonomously.

• Aura - Aura continues to set the standard for indexing and asset data availability, surpassing 150 million read requests and adding top-tier RPC support via Triton 

• Protocol Fees - Protocol fees exceeded $2.6MM fueled by new tokens launched and continued adoption of Core for NFT creation.

• $MPLX Buyback -  10,859 SOL of Metaplex protocol fees were used to buy back 8MM of $MPLX (~1% of total supply) for the Metaplex DAO.

Protocol Activity

In February, 1.3 million Token Metadata assets were created. Of these, 1.2 million or 93% were fungible tokens. Cumulatively, over 13 million fungible tokens have been minted using Token Metadata.

Core adoption remains strong, with over 2 million total mints to date. While February saw 159k new Core assets created, the momentum continues as builders integrate Core’s advanced asset management features.

Last month, creators and developers minted over 30 million digital assets through Metaplex, including 29 million compressed NFTs.

Metaplex continues to see strong engagement, with 830k unique wallets signing transactions in February. The protocol remains a critical layer for onchain activity, with over 10 million  unique wallets signing transactions since inception.

Metaplex was the sixth largest Solana protocol based on transaction quantity and the fifth largest protocol based on active wallets.

The total number of Metaplex collectors exceeded 100 million unique wallets, reflecting 10 million new wallets. 481k new wallets collected a Token Metadata asset and 9.6 million new wallets collected a Bubblegum NFT.

Developer Platform

In February, Metaplex surpassed 1 billion transactions since inception, processing more than entire chains and rollups built for scaling. As the foundation for tokenization on Solana and the SVM, Metaplex continues to power the onchain economy at scale.

Core

Core received a major upgrade with the release of Execute, which introduced the concept of Assets as Signers, or NFTs that can sign transactions, transfer assets, and act autonomously. This transforms NFTs from static collectibles into onchain agents, unlocking new use cases across AI, gaming, DeFi, and more. Developers can now create AI-driven NFTs that execute strategies, vote in DAOs, and interact with smart contracts. This new instruction also includes a small gas-like protocol fee when called.

The first project to use Execute was aiPool, an AI-driven token launch platform built on the Eliza framework. With aiPool, projects can launch tokens entirely through trustless automation, handling liquidity, custody, and distribution without human intermediaries.

Total Core mints surpassed 2 million and the Metaplex Core website received key upgrades, including burnable collections and a mobile-responsive UI.

Aura

Aura continued its expansion, surpassing 150 million read requests while the network received performance and reliability improvements.

Additional network optimizations have pushed Aura’s data consistency for compressed NFT proofs to 99.9999%. The network's smart proxy also received a routing upgrade, which will direct more RPC requests to Metaplex’s partners at Triton One.

Metaplex also expanded Aura’s beta, offering free access to developers impacted by Simplehash’s shutdown. Developers interested in testing the network can fill out the form.

Token Metadata 

February saw significant fungible token activity, with the total number of fungible token mints created with Token Metadata now surpassing 13 million.

In order to support the Solana ecosystem's evolving needs around new token launches, Metaplex is expanding its tools and onchain infrastructure to support a wide range of asset classes. If you're a builder looking to launch a token on Solana or an institution that is evaluating RWAs, please reach out [email protected] to learn more.

The previously announced Token Metadata optimization continued. This initiative minimizes the program’s onchain footprint and enables NFT holders to optimize the network directly using a new Resize instruction. Any NFT holder can resize their assets and claim excess SOL at resize.metaplex.com until April 25th.

Users who have resized their NFTs have already claimed over 6,300 SOL. There are 23.1M eligible NFTs that are still eligible to be resized (as of March 9th). 0.0023 excess SOL can be claimed per Master Edition and 0.0019 excess SOL can be claimed per Edition. 

After April 25th, any remaining TM accounts that have not been resized will be optimized and the resulting excess SOL will be contributed to the Metaplex DAO, which can decide how the excess SOL is used. 

SonicSVM

Sonic mainnet went live, introducing the first SVM for games and applications. They launched with Metaplex’s full suite: Core, Token Metadata, Candy Machine, MPL-404, and Bubblegum, giving developers everything needed to launch NFTs, tokens, and hybrid collections from day one.

