Highlights

- 497k new fungible tokens created through Token Metadata, the highest month of all-time

- 834k monthly unique signers, a new all-time high

- 3.1 million new wallets collected a digital asset created through Metaplex, the fourth largest monthly increase of all-time.

- Metaplex Foundation introduced MPL-404, a framework and on-chain protocol for hybrid DeFi

- The Metaplex Protocol generated 8,977 SOL in protocol fees

Protocol Activity

In May, creators and developers minted 33 million digital assets through Metaplex. 

There were 895k Token Metadata create instructions called, driven by a surge in fungible tokens created on Solana, which represented 56% of all Token Metadata create instructions this month. Through Token Metadata, Metaplex manages the metadata for most fungible tokens on Solana.

32 million compressed NFTs were minted this month. May was the first full month since DRiP moved a large portion of its minting offchain following recent Solana network congestion and challenges landing transactions.

834k unique wallets directly signed transactions with the protocol in May, the highest month of all-time. 

There were 38 million unique transactions signed this month, with the month-over-month decline driven by a decrease in compressed NFTs minted.

In May, Metaplex was the fourth largest Solana protocol based on transactions and the fourth largest protocol based on active wallets. 

As of May, the total number of Metaplex collectors reached 53 million unique wallets, an increase of 3.1 million wallets month-over-month, the fourth largest monthly increase of all-time and a 6% increase month-over-month.

Developer Platform

Core

May saw significant advancements for Core, the next-generation standard for digital assets on Solana, enhancing the developer experience and expanding the utility of Core digital assets. Marketplaces OKX and Mallow integrated support for Core assets, improving visibility and trading opportunities. Solflare included support for the transfer of Core digital assets. Truffle announced new Core-enabled functions like digital asset gating, SPL token payments, and Core assets airdropping.

Mad Shield's audit for Core was completed and all identified vulnerabilities were addressed promptly. The first Core external plugin, the Oracle plugin, went live on devnet and mainnet. This plugin enables assets to react to real-world data, affecting lifecycle events such as create, transfer, burn, and update. The launch of the Oracle plugin also included broader DAS support for Core plugins on mainnet, enhancing the functionality and flexibility of Core digital assets. Additionally, the Immutability and AddBlocker plugins were introduced, providing more control over asset behavior and security.

The Core Candy Machine Print Editions guide was released, simplifying the process of minting editions. The Metaplex Core JS SDK v1.0 also launched, offering a streamlined development experience with new functionalities like automatically resolving additional accounts for external plugins.

MPL-404

Metaplex introduced MPL-404, the future of hybrid DeFi on Solana in collaboration with Mutant Labs. This on-chain protocol and framework combines the liquidity of fungible tokens with the unique qualities of non-fungible assets. Mutant Labs contributed its SPL-404 standard to the Metaplex Program Library, establishing the foundation for hybrid DeFi innovations. MPL-404 offers a toolkit for dynamic digital experiences, leveraging Solana's low-cost, high-performance design. Through new on-chain hybrid programs that leverage Metaplex NFT standards such as Core and Token Metadata, combined with powerful self-serve developer tools and SDKs, Metaplex will expand distribution and access to the latest hybrid DeFi innovations for all developers, ensuring that Solana remains the premier chain for digital assets and web3 communities.

Anchor

Updates for Solana developers using Anchor include Kinobi 0.18.7-alpha.0, adding support for generating Anchor types for SDKs. Kinobi 0.18.8 supports generating Anchor types for native Solana programs starting with Core, eliminating the need for Rust hacks and improving compatibility, resulting in faster development and easier workflows.

Bubblegum Support for MIP-9

Bubblegum support for MIP-9 was deployed to both devnet and mainnet, with Rust and JS packages published. This update prevents the creation of Merkle trees requiring more than 17 proofs, enhancing composability and preventing spam.

Community 

Startup Program

The Metaplex Startup Program launched in May, introducing its inaugural cohort. This initiative is designed to empower the next generation of digital asset and NFT-centric startups on Solana. Several partners are offering their services to participants including legal support from Givner Law, marketing expertise from Skyrise, security consulting from OtterSec, robust RPC services from Extrnode, and blockchain analytics from Top Ledger. The first cohort includes seven projects: Publique World, Web3Shaga, Honeycomb Protocol, 3.land, Mallow, Torque Protocol, and Wide Worlds (prev. Forecast). Metaplex Foundation is excited to support these startups on their journey as they shape the future of digital ownership on Solana. 

Metaplex, Mutant Labs and Forbes at Consensus

Following the announcement of MPL-404 and the collaboration with Mutant Labs, the Metaplex Foundation co-sponsored two events at Consensus, hosted by Forbes Web3 and Galxe. The Inner Circle Multichain Mixer and the Inner Circle Founders Dinner brought together industry leaders for two evenings of networking and discussions on advancements in the hybrid DeFi space.

