NFT Gaming Drama! 😱 They DITCHED Polygon?!

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Ah, Aavegotchi, that curious endeavor involving non-fungible tokens and the siren song of Web3 gaming. It appears they’ve decided to forsake the familiar fields of Polygon, choosing instead to cast their lot with Base, that shimmering Ethereum layer-2 chain. One might say, they’re putting all their eggs in one, potentially volatile, basket. 🧺

On the eighth day of April, the community, in its infinite wisdom, voted with a resounding 93.5% to “Make Aavegotchi Based Again.” A rather dramatic way of saying they’re pulling up stakes on Polygon and replanting them in the fertile (or perhaps just newly hyped) soil of Base. One wonders if this decision was fueled by careful deliberation or simply the allure of the new and shiny. ✨

As Aavegotchi founder Dan so eloquently put it in a February missive on X (formerly known as that other bird-themed platform), the “most +EV move” is to “sunset” their Polygon deployment and go “all-in” on Base. For this cycle, at least, mind you. Such commitment! It warms the cockles of one’s heart. Or perhaps just raises an eyebrow. 🤔

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Polygon’s TVL Troubles

Aavegotchi’s defection shines a rather unflattering light on Polygon’s struggles. It seems they’re having a devil of a time keeping users and that oh-so-important Total Value Locked (TVL) from fleeing to the greener pastures of Ethereum layer-2 chains like Arbitrum and Base. Oh, the indignity! 😩

Polygon’s TVL, once a proud and soaring $10 billion in 2021, has dwindled to a paltry $725 million as of April 8. Meanwhile, Base and Arbitrum are sitting pretty with over $2 billion each. A clear case of the tortoise and the hares, perhaps? Or maybe just a reminder that in the world of crypto, fortunes can change faster than the weather. 🌦️

TVL, for those not in the know, is a vital metric in the world of DeFi. It’s a measure of all the assets locked up in a protocol. It’s like counting the gold in a dragon’s hoard – a sign of trust, adoption, and, of course, available liquidity. 💰

According to Dan (again with the pronouncements!), Polygon hasn’t exactly been showering gaming protocols with updates and features. “Polygon has not shipped any significant updates or features to PoS to enable better ecosystem coherence or discovery for gaming.” A rather harsh assessment, wouldn’t you say? 💔

Meanwhile, Base and Arbitrum are lauded as both “performant” and “lindy” – able to stand the test of time. Dan, in his infinite wisdom, prefers Base, citing its “stronger retail onboarding.” Because, let’s face it, who doesn’t love a good retail frenzy? 🛍️

Base, we are reminded, is an optimistic rollup launched by Coinbase in 2023. Coinbase, for those who’ve been living under a rock, is the US’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. So, there’s that. 🏦

Aavegotchi, in case you were wondering, was born from the union of Pixelcraft Studios and Aave, a decentralized lending protocol. A match made in… well, somewhere. 💘

They describe their NFTs as “digital collectibles” that can be adorned with “various wearables, such as hats, glasses, and other accessories.” One can buy, sell, and trade these digital trinkets as NFTs. The future is truly upon us, is it not? 🤪

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2025-04-08 22:53