AI Agents

The intersection of AI x crypto continues to expand as more onchain interactions are facilitated by natural language interfaces and agentic systems. Through a combination of new programs, integrations, and tooling, Metaplex stands to benefit from this trend as one of the most used protocols on Solana.

SendAI showed how to build Solana AI agents using Eliza and Metaplex, expanding the accessibility of onchain AI.

Metaplex also powered the aiPool, an autonomous token launch system built on the Eliza framework. AiPool allows for AI-driven liquidity management, auctions, and presales, executed entirely onchain, without intermediaries.

OctonetAI launched SANA, tokenizing AI models as trainable, onchain assets using Core and Aura. The team also released a training guide, showcasing how users can customize their own AI-driven NFTs.

Griffain introduced a new AI agent for NFT collection management powered by Metaplex, automating image generation, metadata uploads, minting, and distribution through Candy Machine.

Documentation, Guides & Articles

February brought new developer resources making it easier to build with Metaplex.

The Metaplex Developer Hub received a layout upgrade, improving navigation and grouping MPL programs together for a faster and better experience.

The Metaplex Spotlight Series featured SANA by OctonetAI, highlighting how AI agents are becoming tokenized, trainable assets using Core and Aura. Another feature covered aiPool, an autonomous AI-powered token launch system and the first one built with Metaplex Execute.

Metaplex DAO

Metaplex Protocol Fees & $MPLX Buybacks

10,859 SOL (~$2M) was used to buy back 8 million $MPLX (~1% of total supply) for the Metaplex DAO.

Each month, 50% of Metaplex’s protocol fees are allocated to buying back $MPLX for the Metaplex DAO. February’s protocol fees totaled 13,651 SOL (~$2.6M), driven by asset creation and tokenization across Solana and the SVM.

With cumulative protocol fees surpassing 208,000 SOL, Metaplex continues to power tokenization at scale, reinforcing its role as core infrastructure for the onchain economy. The Metaplex DAO remains a key force in governance, protocol development, and ecosystem expansion.

Metaplex Earn Campaign

The Metaplex Earn campaign, developed in partnership with Forgd, Kamino, Orca, and Jito, continued in February.

Designed to incentivize deeper onchain liquidity, the eight week campaign allows users to deposit assets with no lockups, earning a share of 1M $MPLX, 5K $JTO, and 2K $ORCA in rewards. Following strong demand, the liquidity pool cap expanded from $4M to $7M at its peak.

By the end of the month, the campaign reached its halfway mark and participation held steady despite market-wide conditions. As onchain adoption grows, Metaplex Earn is reinforcing $MPLX’s role in Solana DeFi.

Metaplex DAO Grants

Metaplex continued to support builders through DAO-backed grants and the Grants Working Group led by core members from Deanslist, funding projects that push onchain adoption and expand the utility of Core and MPL-404 powered assets.

OneMugCoffee received a grant to develop an onchain revenue-sharing system for e-commerce. By integrating Core, the project is redefining ownership and digital identity in consumer brands.

Additionally, Rubians secured a grant to advance Core support in the Solana Godot SDK and their upcoming game BigDiggas.

MIP-11: Core Groups

Metaplex Improvement Plan 11 passed, introducing Core Groups to Core program. Proposed by mallow.art, this update allows 1/1s and Master Editions to be organized under a single structure, similar to collections in Token Metadata.

Community

Metaplex Foundation

Metaplex Foundation continued to add to its contributors, welcoming Ian de Borja as Head of Communications and Nicholas Strange as Business Development & Partnerships Manager. They will strengthen the Metaplex Foundation's ability to foster ecosystem growth through strategic partnerships and community engagement.

Metaplex at mtnDAO

Metaplex kicked off mtnDAO v7 as the title sponsor for Week 1, with the full team on the ground in Salt Lake City. The event saw record-breaking attendance, bringing together founders, developers, and investors building on Solana.

Throughout the week the team focused on giving hands-on support for builders integrating Metaplex by leading workshops on Core, AI-powered digital assets and Aura, daily office hours, and an AMA. Builders also got their hands on Metaplex merch and the week wrapped up with a ski day.

