Metaplex July Round-Up 2025

July Highlights

• Genesis - Metaplex unveiled Genesis, a protocol for onchain token offerings on Solana.

• Coinbase, Binance Alpha, and Bitget Onchain Listings - $MPLX expanded to new global markets with listings on Coinbase, Binance Alpha, and Bitget Onchain.

• $TUNA - The first Genesis launch, Defituna, successfully sold out its $2.5m pre-sale (~12.3k SOL) in under 4 minutes. 

• Protocol Revenue - Protocol revenue reached $2.3M (~13.5K SOL) in July, an increase of 38% MoM and the highest total since February 2025. 

• $MPLX Buyback -~$1m (~5.6K SOL) of Metaplex protocol revenue was used to buy back 6.4m $MPLX (0.64% of total supply) for the Metaplex DAO.

Protocol Activity

In July, Metaplex generated $2.3M in protocol revenue, including $2.1M from Token Metadata (91.4% of total revenue), $124K from Genesis (5.4%), and $71K from Core (3.1%). 

In just its first month on mainnet, Genesis launches already represent a meaningful portion of total protocol revenue, adding a new growth tailwind for the project while also diversifying the protocol’s revenue composition.

Token creation (TM tokens) and token launches (Genesis) drove 94% of revenue, while 6% was driven by the creation of NFTs (TM NFTs, Core, BG v2).In July, 1.2M Token Metadata assets were created, including 1.2M fungible tokens (97%). Cumulatively, over 18 million fungible tokens have been minted using Token Metadata.Core adoption maintained strong momentum in July, pushing cumulative mints past 3M. 280k Core assets were created during the month, a 45% MoM.

In July, creators and developers minted more than 13 million digital assets through Metaplex, including approximately 11 million compressed NFTs. This activity raised the protocol’s cumulative total to over 925 million assets minted to date.

User activity remained robust in July, with approximately 480k unique wallets authorizing transactions on Metaplex. Cumulatively, the platform has now reached nearly 12m distinct signers since launch.

Over 300k new wallets collected a Token Metadata asset and nearly 5m new wallets collected a Bubblegum NFT in the month of July.

Developer Platform

Genesis

In July, Metaplex launched Genesis, a new protocol for Onchain Token Offerings that introduces greater transparency, control, and modularity to token launches. It is now live on Solana mainnet and actively being used by projects to launch their tokens onchain.

The Genesis launch cohort included a mix of token issuers and ecosystem partners across the Solana ecosystem. Early launch partners include Pipe Network, Portals, DeFiTuna, SHAGA, GOATED, Collector's Crypt, and PlaySolana, all of whom are planning or have already initiated token launches through Genesis. DeFiTuna was the first to go live, with its $TUNA presale selling out in under four minutes. Portals followed in August, selling $630k (7M $PORTAL) worth of their native token within 11 seconds, with other launches scheduled throughout the quarter.

In addition to token issuers, the Genesis cohort also included ecosystem partners supporting liquidity, analytics, distribution, and developer tooling. These include Raydium, Kamino, Meteora, Solflare, Jupiter, Phantom, Birdeye, DEX Screener, Magic Eden, Drift, Streamflow, Slingshot, Trojan, Axiom, Saros, Torque, Solana ID, and MCA. These integrations are designed to help projects build the full post-TGE stack, covering vaults, AMMs, marketplaces, and analytics.

Genesis also supports post-launch flexibility: teams can migrate their liquidity to FusionAMM, Raydium, Orca or Meteora, launch vaults through Kamino, and use data tools and dashboards to optimize token infrastructure over time. For projects looking to launch transparently and retain full control over their TGE, Genesis offers a powerful onchain primitive backed by Solana-native infrastructure.

Genesis is currently in invite-only alpha. Learn more at genesis.metaplex.com.

Core

Core surpassed 3 million total assets minted in July, continuing to gain traction across gaming, loyalty, and collectible use cases. Adoption was further accelerated by ChainGPT, which integrated Core into its AI NFT Generator to enable instant, onchain NFT creation with SOL payments, enforced royalties, and marketplace-ready assets.

Portals also introduced Portals IDs, a new identity layer for games and virtual spaces minted as Core NFTs, combining onchain usernames, vanity URLs, and refundable USDC-backed purchases.

Metaplex DAO

Metaplex Protocol Fees & $MPLX Buybacks

$950K USD (5,500 SOL) of protocol fees were used to buy back 6.4 million $MPLX (0.64% of total supply) for the Metaplex DAO. Each month, 50% of the prior month’s protocol fees are allocated to buying back $MPLX for the DAO.

