Metaplex November Round-up

Highlights

• Fungible Tokens - 1.4m new fungible tokens were created through Metaplex, an all-time high and 56% increase MoM 

• Core Adoption - Over 1.2m assets have now been minted with Core, including 354k in November, an all-time high

• Active Wallets - 879k unique wallets signed transactions with the protocol in November, an all-time high

• Aura on Eclipse - Aura was launched in beta, and quickly processed over 1.5M read requests from devs testing the decentralized indexing network in Eclipse

• Protocol Fees - Protocol fees increased 99% MoM to $3.5 million (15,632 SOL), driven by continued growth in memecoins created and new Core mints

• $MPLX Token Purchases - 12,000 SOL of Metaplex Protocol fees were used to purchase 6.8M $MPLX, which was contributed to the Metaplex DAO

Protocol Activity

There were 1.5m Token Metadata assets created in November, a 45% increase in TM assets created MoM and the most TM assets created in one month in 2024. 1.4m or 94% of TM assets created were fungible tokens, marking the highest number of fungible tokens ever created in one month and a 56% increase MoM. This increase in Token Metadata assets was driven by continued growth in memecoin activity. The total number of fungible tokens ever created with TM is now nearly 9 million, representing almost 20% of all TM assets since inception.

November marked another record month for Core asset creation. There were 354k Core assets created in November, the most Core assets created ever in one month as ecosystem adoption continues to grow. 

In total, creators and developers minted 21 million digital assets through Metaplex in November, including 19 million compressed NFTs.

879k unique wallets directly signed transactions with the protocol in November, the most monthly unique signers in one month all-time and an increase of 34% MoM.

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

As of November, the total number of Metaplex collectors reached nearly 60 million unique wallets, an increase of nearly 900k wallets month-over-month.

Developer Platform

Aura

During early November, Aura went into its private beta phase, introducing a decentralized network that redefines data access, availability, and scalability for developers across Solana and the SVM. The private beta was offered to a select cohort of developers. Offering them the latest Digital Asset Standard (DAS) API methods and decentralized indexing support for read requests. Initial performance metrics show low-latency responses, and Metaplex will continue to open up access to the network throughout December. 

The next major Aura milestones are a public gateway to access the network and the introduction of Aura’s staking and rewards architecture. 

Aura also launched on Eclipse, with high initial demand driving over 1.5M requests through the network within the first week. Backpack was the first application to start using Aura, enabling users to view assets supported by Aura in their wallets, while developers on Eclipse gained access to indexing for Core assets, Token Metadata, fungible tokens, Bubblegum (cNFTs), SPL Tokens (including T22), and inscriptions. 

Developers can request access to Aura’s beta here.

Core

Core surpassed 1 million total mints in November, with another monthly all-time high of 354k Core assets minted during the month.

A new guide was released to help developers build mint pages with Core Candy Machine, covering how to fetch mint data, validate eligibility with Candy Guards, and implement scalable setups for efficient minting.

Additionally, Core and the full Metaplex suite, are now live on Eclipse mainnet, offering developers the best tools for asset creation on the new chain.

Notable use cases this month included Honeyland, which used Core to optimize breeding and egg creation costs for players, and CandyBlinks, which utilized Core to power its digital asset launchpad and marketplace, allowing for free-mint mechanics for its Candy Mob Business collection.

Token Metadata Optimization & Immutability

After deploying the resize optimization on mainnet in October, which minimizes the program’s onchain footprint, Metaplex announced the next steps for Token Metadata: transitioning to immutability. The program's upgrade authority has been handed off to a multisig of three independent security firms who will conduct final audits over the next six months. No further upgrades will be made to the program beyond addressing security-related bugs, ensuring the program is ready to become Solana's first immutable digital asset standard.

There are a total ~24.2M eligible Token Metadata NFTs with Token Metadata accounts that are still eligible to be resized (as of November 30th). 0.0023 excess SOL can be claimed per Master Edition and 0.0019 excess SOL can be claimed per Edition.