Messari Report

Metaplex was featured in a Messari report, highlighting its dominance in digital asset issuance on Solana and the SVM. In 2024, Metaplex minted 7x more fungible tokens than Ethereum and its L2s combined, reinforcing its role as the standard for NFTs, fungible tokens, RWAs, DePIN, gaming assets, and AI agents on Solana.

Solana Global Creator Competition

Metaplex was an official track sponsor for the Solana Global Creator Competition, supporting content creators, designers, and animators building onchain. With $115K in prizes, the event brought together a global community to showcase AI-powered storytelling, 3D design, and digital branding. The competition runs until March 14.

Matsumoto Winter Arc

Metaplex was announced as a Platinum Sponsor of Matsumoto Winter Arc, strengthening its commitment to Solana’s expansion in Japan. The event brings together developers, founders, and builders shaping the onchain future in the region, with Metaplex supporting new innovations in gaming, NFTs, and digital assets.

Superteam Japan

Superteam Japan hosted a hands-on study session at Builders Weekend, where Yuki from the Metaplex Japan community demonstrated how to create Metaplex powered digital assets using SendAI. The team also announced Solana Developer Hub #14, featuring Yuki presenting on RWAs and onchain assets.

Show & Tell with Beeman

Beeman hosted a two-part Show & Tell session, where Metaplex Product Marketer, Leo walked builders through Core and showcased how to go from zero to minting Core assets.

Kyzzen Spotlight

Metaplex was featured in a spotlight by Kyzzen’s, recognized as the backbone of digital assets on Solana. The feature highlighted Metaplex Core’s role in slashing minting costs by 85%, its impact on NFTs, tokenization, and gaming, and how its infrastructure powers onchain economies at scale.

Application Ecosystem

February saw continued expansion across Solana and Metaplex’s application ecosystem, with new projects launching and major platforms integrating Metaplex’s digital asset standards.

• Virtuals officially launched on Solana, using Metaplex infrastructure for digital asset creation and ownership.

• Time.fun went live, using Metaplex to power tokenized time-based assets.

• Agent Kitsune, a new AI agent, was featured by Solana, showcasing how AI-driven automation is evolving onchain.

• CoinGecko partnered with SendAI, integrating market data feeds into the Solana Agent Kit, enabling AI agents built with Metaplex to access real-time financial data.

• Vector.fun opened for public access, the mobile memecoin trading platform developed by the Tensor team.

• TomTom partnered with Hivemapper, integrating advanced mapping technology into Hivemapper’s $HONEY ecosystem.

• Figure Markets launched $YLDS, an SEC-regulated yield-bearing stablecoin, further expanding onchain finance on Solana.

Creator Ecosystem 

February also saw renewed momentum across Solana’s NFT ecosystem, with top collections seeing surging trading activity and new projects launching with Metaplex-powered assets.

• Doodles introduced $DOOD, a new token launching on Solana with a future bridge to BASE, expanding the reach of the Doodles ecosystem.

• Portals revealed its latest NFT collection, powered by Metaplex Core, reinforcing its position as a leader in virtual world assets.

• The OWLS collection launched on Magic Eden’s launchpad. The new collection minted using Core.

• Top Solana NFT collections saw an increase in trading activity, including SMB Gen2, Mad Lads, Frogana, DeGods, Retardio Cousins, Claynosaurz, and Famous Fox Federation, solidifying Metaplex as the backbone of Solana’s NFT market.

• Aobing launched on Solana, utilizing Metaplex for its governance token, merging cultural IP with AI utilities and meme ecosystems.

Follow @metaplex on X for ongoing community updates. You can also subscribe to receive these monthly updates directly to your email here. Developers should follow and turn on notifications for @metaplexstatus for the latest updates. To contribute to the Metaplex protocol, engage with us on GitHub or submit a Metaplex Improvement Proposal (MIP) at mip.metaplex.com.

Last, thanks to TopLedger for their data support on this month’s round-up. They provide real-time monitoring of Metaplex activity and usage to the ecosystem. For additional Metaplex onchain metrics, please refer to the following link.