BoDoggos Paid App Sparks Debate on NFT Holder Entitlement

A tweet directed at the BoDoggos team for charging a subscription fee on their trading news app has sparked an industry-wide debate on what NFT holders are entitled to receive.

@Lewsiphur tweeted a screenshot from what appears to be a holder-only section of the BoDoggos Discord on June 17. In the screenshot, BoDoggos CEO and co-founder Nick O’Neill shares details on the “first version of the app”, alongside a discounted link to gain access. @Lewsiphur took issue at BoDoggos holders needing to pay for app access, whilst the BoDoggos team defended their need to cover “ongoing cost”.

As this back-and-forth continued on X, many big names, collectors and everyday members of the community added their opinion on what NFT holders should be entitled to from an NFT project – in what has become the latest hot topic of the NFT industry.

Key Insights

• A tweet directed at BoDoggos has sparked an industry-wide debate on what NFT holders should be entitled to
• The tweet took issue at BoDoggos’ plan to charge NFT holders a discounted rate for access to their new trading news app
• @Lewsiphur argued that holders should get ongoing app access for free, whilst BoDoggos cited the need to cover ongoing costs
• This debate caused widespread reaction in the NFT community, with big names and community members alike sharing their thoughts
• The conversation has continued, with a member of the BoDoggos team taking aim at another project

What are NFT holders entitled to?

This is the crux of the debate – and why we are seeing such heated debate on this topic.

What has been the reaction in the community?

A large number of big names in Web3 have waded in to the debate, alongside many passionate everyday members of the community at large.

Leon Abboud, founder and CEO of Unfungible, stated that this debate “exposed NFTs’ biggest problem” – that the expectation that “a one-time purchase equals a lifetime of entitlement” is “[preventing] the space from growing and evolving.”

@mattmedved argued that the reality is that “Web3 businesses are still businesses,” and that “they’re run by real people with bills to pay, families to support, and operating costs to cover.” In conversation with @depressivehacks, @mattmedved would discuss “the tension many projects face between building sustainable revenue streams and delivering value to holders”, noting that “more revenue doesn’t always = floor price go up.”

A day later, June 18, BoDoggos team member @Chilearmy123 took aim at NFT collection Chonks, asking “what went wrong” after their 0.01 ETH open edition mint in December 2024. Zeneca swiftly came to their defence, taking aim at “gambling degenerates” trying to “mint cheap and then dump on the next and greater fool.”

Though the bulk of the public debate has largely subsided, the question still remains: what should NFT holders expect to receive from an NFT collection?