DeGods Explained: The Most Rabid Community in Web3

NFT communities are known for being dedicated, engaged and passionate. One community embodies those traits above all others: DeGods NFT Collection.

Since minting on Solana in 2021, their transparent leadership, culture-focused direction and community-first mantra have led DeGods to become one of the most well-liked NFT collections around – but how did it get to where it is today?

Master the topic, as we explain the past, present and future of DeGods in 2025.

What is DeGods NFT Collection?

DeGods is a collection of 10,000 unique avatar NFTs, originally minted on Solana in October 2021. Each DeGod has a mix of traits; from backgrounds and hairstyles to clothing, eyewear and other accessories.

The collection rapidly gained popularity thanks to its unique utility. Holders are able to mine $DUST, plus gain access to NFT tracking app DYOR, exclusive merch and more.

DeGods is a product of DeLabs, a company built by Frank DeGods (Rohun Vora), Kevin DeGods (Kevin Henrikson), and Finn DeGods – who announced his departure in August 2023. DeLabs also created the y00ts NFT collection in November 2022, and continues to manage both collections to this day.

Today, DeGods exist on all three leading NFT blockchains: Solana, Ethereum and Bitcoin. Holders continue to benefit from an expanding list of features and utility, including conversions into DeadGods NFTs (using $DUST), access to DeDAO, and – most recently – exposure to the $DEGOD token.

The history of DeGods NFTs

DeGods were minted on October 8, 2021, priced at 3 SOL each. A combination of demand and technical issues saw all 10,000 NFTs sell out in 7 seconds.

Soon after, DeGods instituted the “Paper Hands Bitch Tax”, a 33.3% tax on anyone who listed their DeGods below the floor price. Funds collected from this tax were used to buy and burn DeGods NFTs, reducing the overall supply. By the time the tax was halted on January 1, 2022, the total supply had been reduced to 9,465.

In January 2022, DeGods introduced the $DUST token – and with it, the DeadGods. Holders could stake their DeGods to earn $DUST, which could then be used to upgrade their DeGods into DeadGods at the cost of 1,000 $DUST. This revitalized interest, and addressed aesthetic issues with DeGods.

April 2022 saw DeDAO purchase Big3 Basketball team Killer 3’s for $625,000 USD. This gave DeGods its first mainstream exposure, and gave holders options to benefit from the IP and licensing rights of the team – plus opportunities to purchase ownership stakes in the form of NFTs.

December 2022 saw DeGods announce plans to move from Solana to Ethereum. This was completed in March 2023 – but not before the previously burned 535 DeGods made their return as Bitcoin Ordinals in February 2023.

The chain-hopping wouldn’t stop there, as in May 2024, DeGods made the shock move to migrate both DeGods and y00ts (which had spent the last year on Polygon) back to Solana, with a bridge now supporting the existence of DeGods on Solana, Bitcoin and Ethereum.

September 2024 saw DeGods release the $DEGOD token – but as with all things DeGods, they took a unique approach. Holders are able to:

Swap a DeGod NFT for 550,000 $DEGOD tokens
Burn a y00ts NFT for 120,000 $DEGOD tokens (regardless of rarity), or
Burn 1 $DUST token for 36 $DEGOD tokens

Reactions were mixed, with many worried about the impact of tying DeGods directly to a token could have on floor prices. In the short-term, DeGods have declined from 2.00 ETH on September 16 to 1.05 ETH at the time of writing – but the long-term effects are yet to be known.

What’s next for DeGods?

DeGods always stride forward confidently – the team have stated that “DeGod” stands for “do everything great or die” – and with that mantra at the heart of what they do, we’re sure they’ll continue to make waves.

Although the debut of $DEGOD has been a mixed bag, the DeGods team likely has deeper utility in mind for the token – though when that will be revealed is anyone’s guess.

They’ve been unafraid to push boundaries, challenge conventions or follow the common path – and it’s that level of confidence that’s won them so many fans so far.

Dust Labs, a blockchain technology side-project to DeGods, has began to develop software solutions for other NFT projects, and this could lead to further innovations for DeGods in future.

DeDAO will play a major part in what DeGods will become. The passion from its members is felt everywhere you turn, ensuring that the interests of the DeGods team and their holders are always aligned.

Though the future is never certain, you can guarantee that with DeGods, expect the unexpected.