Protocol fees reached $2.3M USD (13,412 SOL), the highest since February, driven by asset creation and token launches across Solana and the SVM. 50% of these fees will be used to fund DAO buybacks throughout August.

With cumulative protocol fees surpassing $38 million (~268,000 SOL) to date, Metaplex continues to scale as core infrastructure for onchain assets, while the DAO remains a key driver of governance, development, and ecosystem growth.

Metaplex Earn Campaign

Season 3 of Metaplex Earn kicked off, with liquidity incentives continuing across both the MPLX-jitoSOL and MPLX-USDC vaults on Kamino. Weekly rewards remain steady at 70,000 $MPLX and 6,000 $MPLX respectively, with new partner token rewards like $ORCA added in Week 2.

The campaign, approved by the DAO with a 2.5M $MPLX budget (including 1M $MPLX left over from Season 2), aims to deepen onchain liquidity and expand $MPLX utility across Solana DeFi. Additional components, such as lending markets for $MPLX via Kamino v2, are underway and will roll out later in the season.

Partnership Highlights

Coinbase

$MPLX was officially listed on Coinbase, marking a major step forward in expanding global access to Metaplex. The listing followed its addition to the Coinbase Assets roadmap earlier in the month, bringing $MPLX to one of the world’s most widely used and trusted crypto platforms.

Binance Alpha

In July, $MPLX was added to Binance Alpha, expanding access for users through the Binance Alpha platform as well as through Binance Wallet, one of the fastest growing apps in all of crypto. This included a two-week trading competition, with $MPLX rewards distributed at the beginning of the campaign on July 6th and at the end of the competition on July 21st.

Bitget Onchain

This past month, Bitget Onchain added support for $MPLX, expanding access to new markets through one of the leading global exchanges. The listing was accompanied by a trading competition, featuring a $100,000 prize pool in BGB for $MPLX traders.

1H 2025 Recap

Metaplex published its official 1H 2025 Recap, detailing protocol performance and ecosystem milestones from January through June. The report highlighted $13.7M in protocol revenue, 115 million assets created, and over 3.2 million new unique wallets interacting with Metaplex standards. Average weekly revenue reached ~$522K, driven by continued adoption from launchpads like Pump.fun, Raydium, Believe, and Jupiter, all of which rely on Metaplex to mint new tokens.

The report also outlined growing traction for Metaplex across DePIN, gaming, and consumer apps, along with new product and ecosystem expansions, including the Genesis protocol and integrations with Ledger, Sonic SVM, and Magic Eden. By the end of H1, the Metaplex DAO had increased its holdings to 231 million $MPLX (23.1% of total supply), driven by token buybacks. Read the full report here.

BingX, HIBT Global, and WEEX Listings

Metaplex expanded to new global markets in July with the listing of $MPLX on BingX, HIBT Global, and WEEX. The BingX Listing Carnival ran from July 25 to August 1, offering 200,000 USDT in trading rewards, while additional social campaigns rewarded users with $MPLX for sharing the announcement. On HIBT, the MPLX/USDT pair is live on the Solana network, and WEEX officially began spot trading on July 21. These listings broaden $MPLX accessibility to new user bases and increase visibility across global crypto markets.

Community

Podcast Features

Metaplex’s role in powering tokenization on Solana took center stage across multiple podcasts in July. Stephen Hess, Metaplex Founder and Director at the Metaplex Foundation, joined the Talking Tokens podcast to walk through the story behind Token Metadata, Core, and the launch of Genesis.

Mackenzie Hom, Head of Strategy of the Metaplex Foundation, sat down with MapleLeafCap on BidCast to break down Genesis, the state of memecoins, $MPLX protocol revenue, and how Metaplex is adapting to Solana’s evolving token landscape.

Rug Radio Spotlight

Rug Radio put Metaplex in the spotlight this month, featuring Stephen twice on their platform. On FOMO hour, Stephen discussed the need for better launch infrastructure and why Genesis matters. Rug Radio also published a broader spotlight on Metaplex’s infrastructure, highlighting its 99% dominance across Solana NFTs and tokens.

Framing the Internet Capital Markets

$MPLX community member James Ho of Modular Capital shared a new write-up on Metaplex’s journey and its growing role powering the Internet Capital Markets on Solana.

Leo, former DevRel at Metaplex, published an article unpacking how token launches are evolving on Solana, and where Metaplex fits in. Framed around the idea of the Internet Capital Markets, the piece argues that we're entering a new era of accessible, onchain fundraising that bypasses traditional gatekeepers. Read the full piece here.

Community Support for Genesis

Metaplex saw strong organic support from the Solana community in July, with several KOLs and creators publishing deep dives into the Genesis protocol and the broader Metaplex ecosystem.

