A Saudi Arabia-Themed NFT Collection Is the Latest Free-to-Mint Hit

The Saudis topped the volume charts in its debut weekend with $7.7 million in sales.

AccessTimeIconJul 11, 2022 at 6:21 p.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 6:55 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Another week, another hit collection of pricy non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The latest star? A project called The Saudis.

The collection of 5,555 NFTs, whose artwork is a derivative of the famed CryptoPunks collectibles, were free to mint on July 9 and sold out within hours.

  • How Bitcoin and Ether's Options Contracts Combined Expiry Could Spike Volatility
    01:11
    How Bitcoin and Ether's Options Contracts Combined Expiry Could Spike Volatility
  • Over $1B in U.S. Treasury Notes Has Been Tokenized; FATF Calls for More Regions to Regulate Crypto
    02:04
    Over $1B in U.S. Treasury Notes Has Been Tokenized; FATF Calls for More Regions to Regulate Crypto
  • Moondance Labs CEO on 'Barriers of Entry' for Building Layer 1s
    01:28
    Moondance Labs CEO on 'Barriers of Entry' for Building Layer 1s
  • What Challenges Do Appchains Solve?
    00:59
    What Challenges Do Appchains Solve?
  • The project’s floor price (which is the price of the cheapest edition currently for sale on the open market) is around 0.75 ether (roughly $867), after peaking at around 1.3 ETH (roughly $1,650) on Saturday.

    The collection has so far totalled 6,700 ETH (roughly $7.7 million) in sales volume since its mint, the most of any project during that span.

    The project’s momentum is fueled by its “kingdom” of Twitter followers, many of whom create Saudi Arabia-inspired meme videos to fuel the project’s hype.

    The pseudonymous (and at times offensive) founding team behind the project is just the latest in a string of free-to-mint, performance art-driven NFT projects of this nature.

    Goblintown is the most notable of the bunch, which did over $7 million in sales volume in its first weekend. The project kept its momentum going with goblin noise-filled Twitter Spaces and influencer partnerships, most recently taking over NFT.NYC with a slew of ghoul-themed parties.

    Controversy

    Like the performance art-driven projects that have come before it, The Saudis’s first few days on the market weren’t without some controversy, most notably from a bot created to artificially lower the floor price, which the team eventually banned.

    The release also came with its fair share of NFT influencer drama, with fingers being pointed at popular Twitter personalities who were able to profit off early knowledge of the mint.

    The project’s sales have since cooled off from its weekend highs, but the return of buzzy mints and their Twitter pandemonium are a welcome sign for many in NFT land given recent market conditions, with The Saudis being the first popular project to launch since the price of ETH crashed as much as 50% in early June.

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

    Eli Tan

    Eli was a news reporter for CoinDesk. He holds ETH, SOL and AVAX.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.


    Read more about