The resize optimization, which frees ~15GB of unused buffer space, continues to enable eligible NFT holders to directly optimize the Token Metadata accounts associated with their NFTs and obtain the excess SOL freed up by the optimization. NFT holders have until April 2025 to execute the resize before the Token Metadata accounts are optimized automatically. Holders can do so directly through the free, no code UI provided by Metaplex (resize.metaplex.com)

Check out the FAQ on this optimization to learn more.

Eclipse

November marked the public launch of the Eclipse mainnet, and Metaplex fully deployed its protocol suite, including Token Metadata, Core, and Bubblegum, to enable digital asset creation at scale on the new network. This follows an earlier deployment to Eclipse’s devnet and shows Metaplex's commitment to supporting innovation across Solana and the broader SVM.

To support developers building on Eclipse, Metaplex has detailed guides and documentation specific to the Eclipse network. Additionally, the Core explorer UI now includes options for both Eclipse mainnet and devnet, simplifying asset management and exploration for developers and users.

Documentation & Developer Guides

​​In November, Metaplex introduced several new guides to support developers building with Metaplex:

• Metaplex under the hood: Core. A deep dive article that explores how Core keeps digital assets lightweight yet highly customizable. By using “state blobs” and plugin metadata, Core offers unmatched flexibility and efficiency for managing digital assets.

• Next.js template for frontend development. A new Next.js template was launched to make UI development for Solana applications faster and easier. Preloaded with tools like Metaplex Umi, WalletAdapter, Tailwind, and Zustand, it provides a great starting point for developers to create customized, functional interfaces without the need for extensive configuration.

• MPL-404 documentation revamp. The MPL-404 section of the Developer Hub underwent a comprehensive rewrite. This update offers clear, detailed guidance on swapping fungibles and non-fungibles, creating hybrid assets, and exploring innovative use cases in gaming, memes, and beyond.

Metaplex DAO

Metaplex Protocol Fees & $MPLX Token Purchases

In November, 12,000 SOL was used to purchase 6.8 million $MPLX that was contributed to the Metaplex DAO treasury, marking the largest token purchase to date and a 20% increase from October’s 10,000 SOL.

This marks the sixth $MPLX contribution to the Metaplex DAO. As outlined previously, 50% of the Metaplex Protocol’s prior monthly fees plus historical fees are allocated to purchasing $MPLX, supporting decentralization and community-driven governance.

November protocol fees hit an all-time high, generating $3.5 million or 15,632 SOL (+99% in USD MoM), driven by surging activity across memecoins, fungible tokens, and other digital assets. This brought cumulative fees to over 159,000 SOL generated over the lifetime of the protocol.

DAO Grants

The Metaplex DAO Grants program, led by core members of DeanslistDAO, has seen strong early traction, receiving over 60 applications in the past two months. This program is designed to support builders, creators, and ecosystem projects that drive innovation across Solana and the SVM ecosystems.

The grants team is actively seeking applications that will accelerate the adoption of Metaplex standards, increase the number of assets minted or traded, and expand the reach of projects using Metaplex. They are reviewing applications and hosting discussions with applicants to identify high-impact projects that will directly contribute to these goals.

Learn more about the program and submit your application here.

Community

Superteam Vietnam GameJam

Superteam Vietnam, Superteam Japan, Honeycomb Protocol and Topebox launched the Solana Super Game Jam, an event with a $50K+ prize pool and scholarships to an accelerator program for developers creating gaming experiences.

Metaplex participated in the kickoff event, showcasing the Metaplex suite as a foundational toolkit for creating onchain assets and experiences. Other useful tools and frameworks were also presented, including those from Sonic, Feed Protocol, GameShift, and Magicblock, offering developers a comprehensive tech stack for building their projects and games.

For developers wanting to participate, they can find more information here.

