The Solana Foundation is excited to announce the top five winners and four runners-up of the Solana NFT Showdown — a one-of-a-kind NFT pitch competition that offers a chance for creators around the world to collaborate with industry experts and NFT community leaders. The nine finalists were selected from a pool of over 159 entrants, with NFT brands covering everything from fashion and entertainment, funding for NGOs, environmental conservation, brick and mortar restaurant businesses, and everything in between.
After a week of mentorship, office hours, and workshops with members of the Solana community and industry leaders, all nine finalists shared the vision for their NFT brand at the live Solana NFT Showdown finale on June 29, 2023.
Thank you to all the teams who submitted projects for the Solana NFT Showdown, and to the judges who had the difficult job of selecting the nine finalists. The roster of judges features more than 20 experts throughout the NFT space including Meltem Demirors of Coinshares, Josh Ong of Bored Ape Ventures, Mike Dudas of 6th Man Ventures, and more. Projects were evaluated based on several criteria: business acumen, user-centric product thinking, creative direction, innovative use of Solana technology, and real-world application.
The winners of the Solana NFT Showdown
Of the nine finalists, five have been selected as the winners of the Solana NFT Showdown and will receive tickets to the Solana Breakpoint conference, Oct. 30 - Nov. 3, 2023 in Amsterdam.
The winners are, in alphabetical order:
Alchemy: Battle for Ankhos
Developed by a team of passionate strategy game players, Alchemy: Battle for Ankhos is a play-to-own, turn-based RPG powered by AI and played entirely in Discord. Alchemy: Battle for Ankos aims to provide players with genuine ownership over in-game assets using NFTs. All characters and items in the game will be mintable as NFTs on Solana, and players will be able to easily trade, rent or sell anything that they earn while playing the game, without any prior knowledge of web3.
FAST
FAST (Food and Spaces Together) is a pioneering project with a mission to revolutionize the real estate and food industries in Mexico. The platform combines real estate, food franchising, and customer loyalty incentives into a single model. FAST has the twin goals of providing customers not only with new food experiences in shared physical spaces but also with an attractive loyalty program where they are rewarded for their transactions and interactions across participating franchises. Unique digital collectibles called 'Axos' will act as a gateway into the FAST ecosystem.
IAM
IAM aims to bridge the gap between physical fashion and digital identity by integrating e-commerce and blockchain technology. The platform utilizes smart contracts to merge NFTs, personal avatars, and real merchandise, enhancing uniqueness, diversity, and personalization in the PFP landscape. Users can purchase items, which are minted as NFTs and added to their avatar's wardrobe. Through the completion of tasks, users earn "Trait Packs" to further customize their avatars. With an emphasis on user-friendliness, IAM is designed to cater not just to current web3 users, but also those transitioning from web2.
ID8R
ID8R is a design app for the web3 ecosystem, with a mission to improve the visual appeal of NFTs on existing social platforms, while also amplifying their reach. ID8R allows collectors to create beautiful, shareable graphics that showcase their favorite NFTs, with plans to integrate AI-enabled features in the future. ID8R also plans to create a new creative studio dedicated to creating designs for Solana NFT collections and onboarding them to ID8R.
Lupers
Lupers is an NFT collection and brand built around the narrative of a noble wolf race, offering more than just unique digital collectibles. It presents an immersive universe that blends digital art, blockchain technology, gaming, and interactive storytelling. With a deep, evolving lore, Lupers fosters sustained engagement among collectors and explorers. Future plans include enhancing the storytelling experience via collaborations with game developers. The target audience spans NFT enthusiasts, gamers, and fans of fantasy and mythology.
Runners-up
Four additional teams were chosen to compete in the final round. These runners-up, in alphabetical order, are:
Blue Punch Buggy (BPB)
Blue Punch Buggy was founded with a dual mission: to create a sustainable future through recycling, reusing, and repurposing discarded materials, and to encourage education and engagement around blockchain technologies. Recognizing the challenges facing the NFT market, BPB aims to bring digital collectibles to a new audience by turning the concept of digital ownership into something “tangible” for consumers. BPB provides an enriched ownership experience that combines digital assets with physical experiences and products created from repurposed materials.
Hellbenders Motorcycle Club
Hellbenders ‘Moral Panic’ is a web3-native, fully on-chain, animated, massively multiplayer mobile game (MMMG). The Hellbenders Motorcycle Club is an outlaw gang of amphibious superheroes on “an epic adventure beyond time, space, and the death-grip of global civilization.” After the game kicks off, players can embark on their journeys, communing with Celestial Guides, partying with Liminal Guides, and achieving their destinies.
Impact Aid
Impact Aid is an innovative project that connects NFT collectors with Indian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) via personalized, tech-integrated cards. These cards present real-time data on how contributions are utilized, promoting transparency. The project addresses NGO funding challenges, aims to boost transparency, and encourages networking. Initially focused on India, the model is scalable globally. The NFT cards leverage electronic screens to provide updates and foster a continuous relationship between collectors and NGOs.
MotionX
Motion X aims to transform the way we think about merchandise. In a marketplace full of knockoffs and wasteful physical goods, MotionX envisions totally digital “symbolic” merchandise, with easy and secure artwork licensing and verification to protect both creators and collectors. Targeted at fans who want to express themselves but who care about the environment, MotionX will work with creators to produce licensed NFT skins.
Thank you to all who participated, submitted a project, and judged the Solana NFT Showdown. Keep on top of other upcoming events and news in the greater Solana ecosystem by signing up here.
