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Demand for the Chapter 2 is outwardly so excessive, Solana Cellular hit its seven-day gross sales purpose throughout the first 24 hours, Raj Gokal, co-founder of Solana and president of Solana Labs, solely instructed TechCrunch.
Within the first 24 hours after the cellphone was introduced, Solana Cellular noticed over 25,000 preorders, and by the 30-hour mark, it had 30,000 preorders, Gokal stated. At these numbers, this new machine has already eclipsed 12 months’ price of gross sales of Solana’s first handset, Saga.
The brand new cellphone may have related options as its predecessor: It’s primarily based on Android, has a built-in crypto pockets, a Seed Vault and a “dApp retailer” for decentralized crypto purposes. It’s initially being provided at $450, lower than the $599 the Saga is bought for. Chapter 2 will ship within the first half of 2025, a Solana spokesperson stated.
“For builders, Solana Cellular is creating an enormous alternative for crypto app groups trying to incentivize their customers,” Gokal stated. “It provides them a concentrated distribution channel to die-hard, devoted customers. It permits them to do that with none prohibitive app retailer charges.”
Gokal added that the machine represents what’s potential with crypto, offering worth in incentivizing apps to customers.
Saga’s climb
Solana’s first smartphone didn’t see a lot demand when it was first launched in mid-2023 for $1,000. However the firm quickly lowered the value to $599 in mild of weak demand. YouTuber Marques Brownlee even called Saga the “worst new phone of 2023” and stated it was a “bust.”
Initially, it appeared the lackluster gross sales had been as a result of the cellphone went unnoticed within the crowded smartphone market. However the crypto-savvy crowd’s ears perked up when dog-focused memecoin BONK’s decentralized software (dApp) introduced that it was offering 30 million BONK tokens to Saga house owners at no cost. The Saga then bought out nearly in a single day.
On the time, 30 million BONK tokens had been price greater than the price of the cellphone, so customers mainly received the machine (or the tokens, relying on the way you have a look at it) at no cost. Earlier than then, Saga house owners obtained different crypto rewards, just like the mint for the Claynosaurz NFT assortment, however these promotions didn’t garner as a lot consideration. Following the BONK hype, although, different dApps started providing related rewards, which resulted in much more folks wanting to purchase the cellphone to get their arms on its provided worth.
“Because the market rebounded in This fall of final 12 months, the Saga bought out, with the big majority of these gross sales happening over simply two days in December,” Gokal stated. “Since then, we’ve been inundated each day with hundreds of requests for extra.”
Now Solana is hoping to re-create the identical magic with Chapter 2. The Saga genesis token, the non-transferrable NFT that got here with each Saga and helped house owners redeem rewards, is not going to be obtainable to house owners of the brand new units, however the firm plans on “constructing on this expertise in Chapter 2,” in line with its FAQ.
“Giving again to the group has a snowball impact: As extra builders begin releasing crypto-incentivized apps to Solana Cellular customers, we’ll see even larger adoption,” Gokal stated. The Chapter 2 has launched with sponsors, together with Backpack, Tensor, Phantom, Solflare, Magic Eden and Drip, which plan to reward house owners, he added.
“Chapter 2 is targeted on wider distribution, larger accessibility, and makes use of learnings from the final two years to allow larger flexibility for builders and customers,” Gokal stated.
The brand new machine has “been within the works” for over a 12 months, Gokal stated, as the corporate wished to provide “full freedom for crypto builders and customers,” by having no restrictions on tokens or NFTs, and no prohibitive charges.
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