Is the All-in-One Asset Protocol of the Solana Ecosystem: Metaplex Underrated?

1. Introduction

As one of the most eye-catching public chains in this bull market, Solana's ecosystem projects have also attracted significant attention. Metaplex, as the most important asset service protocol within the Solana ecosystem, has business development and token performance that are equally worthy of in-depth study.

This article will analyze Metaplex from the following aspects:

• What is Metaplex's business positioning and business model? What are the moats?
• How is the business data of Metaplex, and what are the development trends?
• What is the background of the Metaplex team and their funding situation?
• What is the current valuation level of Metaplex, and does it have investment value?

2. Business Positioning and Business Model of Metaplex

2.1 Metaplex Product Matrix

Metaplex is a digital asset creation, sales, and management system built on the Solana blockchain and supports SVM, providing developers, creators, and businesses with the tools and standards to build decentralized applications. The supported asset types include NFTs, FTs, RWAs, game assets, DePIN assets, and more.

The main products of Metaplex include:

• Core: A new generation NFT standard that adopts a "single account design" to significantly reduce minting costs.
• Bubblegum: a program used to create and manage compressed NFTs ( cNFT ).
• Token Metadata: Attach additional data to fungible and non-fungible assets on Solana.
• Candy Machine: The most commonly used NFT minting and issuance program
• Aura: A decentralized indexing and data availability network for Solana and SVM ( testnet )

2.2 Metaplex's business model

Metaplex's business model charges by providing on-chain asset-related services. Although its direct partners are other projects on Solana, most of its revenue comes from small projects or retail users that utilize these projects, including project parties that create various types of tokens and individual users who mint NFTs.

The fee structure of Metaplex is relatively low; for example, the cost for a user to mint an NFT is only 0.0015 SOL, and a Meme project issuer only needs 0.01 SOL for Token Metadata at a time. Such costs are negligible for users, but the total income can be quite substantial in the case of large-scale usage.

2.3 Metaplex's moat

The moat of Metaplex mainly comes from "high switching costs" and "setting standards":

1. After developers and users heavily rely on Metaplex's tools and protocol, switching to other protocols will incur high costs.

2. The asset format of Metaplex has become the standard in the Solana ecosystem, and new projects will prioritize Metaplex, which has stronger ecological compatibility, when choosing asset service platforms.

3. Metaplex Business Data: PMF is fully validated, core data shows strong growth

3.1 Monthly Active Users

As of November 30, 2024, Metaplex's monthly active users reached 844,966, a record high, with a year-on-year growth of 253%.

3.2 Number of assets minted via protocol

In November, the total number of minted asset types exceeded 1.44 million, setting a record high. Among them, 94% were fungible tokens, while only 6% were NFTs. This ratio was 18.6% to 81.4% in January 2024, indicating that Metaplex's main business has now shifted to fungible token asset services.

3.3 protocol revenue

As of November 30, 2024, Metaplex's monthly protocol revenue reached a historic high of $3.3 million. It is worth noting that Metaplex's revenue is a result of organic growth, without relying on token subsidies.

4. Metaplex Team: Eco OG Close to Solana Core Circle

Stephen Hess, the founder of Metaplex, was an early employee at Solana and participated in the development of several important projects. The team is streamlined with about 10 people, but they have strong product delivery capabilities and ambition.

In January 2022, Metaplex received a strategic investment of 46 million USD from institutions such as Multicoin and Jump, with a valuation of approximately 450 million USD. In response to the collapse of FTX, the team quickly made the decision to lay off employees, demonstrating a strong awareness of cost control.

5. MPLX: Token Utility and Valuation Level

( 5.1 Token Basic Information

The total supply of MPLX is 1 billion, and the current circulation rate is 75.6%. The majority of investors' shares have been circulated, and the unlocking selling pressure is relatively low.

![Is the NFT protocol Metaplex undervalued while quietly making money during the Solana Meme craze?])https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-ca888d028c835b96b23b757232743604.webp###

( 5.2 token utility

MPLX is primarily used for governance voting. Starting from March 2024, Metaplex will begin using 50% of the protocol revenue for token buybacks. After the subsequent Aura features are launched, MPLX is expected to become the staking asset for Aura nodes.

![Is the NFT protocol Metaplex underestimated while quietly making money in the Solana Meme craze?])https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-d4c5f128d44bfb09a15b7a8809ac10da.webp###

( 5.3 protocol valuation

Compared to Raydium, which is also part of the Solana ecosystem, Metaplex's valuation is slightly higher. However, considering the differences in business positioning between the two, this comparison is for reference only.

![Is the NFT protocol Metaplex underestimated while quietly making a fortune in the Solana Meme craze?])https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-b6761627a22ec603f0cd623b463422a9.webp###

( 5.4 Potential Driving Factors and Risks

Driving factors:

• A new active track has emerged in the Solana ecosystem
• Launch on larger trading platforms to gain liquidity premium
• Increase service charges

Risk:

• The decline of the Solana meme craze has led to a decrease in business revenue.
• The income model is singular, making it difficult to obtain sustained income from fixed asset categories.

![Is the NFT protocol Metaplex underestimated while quietly making a fortune in the Solana Meme craze?])https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-cc952473ae2548a4c6f6a6de0703ad4b.webp###

Summary

Metaplex, as a foundational protocol serving all types of assets within the Solana ecosystem, is a direct beneficiary of the Meme craze. If you are optimistic about the development of the Solana ecosystem, Metaplex, which occupies an upstream ecological position in "asset issuance and management," is worth long-term attention.