Hello Strange Fellows, the 2021 viral trend on the Algorand network makes a resurgence.
Algorand Twitter has gone yellow again over the last week thanks to a campaign by YBGFFCC00, a recently created Twitter account paying tribute to a mid-2021 trend that formed out of Yieldling NFT community and rippled across the Algorand ecosystem.
Originally made popular by a Yieldling community member and unintentional trend-setter Asharian “Lord of Yellow,” collecting NFTs with YBG (yellow backgrounds) became en vogue among the greater Algorand NFT community that year.
The 2021 trend inspired nods by NFTExplorer, “YBG” inspired lyrics by hip hop artist middledoug, and was further cemented by Yieldling’s creator Stitch, with YBG tattoo traits in the M.N.G.O (2021) collection and in Mostly Frens (2022)
Fast forward to 2023, and this recent YBG movement has transcended far beyond the Yieldling community.
While unrelated to the Yieldlings or the origins of YBG, Twitter account YBGFFCC00 is seeking to re-unite the Algorand community by urging users to post logos and images using a new shade of yellow for the background color.
In this most recent revival, we’ve seen NFT collections, the Algorand Foundation, Rand Gallery, Stocktwits NFTs and more participate, with some users even turning their profile pics upside down for added visibility.
The trend’s recent fever pitch coincidentally aligns with the two-year anniversary of Yieldlings (July 23, 2021).
As a tribute, I’ve decided to publish this YBG article on the July 23, 2023.
Happy Birthday Yieldling! 2 looks so good on you!
In This Article
YBG Genesis
The lore of YBG on Algorand is really not complex. In fact, it was literally one person that really liked the color yellow and ice cream.
None of that ice cream part matters, but it is important to me that you know that.
The acronym itself is not even new, with products on Macy’s having previously used the term.
To reiterate, YBG acronym’s prominence throughout the Algorand digital collectible space simply stems from one passionate collector in the Yieldling (2021) NFT community who happened to spur a background gold rush.
Asharian “Lord of Yellow” amassed a collection yellow-background Yieldlings from the first few drops on AB2 — an early NFT marketplace on the Algorand network, and obsessively spoke of their allure.
The cult-like passion quickly spread, with apps like NFTExplorer joining in on the fun.
Early supporters of the original YBG movement — NFTExplorer.app
NFTExplorer, an NFT Aggregator that also formed out of the Yieldling community, added “YBG” easter eggs to the platform, further fueling the trend.
As of this writing, users of NFTx can filter any collection by Background color. When selecting “Yellow” it will show a brief “#YBG” hashtag. (see animated .gif below)
Side Note: In 2022, NFTExplorer announced plans to wind down and sunset the app. I wrote a quick blurb last year about NFTx here immediately following the announcement.
Spoiler alert: NFTx lives on!
NFTExplorer has since been acquired by NFT Marketplace R& (Rand Gallery) for an undisclosed sum and is owned and operated by a new team.
YBG Dalgona Cookies in Shrimp Game (2021)
Directly influenced by the 2021 South Korean blockbuster television series Squid Game, Tim P. (Ling Lings & Rugs!) and Stitch (Yieldling, M.N.G.O, Mostly Frens) devised the 999 piece Shrimp Game to mimic some of the core plot devices of the television series in blockchain form.
NFTs were given out to community members with the idea that all but 1 would survive after a series of mini-games.
The rest of the collectibles would be burned, or otherwise destroyed.
Several rounds of mini-games were played, with the series getting increasingly smaller as NFTs were ‘killed.’
In round #2 of Shrimp Game, for instance, a Twitter Poll was conducted to determine the fate of the remaining Shrimp.
40% of the collection ‘died’ from YBG Dalgona death cookies.
Middledoug’s Big Shrimpin’ — (2021)
Hip Hop artist middledoug took on M.N.G.O with the 2021 single “Big Shrimpin.’”
Midway through the first verse, middledoug hit with references to yellow backgrounds and artist Matthias Trinley.
“Hello strange fellows reppin’ YBG, and all my hypebeasts with them Trinley Tees” — middledoug, Big Shrimpin’ (2021)
I previously wrote about Middledoug’s Big Shrimpin’.
You can catch the Full article here with full lyrical breakdowns.
Don’t like words?
Here’s middledoug’s, “Big Shrimpin’” Full Song on YouTube:
YBG Tributes in Algorand NFT Traits
While many NFT creators gave nods to the original YBG trend, we’ll just include a couple for now.
- Stitch, creator of Yielding, added YBG tattoo traits to his M.N.G.O and Mostly Frens collections in 2021 and 2022.
2. LionsWrinkle, developer behind trustless NFT swap Atomixwap and Flex Machine and numerous nft projects, added YBG-inspired Caffeine Trait cards to his CoffeeBits Bath Club Collection in 2022.
You can read more about how Caffeine Cards are used to modify traits in CoffeeBits Bath Club here.
Disclosure: Flex Machine is a project I work on with LionsWrinkle.
3. Speaking of Flex Machine (lol, I know… I know… I had to), the app LionsWrinkle and I have been developing, added YBG “stickers” to the app in March of this year.
Holders of featured NFTs (digital collectibles) can log into the Flex Machine app and create banners, profile pictures, and grids from their digital assets using in-app layering tools and stickers.
Below is a view of Mix Mode.
Holders of featured digital collectibles are even able to select new background colors from the color palette, including yellow. FANCY!
You can read more about Flex Machine in this article I wrote in March.
Yellow Backgrounds before the YBG trend — AlgoBros
AlgoBros (2021) was one among the first breakouts on the Algorand network after NFTs were introduced that April.
Created as the first larger scale PFP series by HurleyBird (Bork Borks, Buff Birbs, Al Gato), AlgoBros’ 701 piece series featured heavy use of yellow backgrounds, making up roughly 69% of the collection.
Nice.
Pre-Yieldlings, it’s almost as if HurleyBird foretold the future of Algorand NFTs through his own collection.
sPoOoOkY.
Recent YBG Movement (2023)
While unrelated to Yieldling, M.N.G.O, Mostly Frens, or the original YBG movement, the recent uptick in yellow backgrounds harkens back to simpler times in the ecosystem.
Wrapping Up
Algorand NFTs and the YBG community are relatively new constructs, forming in early to mid-2021. While its roots begun in the Yieldling NFT community, it’s since taken a life of its own, spurring newer accounts promoting the use of yellow to promote the Algorand network.
To leave you with an unedited quote from the Lord of Yellow himself:
“haha ikr, i just like yellow/ gold backgrounds. maybe im weird idk” — Asharian, “Lord of Yellow” August 6, 2021
Disclaimers and Disclosures
This article is for informational purposes only.
No compensation was taken in exchange for inclusions in this post, including but not limited to allow list spots, tokens, currency in any form, etc.
As an active participant in the Algorand ecosystem, there is a good chance I own several projects mentioned in this article. This, however, is not a pre-requisite for inclusion.
My opinions are my own.
NFTs, digital collectibles, and digital currencies are all extremely volatile assets.
There is a chance assets will lose some or all of their monetary value.
Nothing in this article constitutes legal, tax, or investment advice. Nothing in this article is a replacement for one’s own proper due diligence.
We do not take any responsibility for any action or inaction resulting from the information in this article.
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