Application Ecosystem

November saw significant growth across Solana and Metaplex’s application ecosystem as developers launched new products, added features, and explored innovative use cases. Here’s a look at some highlights from the month:

• Layer3 launched on Solana, utilizing cNFTs as part of their tech stack and running a Metaplex campaign to kickoff their Solana integration.

• Solincinerator, Burnlify, and SolRip integrated Token Metadata Resize tools into their platforms, enabling users to optimize the TM accounts of their NFTs directly. Metaplex offers its own completely free resize tool.

• Arcium concluded its Citadel and the Four Fortresses campaign, which educated 396,000 participants on cryptography through gamified learning powered by soulbound Core assets. Building on this success, they launched Citadel: Rise of the Apprentice, a follow-up initiative featuring 40 quests per month and partnerships with Orca, Genopets, Nosana, and Assisterr.

• Vector.fun and Pump.fun, two memecoin platforms that utilize Metaplex’s Token Metadata program, made waves this month. Vector.fun launched in private beta with an invite-only platform for memecoin trading with a social twist, while Pump.fun reported $66M revenue for November, bringing its total to $210M since launch.

• Truffle unveiled its hybrid drop type powered by Core and Token Metadata, allowing collectors to buy tokens, NFTs, or both at launch, with dynamic pricing to reward early participants.

• Superteam Japan hosted a developer workshop, where @stand_english from the Metaplex Japan community presented Core and MPL-404, introducing these tools to devs in Japan.

• BuildWithMonkeDAO announced 51 applications for their grant program during October, sponsored by Metaplex Foundation and the Solana Foundation and aimed at supporting builder-driven initiatives.

• RealmsDAO launched R.E.D., a decentralized grants program for DAOs on Solana, supported by Metaplex and other major players in the ecosystem like Jito, Marinade, Orca or Bonk.

• Wink, a new app leveraging Metaplex and Blinks by Dialect, launched to simplify and monetize Solana transactions. As a Radar Hackathon winner, Wink combines customizable templates and shareable links to enable easy blockchain actions and dApp interactions.

• Let’s Cook unveiled the first NFT game on Eclipse, powered by Metaplex Core, and introduced a new NFT marketplace for Metaplex assets on Eclipse, as well as their snapshot/airdrop tool.

Creator Ecosystem 

November saw creators across the ecosystem continue to push boundaries, building onchain communities and engaging audiences through digital assets. Here are some of the most notable highlights from this month:

• Portals launched a play-to-mint event with Chonky, allowing users to mint exclusive Chonky costumes and highlighting innovative creator engagement powered by Metaplex. Recently, they’ve begun exploring AI-powered experiences, signaling a new direction for creator engagement.

• MonkeDAO SMB Gen2 immutability proposal passed with overwhelming community support, paving the way for these iconic NFTs to transition into an immutable state, ensuring their legacy on Solana.

• Star Atlas’ Golden Carnival kicked off early November. This event where users have to collect Golden Tickets is set to distribute $4M in rewards.

• Nyan Heroes, the hero-shooter RPG, was nominated for six awards at the GAM3 Awards, including Best Shooter and Game of the Year.

• The Pond NFTs, the collection behind the $FWOG token, continued making waves in secondary markets with two standout sales of 203 SOL ($50K) and 94 SOL ($23K), showcasing the value of memecoin-inspired digital assets.

• Honeyland announced the use of Core for its breeding and egg creation processes, significantly reducing costs for players, and the update went live early in the month.

• CandyBlinks, the new NFT launchpad and marketplace powered by Metaplex, announced a shift to a free mint for its Candy Mob Business collection of Core assets, making its platform more accessible to the community.

• Solar DEX partnered with Letscook and launched an exclusive Rewards Badge Mint, using Core NFTs to grant airdrop eligibility and early access to features on Eclipse.

• DeanslistDAO announced their Gen 2.0 NFT collection, powered by the new Core plugins, furthering creator flexibility.

• Launchifi created a video tutorial for creating Core digital asset collections, empowering new creators to use Metaplex tools.

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.

Lastly, thank you 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.