Another spark of annoyance
On Tuesday, Yuga Labs made it known that participants who perform a task on their 'Legends of the Mara' (LoTM) on the Otherside platform has the chance to win loot.
However, players looking to secure these NFTs on the ethereum blockchain were overwhelmed by high gas fees. Adding insult to injury was the fact that these rewards were initially intended to be gifts.
In particular, this is not the first case of ethereum gas fees worry Yuga. The company's effort to create virtual spaces on Otherside resulted in transaction costs that amounted to a staggering $157 million in May 2022, sparking significant outcry among its user base.
Yuga Labs' response to criticism
Addressing this controversy, Spencer Tucker, game director at Yuga Labs, apologized on Twitter for gas loot fee problem. After this, he promised affected users a free on-chain buff called 'Catalyst'.
Unfortunately, these Catalyst NFTs did not satisfy Otherside players, who felt that they did not address the core problems with ethereum-based nft minting.
Yuga Labs co-founder Greg Solano also attempted to calm the disgruntled community by promising to refund all gas fees incurred when minting loot on the Otherside platform. A move that also failed to address lingering concerns over eth fees.
To effectively address this challenge, Yuga Labs compensated its community by covering $265,000 in gas fees, spread across approximately 640 refund transactions.
Possible strategies for today and tomorrow
Yuga Labs' struggles have cast doubt on the future of the Otherside Metaverse, its Agora marketplace, and, most notably, the company's frameworks.
In retaliation, ApeCoin DAO, an autonomous organization that oversees $APE, proposed the creation of its unique blockchain, ApeChain, despite advocating to stick with ethereum in 2022, primarily for security reasons.
The DAO is currently studying alternatives to several ethereum Layer 2 networks, such as Optimism, Arbitrum, and Polygon.
While Yuga Labs has suggested that ApeCoin DAO could configure its blockchain to handle ethereum traffic and expenses, the company has been hesitant to publicly commit to using such a network for the Other Side.
As Yuga Labs reviews its reliance on ethereum, speculation continues about the future of Otherside and Yuga Labs' position in the world of cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
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