Doodles mints a massive investment

The Future. Despite losing value in the midst of a crypto winter, the Doodles NFT project has scored $54 million in funding to scale both its character roster and media presence. The project is banking that expansion on the ability to control its IP, despite NFT holders typically being able to do what they want with a crypto character. While that central control may rankle some, other projects may follow suit if Doodles find mainstream success, without needing to worry about the expectations of Web3.

Doodles for dollars

The Information reports that the Doodles NFT project has attracted its biggest buyer yet.

• Doodles completed a Series A round led by Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six, raising $54 million for a $704 million valuation.
• The team plans to use the funds to mint millions of more characters (the project launched with 10,000 Doodles).
• And it will expand its IP through albums (Doodles Records: Volume 1 with Columbia Records coming soon), toys, mobile games, film and TV, and maybe even theme park attractions in an effort to become a “ubiquitous mall brand.”
• Doodles has already brought in former Billboard President Julian Holguin as CEO and Pharrell (yes, the Pharrell) as its Chief Brand Officer. 

Since its launch in October 2021, Doodles has sold $530 million in NFTs, which makes it one of the most successful projects yet.

But the project hasn’t been unscathed by the crypto winter. The current floor price for a Doodle is $10,000, which is way down from the $60,000 price mark it commanded in April.

Your Doodle, our Doodle

Unlike most NFT projects, Doodles keeps a tight lid on its IP by limiting what holders can do with their NFTs.

• Holders have limited commercial control of their Doodles — they can only launch a venture that will make less than $100,000 in revenue.
• If the revenue projection is more than that, the holder needs to obtain a licensing agreement from the Doodles team. 

While some criticize that that level of control is antithetical to Web3’s holy tenet of decentralization, Hoguin said that “At the end of the day, you have to protect your intellectual property. Especially when it’s in its infancy.”