Yieldlings was one of the first big breakouts in the digital collectible space on the Algorand network in mid 2021, garnering a Top 5 spot on the NFTExplorer volume charts for many months.
The 572 piece pink and feathery collection was dropped over several weeks, with the first pre-mint on July 23rd, 2021 and subsequent 1st release on July 24th, 2021 on Algorand NFT Marketplace AB2.
It quickly became one of the focal points in the ecosystem, helping to push the Algorand digital collectible space forward. Yieldlings creator Stitch would go on to help adoption of the first trait metadata spec to the ecosystem through his M.N.G.O collection, and again with the adoption of mutable (dynamic) nfts with his Mostly Friends series.
Launched a year to the date of Yieldlings, Mostly Frens was among the first series on Algorand to incorporate upgradeable elements. With 4 upgrade stages, Mostly Frens start in greyscale and gain more color with each stage.
These collections and the collections they inspired have been their own micro cultural phenomenon within the nascent Algorand digital collectible space.
Yieldlings helped to spur a yellow background gold rush.
M.N.G.O, the first lineart collection by Stitch ushered in a hip hop song, extensive use of the word “honk,” and further cemented the use of the word Flamborghini, a play on the name of an expensive car.
Finally Mostly Frens overcame some technical hurdles and inspired the abomination known as “Wen Face” during a photoshopping accident.
Today marks the 2nd anniversary of the Yieldling launch date and 1st anniversary of the Mostly Frens launch date.
Vocabulary Session:
Trait Metadata — Often refers to information attached to digital collectibles that allow 3rd party applications to determine a rarity score. Higher scores are often better than lower scores. The Algorand network common uses the same formula as Rarity Tools.
Dynamic NFTs — While many NFT and digital collectible purists will maintain that ‘true’ NFTs are 100% immutable (cannot be changed), there is a growing trend in the industry for dynamic nfts, where images or traits can change if certain criteria is met.
In this article, we’ll do a light dive into how the Stitch’s Yieldling (2021) collection ties in with his Mostly Frens (2022) collection by showing some examples of traits carrying over between the two.
To preface this, the only way to mint (create) a new Mostly Fren is by owning a digital collectible from either the Yieldling or M.N.G.O series.
572 Yieldlings and 2,999 M.N.G.Os have their own dreamed up human-like counterparts in the Mostly Frens series.
In the example below, the Mostly Fren minted off the M.N.G.O has re-imagined traits, with a former Seattle basketball team’s jersey turning into a “Sonic Boom” in the Mostly Frens version.
This article is pretty short, so there is no “Quick Link” section.
Just enjoy some trivia about some fan favorites from the Yieldling and M.N.G.O collections.
Mostly Frens: Matching Traits
Yieldling Yieldlicorn #001
Yieldling Yieldlicorn #001 was one of the 5 ‘unique’ nfts of the Yieldling series.
It’s original owner was able to carry over traits into the M.N.G.O (2021) series and had it customized it with sanskrit.
“It’s the Sanskrit word Moksha. It means liberation from cycle of birth and death.” — Avadanika
Yieldling Ultra Rare #69
The only Yieldling with a cross-over from another collection, LingLings by Tim P. made a guest appearance in Yieldling Ultra Rare #069.
Nice.
The traits would later carry over into the Mostly Frens (2022) version, with Governor Berd replacing the LingLing.
Wondering where Governor ‘Gov’ Berd comes from?
Look no further than the 2021 collection used to test the Algorand network’s first Instant Shuffle, “Rugs!” by Tim P.
RUGS! by Tim P
Rugs! was created as a tongue-in-cheek response to scam collections. Traits such as “Left Pull,” a reference to a Rug Pull (scam), and Disguises like “Smart Contracts.”
While the Governor “Gov” Berd trait had no direct reference to scams, it soon became a fan favorite.
Vocabulary Time: “Shuffle” is frequently used on the Algorand network when referring to pre-minted digital collectibles that are sold in a random order.
Gov Berd would also appear in digital collectibles from Tim P.’s holiday workshop held in December 2021.
Groups created and submitted their own fan-made versions of the LingLing series to be minted and divided amongst participants.
Here’s a Twitter thread on Rugs! from 2022.
Yieldling Flamborghini #023
Before the Algorand network had a working auction site, and in response to the growing botting problem of the early marketplaces, Rand Gallery (now known as R&) worked with Yieldling creator Stitch to sell the remaining drops via Reverse Auctions.
Featured in the promo art, auctioneer Randy Lots was featured in Yieldling Flamborghini #023 and re-imagined in Mostly Frens.
Yieldling Golden #001
One of the five unique digital collectibles in the series, Yieldling Golden sold on July 24th, 2021 for just north of $400 USD.
It carried over the purple background, gold body and transformed Yieldling sunglasses into “Night Night Zingers.”
Yieldling Golden #001 was also one of the few Yieldlings that carried traits directly over into the M.N.G.O (2021) series (most were generative), and even further into the Mostly Frens (2022) series with re-imagined ‘Shrimp Hands,’ a nod to one of the flamingos favorite foods.
Yieldling #001
As a thank you to the holder of Yieldling #001, Stitch minted a custom M.N.G.O for them that carried over the #001 reference as a tribute.
M.N.G.O #3000 then minted Mostly Frens #2999 that carried over unique references to its provenance (birthday cake necklace) as well as nods to NFT culture (GM glasses).
The Directory
While many of the Mostly Frens have been revealed, there are still many that haven’t, as is the case for Yieldling Flamborghini #001, which originally sold for $20.18 USD in 2021.
As of the writing, both the Yieldling and M.N.G.O collections can be looked up in The Directory on the Mostly Frens website.
Pro Tip: If the image is a Dream Jar, there is still a Mostly Fren attached to the Yieldling or M.N.G.O.
Dream Quests
As a way to tie all three Stitch collections together, Dream Quests were created to allow holders of Yieldling, M.N.G.O, and Mostly Frens ways to earn more digital collectibles from their series as well as partner collections.
Loot
With no intrinsic value, Dream Quest Loot is more akin to digital trading cards.
The most commonly awarded is Shrimp Candysticks, while rarer digital collectibles like Giant Shramp Heart and Tiny Sappy Fren mark other events happening in the greater NFT space.
Related Articles:
Mostly Frens — Dream Quests: Activated— From October 2022
Wrapping Up
Yieldlings and the universe created from it have become one of many mini cultural phenomenons within the Algorand digital collectibles space, supporting the growth of the ecosystem through adoption of the tech and buildling platforms that help support new and budding creators.
One last note: Yieldlings and Mostly Frens not only share July 24th as the anniversary of their respective launch dates, but now also share the date as the day the birdies died.
Disclaimers and Disclosures
This article is for informational purposes only.
No compensation was taken in exchange for inclusions in this post, including but not limited to allow list spots, tokens, currency in any form, etc.
As an active participant in the Algorand ecosystem, there is a good chance I own several projects mentioned in this article. This, however, is not a pre-requisite for inclusion.
My opinions are my own.
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There is a chance assets will lose some or all of their monetary value.
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