Tinkering in the Galactic Garage
Galactic Gecko Space Garage ($GGSG.NFT) is a collection of 10,000 Galactic Gecko NFTs rocketing around the Solana ($SOL.X) Blockchain. Built upon DAO leadership, intricate lore, and the reputation of well-known NFT artist Gossip Goblin, GGSG is “an NFT Social Adventure Club” according to the project’s website. The Galactic Geckos were minted on Sept. 22, 2021 for 2 SOL each.
Given its profiled and respected artist-creator Gossip Goblin, the project’s art has been a foundational cornerstone from its early days. Detailed and outlandish, the four factions of hand-drawn Geckos stand out from the many pixel art projects on Solana. Aside from the unique Geckos at the top of the chart, attribute rarity is spread evenly, allowing the community to determine desirable traits. Rare Ghostly White, Spectral Black, and Neon Green body types garner the highest prices.
Feeling nostalgic, so I'm going to start a thread where you share your very first gecko mint or purchase.
This was not only my first gecko mint, but my first ever NFT mint. Took some shit the first few days because it was a 7 att, still holding 7.5 months later 🦎 pic.twitter.com/wPHL6Ltqyi— CSK (@Trader_CSK) May 7, 2022
The Enigma Crystal and Concordian airdrops in October 2021 featured more unique art and played into the original team’s plans for the future of the project. However, the original leadership team chose to leave the project after community unrest peaked because of stagnant development and financial concerns. As ownership of the project transitions to The Gecko DAO in early 2022, plans for the other collections are unclear.
Official transfer of the GGSG intellectual property to The Gecko DAO was announced on Mar. 1, 2022. There is no established roadmap at this point, but DAO leadership is discussing:
- Staking opportunity for Geckos holders with unannounced rewards
- Continued pursuit of integrating the fifth faction of Geckos
- Merchandise production
- Metaverse partnerships with popular projects
We are happy to announce a deal wherein we have secured IP, all major social media platforms, sites, and domains.
Please join us in discord for details. Townhall Friday will include AMA for further questions.https://t.co/cpA6LTsOir#GeckosReborn 🦎 ❤️ 🎉 pic.twitter.com/JiK1DM9Txx
— 🟩 The Gecko DAO // GG🦎 (@TheGeckoDAO) March 2, 2022
As The Gecko DAO’s engineers attempt to rebuild the GGSG, we will take a closer look at the nuts and bolts of the project.
The Pilots (The Team)
The team currently consists of the leadership of The Gecko DAO. Specific roles and responsibilities are unclear, as is the size of the team. However, several administrators make announcements on TheGeckoDAO Discord and identify with The Gecko DAO on Twitter. Some of the most consistent communicators are:
- Genuinearticles (pace): Most active on Discord and their Twitter states that they are “building theGeckoDAO.”
- MDG: Makes more administrative Discord announcements
- Trap
- Sterrling
- Safety Trance
This is not an exhaustive list of DAO administrators but captures those who most frequently appear in leadership roles. In addition to their activity and Twitter presence, Genuine Articles is noted in several Discord announcements as having secured key advancements for the DAO or taken initiative to help the project. Neither they nor any other GGSG team member are doxxed.
The structure of the team is ambiguous, likely a result of the transition. We would expect that clearly defined roles will be established as The Gecko DAO completes its takeover and moves forward with the project.
Gossip Goblin
Worth a mention is that Gossip Goblin himself functioned as a contract artist for the original team. A respected NFT designer starting in early 2021, Gossip Goblin had previously worked with other projects and made personal art sales on the Ethereum blockchain before his work with GGSG and has continued his other creative pursuits since. Though he crafted the Geckos, Enigma Crystals, and Concordians and maintains a relationship with The Gecko DAO, he is not explicitly considered part of the Geckos team.
The History of the Garage
The unique look of the Geckos drew significant attention on social media leading up to their mint on Sept. 22, 2021. All 10,000 Geckos were quickly minted at the price of 2 SOL each. The community chose their favorite factions of Gecko warriors-turned-racers from the original four of Alura, Targari, Martu, and Barada — and excitement grew for the promised release of a secret fifth faction.
Floor price rocketed to almost 50 SOL per Gecko only weeks later on Oct. 2 2021. Promises of more art and an expanding Geckoverse led to GGSG’s successful rise that preceded a plummeting fall and finally a DAO-led rebirth for the project. Over the following months GGSG would navigate:
- The Enigma Crystal airdrop (a spinoff project)
- The Concordian airdrop (a spinoff project)
- Controversy over the launch of spaceships
- Conflict between the original team and The Gecko DAO regarding the future
- Acquisition of the project by The Gecko DAO
Enigma Crystals and Concordians
Tying together the project’s lore with holder rewards, the team distributed 2,602 Enigma Crystals to community members who owned a Gecko “team” represented by one NFT from each of the four factions. The airdrop occurred on Oct. 22 2021.