IslandDAOx Kickoff

IslandDAO kicked off, transforming a villa in Crete into a Solana co-working space. This month-long event, sponsored by Metaplex, offers workspaces, panels, workshops, and networking activities. Metaplex is hosting developer workshops on Core, providing attendees with hands-on experience during the third and fourth weeks.

ValidatedPod with Stephen Hess and Austin Federa

Stephen Hess was interviewed at the ValidatedPod, hosted by Austin Federa, discussing the evolution of the Solana NFT ecosystem. Topics included recent tech advancements like compression, programmability, and Core, as well as the complexities of scaling digital assets on Solana. The podcast also gave insights into the continued decentralization of the protocol through the Metaplex DAO and Metaplex’s growth from an NFT standard into a larger digital asset protocol.

Metaplex DAO

Metaplex Protocol Fees

In May, the Metaplex Protocol generated 8,977 SOL in fees. As previously announced by the Metaplex Foundation, 50% of all protocol fees, including historical fees, will be used to purchase $MPLX and contributed to the Metaplex DAO treasury for use by the DAO to support Metaplex community initiatives and continued adoption of the protocol. Through May 2024, the Metaplex Protocol has generated 103,304 SOL in protocol fees, none of which has yet been converted into $MPLX and contributed to the DAO.

ClaimFund Proposal

The ClaimFund proposal, which aimed to create a decentralized fundraising platform built on the Metaplex Core standard, was declined as the vote failed to reach quorum. ClaimFund sought to simplify the process of raising charitable funds globally and expand Core by minting digital assets that store all relevant data on-chain.

Application Ecosystem

In May, the application ecosystem around Metaplex and Solana grew significantly through key advancements.

• Foster Marketplace implemented MIP-7, new improvements from Metaplex that promote edition interoperability and composability across marketplaces.
• Mallow integrated support for Core, enabling users to list Core assets for auction, make offers, transfer, burn, and edit Core collections, as well as enable allow-list edition sales by Core collections
• Truffle announced that creators can now claim the rent from their previously completed generative drops, totaling 1,320 SOL.
• dReader launched dPublisher v1, an interface for self-publishing comics with major UX improvements. The goal is to onboard over 100 creators by the end of 2024.
• Superteam Germany hosted the first 24h Solana Hackathon, @L0STE_ and @vikiival were highlighted by Superteam Germany for their innovative solutions using Metaplex Core.
• 3.land announced the open sourcing of their cNFT Minter, providing developers with tools to create and manage compressed NFTs on Solana. In addition, 3.land has been overhauled and fully reworked.
• Flexar, built on Arcane Inc, introduced a fully customized platform for projects/DAOs to mint passes and gate channels/roles in Discord using Core assets as rental passes.
• Access Protocol launched their on-chain transferable subscriptions, which are compressed NFTs powered by Metaplex’s Bubblegum program.
• Phantom acquired Bitksi, the NFT and digital collectible wallet. In May, the wallet also surpassed 7M MAU, overtaking Snapchat in the Google Play ranking, as well as becoming the no.1 finance app in the U.S.‍
• Solana Labs has partnered with Google Cloud to bring Game Shift to web2 users and accelerate the integration of digital game assets and user-generated content into web2 games.

Creator Ecosystem 

Creators across the ecosystem continue to innovate, building on-chain communities and attracting audiences through digital assets. Here are some notable highlights from May:

• Aurory announced “Aurorians Reforged”, their art upgrade using Metaplex Core, as well as the kickoff for the loyalty system and presented Tensor as the official marketplace partner for the campaign.
• The Backwoods, a new brawler adventure game, launched publicly after their successful closed beta, and sold out their NFT collection mint.
• Artrade launched a token linked to a real Pablo Picasso artwork valued at $200,000. Token holders will be consulted on sale opportunities for the artwork and receive a pro rata buyback if resold.
• Star Atlas released a new sneak peek on its latest game developments.
• Solforge Fusion, a Solana-based hybrid card game from creators of Magic The Gathering and The Ascension Deckbuilding Game, went live with early access on Steam. 
• MON Protocol announced bringing game and IP publishing to the Solana Games ecosystem.
• Cyberz, the first fully on-chain SPL-404 idle game on Solana, announced they are building with Metaplex Core and users will be able to experience Core during their beta.
• Nyan Heroes, the third-person feline-shooter game, rolled out their pre-alpha V2 and announced Esports partnerships with G2, Fnatic, and Evil Geniuses, in preparation for the launch of the $NYAN token.

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 on-chain metrics, please refer to the following link.