It’s what you might call a failed turn into Web3 for Porsche. Only 25% of the 7500 NFTs of the sports car brand, put on sale at 0.911 ETH per unit (i.e. 1350 dollars) have found their public. As a result, Porsche has suspended the mint and reduced the total supply.
Porsche misses out on Web3
A brand’s prestige doesn’t necessarily bode well for success in everything it does, and this is especially true when it comes to Web3. The automotive institution Porsche experienced this this week, with the failed launch of its collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Comprising 7,500 NFTs, Porsche’s collection went on sale on Monday 23 January and was inaugurated by whitelisted investors, before being opened to the public. The price was set at 0.911 ETH (about $1350 at the time of writing) in reference to the brand’s mythical 911 model
Public mint is live!
→ https://t.co/gDi9408OjH pic.twitter.com/WhQIoi9pfh– PORSCHΞ (@eth_porsche) January 23, 2023
However, the hype doesn’t seem to have reached the sports car brand’s fans. After just over two days, only 1863 NFTs have been sold, which is 25% of the final target. A launch that can undeniably be considered as a failure for such a renowned entity.
Moreover, the floor price is around 0.9 ETH, which is less than the mint price. This is a sign that investors are tending to leave the project, but more importantly that the pace of the mint is likely to slow further as interested buyers have more interest in buying on the secondary market.
As a result, and in view of the dissatisfaction of the community, Porsche has announced the suspension of the mint process. The quantity of NFTs will be reduced to the number in circulation as of January 25th.
Our holders have spoken. We’re going to cut our supply and stop the mint to move forward with creating the best experience for an exclusive community. More info in the next hours.
– PORSCHΞ (@eth_porsche) January 24, 2023
How to explain such a failure by Porsche
Although our ecosystem has already witnessed countless failed NFT collection launches, it is legitimate to ask why – and more importantly, how – a brand of Porsche’s renown, with millions of fans worldwide, has failed so badly in its move to the Web3?
First ingredient, a mint price that is simply staggering compared to the supply. It’s true that the cryptocurrency market is picking up in 2023, but the bullrun madness hasn’t hit investors yet. Around $1,500 for an NFT is way too much.
Second ingredient, poor communication. The roadmap was not clear and potential investors did not know why they should buy this NFT and what the concrete use cases would be.
The last ingredient was that the community was not at the centre of the project. The Discord server, normally used for discussion between investors, was only for announcements. In addition, the team had been repeatedly warned of the mismatch between price, supply and current market conditions, without taking these considerations into account.
It should be remembered that launching a project in Web3 is not as simple as it seems. All the more so in a context of a morose market, it is essential to surround oneself with competent and expert people in this field in order not to miss out, something that Porsche has obviously not done.