Later the same weekend, on Oct. 24, Gecko owners were airdropped the 4,096-token Concordians collection. These smaller robotic Geckos were framed as being designed by the mysterious fifth faction.
The original team wrote a Medium post detailing the events of the weekend and reaffirming their commitment to employing both airdrops in the future of the project.
0/ Unless you've been living under a rock…@galacticgeckosg have been cooking up an AWESOME airdrop of Enigma Crystals… THREAD🧵
These cosmic lizards are just getting started… pic.twitter.com/XZ5nDaBKMo
— Solana Legend 龍 🎒 (@SolanaLegend) October 20, 2021
Steep Prices for Spaceships
Community excitement dwindled after the details for the Geckos’ stellar vehicles were announced. While the Dec. 10, 2021 Twitter post outlining the ships was well received, further information revealed that the ships would not be fully airdropped. Each ship would require three parts to function and only one third of the parts would be airdropped. The other two thirds of the rocket ship parts, over 6,000 NFTs, would be minted at the price of 2.2 SOL per part. The community balked at giving the team another 14,000 SOL after they had already made almost 35,000 between the Geckos mint and subsequent secondary market royalties.
An Uncomfortable Transition
As unrest regarding the unexpected costs of the spaceships grew to a fever pitch, most of the original team initially agreed to step down on Jan. 15, 2022 and cede control of the project to The Gecko DAO. This proposal came with the caveat that the original team would retain a large percentage of secondary sales royalties in perpetuity. The Gecko DAO was not agreeable to the terms, and months of negotiations began to determine the future of the project.
An important message from some of the Gecko founders: We are going to continue developing the project. The story of the geckos is not over and core members of the team want to continue their work on this amazing project and tell this story.
-Chunk pic.twitter.com/vSJVFLYqcf
— 🟩Galactic Gecko Space Garage 🦎 🛸 🪐 (@GalacticGeckoSG) January 16, 2022
Finally, on Mar. 1, 2022, an announcement on The Gecko DAO Twitter and Discord stated that a buyout had been finalized and The Gecko DAO would move forward as owners of “the project, IP rights, all major social media platforms, websites, and domains.” Although the DAO will initially only control 70% of royalties, they will collect 100% after 1 year. Gossip Goblin moved quickly to affirm the project’s new leadership on Mar. 3 2022 by offering some of his new collection called Swamp Syndicate to Gecko holders for free.
Gecko week day 6! Today, we reveal a FREE collection from @Gossip_Goblin.
* 333 Supply
* WL only – 140 allocated to Geckos, 160 to Goblin holders, remainder to the public
* Possibly a perk or two for holdersStay tuned for details.#geckoweek#GeckosReborn pic.twitter.com/O92LDslDCi
— 🟩 The Gecko DAO // GG🦎 (@TheGeckoDAO) March 4, 2022
Because the original GGSG Discord has been deleted, much of this information was gathered via Twitter and may not be complete.
The Future of the Garage
Despite a hopeful perspective held by the community, the future of the Galactic Gecko Space Garage is unclear. Several ideas including staking and rewards, merchandise, and metaverse partnerships have been discussed on the Discord and during Town Hall meetings. The new team also still hopes to introduce the long-awaited fifth faction at some point. However, there is no roadmap available at this point. The team hopes to officially announce GGSG’s new direction in the near future.
Controversy
The Gecko DAO worked hard to gain control over GGSG, implying a firm belief in the project and the community. That said, the new team’s vision for the future is unknown at the moment and they do not have access to the amount of funds the project once had at its disposal.
Leadership by a DAO is full of challenges. By definition, a Decentralized Autonomous Organization is a group owned and represented by its members, not a well-crafted team with complimentary skills that enable a successful project. Specific roles and hierarchy of authority within The Gecko DAO team are hazy at best, and have not been adequately communicated to the community.
It is possible that the pieces exist within the team to take GGSG to a new level. However, given the high entry cost of the project, buying into their vision represents a very significant risk. Clear communication from the new leadership should be expected by the shrewd potential investor.
The ability of The Gecko DAO leadership to construct a clearly-defined team and an achievable roadmap with the funds available will be key to the future success of GGSG.
Conclusion
While they may be strewn around the Garage, the pieces to rebuild the Geckos are all present. The Geckos have eye-catching art, a history of desirability, an expansive community, and a new team who are passionate to return them to their former glory. We will update this feature when necessary as The Gecko DAO attempts to get their project’s cosmic engines humming once again.