• Lite kicked off a three-part educational thread series in partnership with Metaplex, explaining how Metaplex powers the majority of assets on Solana, and how the DAO buyback loop works.

• Frisk emphasized Metaplex’s role behind the scenes of every token launch on platforms like Pump, Jup Studio, and Believe, while spotlighting the Genesis launch cohort.

• Jussy published a comprehensive thread about Genesis, breaking down its customizable launch mechanics, partner integrations, and why it’s not “just another launchpad.”

• And finally, Clemente dropped a surprise musical performance titled “Metaplex Song”, auditioning to be Metaplex’s “Chief Sing and Dance Correspondent”

Twitter Spaces & Talks

Metaplex continued engaging the community through live talks and Twitter Spaces:

• The Everything Crypto Show Vol. 143, hosted by CryptoApe from MCA, featured Sharko alongside Orca, Solflare, Dogwifcoin, and others, discussing the state of token launches and trends on Solana.

• Sharko also joined Solflare’s Hold Strong #28 as a featured guest, sharing updates from Metaplex.

• In collaboration with Superteam Balkan, Sharko gave a talk on the evolution of web3 gaming, contrasting it with traditional gaming.

• Scharko also appeared in a Superteam Vietnam Game Jam session, explaining how Metaplex is enabling onchain economies for Web3 games.

Nomadz
Metaplex joined the third Nomadz Talk to support the open development journey of the protocol. The session featured Tony Boyle from the Metaplex Foundation alongside Ivan, Beeman, and the Nomadz team, discussing what’s live in Phase 0 and what’s ahead. The conversation underscored the importance of transparent, community-driven building

Application Ecosystem

The application ecosystem kept expanding in July, as teams building across DeFi, gaming, AI, and creator tools integrated Metaplex to power new onchain experiences. From experimental flywheels to no-code AI platforms, Metaplex continued to serve as the foundation for token and NFT creation across Solana.

• Sonic launched “Spark,” a no-code AI platform to build web3 apps. The platform allows instant creation of smart contracts and UI, and leverages Metaplex primitives for asset creation.

• Bags continued to scale following the May launch of LaunchOnBags, a decentralized memecoin platform on Solana. Creators can launch tokens directly from X or the Bags site and earn SOL royalties on every trade. 

• Orca introduced Wavebreak, a human-first launchpad with permissionless token creation and rewards systems that uses Metaplex.

• Play Solana shared a major update: PSG1 hardware shipments, its first game launch, and the upcoming $PLAY token launch, all powered by Genesis.

• HedgeVault integrated Metaplex minting, with all systems, pool, mint, and DBC, now operational.

• Solana Terminals continued to innovate with Core NFTs, combining AI, governance, and flywheel mechanics across its ecosystem.

• Verxio began rolling out consumer-facing products built atop the infrastructure it developed with Metaplex, starting with micropayments and loyalty-based rewards.

• Botify finalized logic for tokenizing AI agents as SPL NFTs or semi-fungible assets using Metaplex. They also progressed on agent metadata standards and smart contract integration.

• Rynus launched a vGPU NFT sale, bringing DePIN and RWA to Solana by enabling users to earn from GPU-powered compute tasks.

Creator Ecosystem 

The creator ecosystem on Solana continued to thrive in July, with new collections, token launches, and creative experiments powered by Metaplex standards.

• Giants Protocol launched its $G token on Binance Alpha and Raydium, expanding Solana's reach through multi-platform distribution.

• Wilder World introduced the ultra-rare Temerario GT3 NFT series, in collaboration with Lamborghini’s Fast ForWorld initiative.

• CharCoin went live with trading on Raydium, kicking off a values-driven token launch with an emphasis on community impact.

• Chill House released the Lil Chillers NFT collection via LaunchMyNFT, bringing new collectible energy to the Solana NFT scene.

• MEMEX debuted its first NFT collection on Solana, offering exclusive access and privileges to over 2M+ holders in its ecosystem.

• Real City launched a digital urban experience on Solana, blending metaverse, NFTs, and community perks for early participants.

• Rogues Dead minted live on LaunchMyNFT, pushing a narrative-rich collection with community-led momentum on Solana.

Follow @metaplex on X for ongoing community updates. You can also subscribe to receive these monthly updates directly to your email here. To contribute to the Metaplex protocol, engage with us on GitHub or submit a Metaplex Improvement Proposal (MIP) at mip.metaplex.com.

Last, thanks to TopLedger for their data support on this month’s round-up. They provide real-time monitoring of Metaplex activity and usage to the ecosystem. For additional Metaplex onchain metrics, please refer to the following link.