On Tuesday, the Metaplex Foundation, the non-profit arm of the Metaplex Protocol, announced the creation of its own coin under the MPLX ticker.

The company will award 14 million tokens to early community members beginning today (Sept. 20) over a multi-week claim period. Those who receive the first token tranche are early Metaplex platform builders. According to the Foundation, another 40 million tokens will be allocated to early collectors as a result of a DAO vote.

The Metaplex Protocol was originally released in June 2021 as the first program library and set of tools for developers to use on the Solana blockchain to manufacture, sell, and manage NFTs. Creators were drawn to the business because it had minimal mint fees and was more ecologically benign than NFT enterprises created on chains such as Ethereum (at least, before The Merge). The Metaplex Standard is the metadata standard used to classify NFTs on Solana.

MPLX will be a utility and governance token for the Metaplex Protocol, serving as a way of decentralized governance for future initiatives and strategic decisions.

“It’s an honor for us to wake up every day and serve our community as they stretch the edges of the technology,” said Stephen Hess, a director of the Metaplex Foundation. “The MPLX Token represents our commitment to empowering creators and flipping the Web2 model on its head by building a platform that can be owned, shaped, and governed by those that use it.”

Multicoin Capital and Jump Crypto organized a $46 million simple agreement for future tokens (SAFT) sale for the Metaplex Foundation in January. Participants included Solana Ventures, Alameda Research, and Animoca Brands.

The drop will initially be available on the international exchanges FTX, KuCoin, and Huobi. It is not accessible for purchase by residents of the United States.

It comes after a busy few weeks for NFTs on the Solana blockchain. Dust Labs, the company behind the NFT collection y00ts and the popular collection DeGods, revealed earlier this month a $7 million fundraise and $9.6 million in secondary sales of their “y00ts mint t00b” collection in September. Dust Labs has received funding from FTX, Jump, and Solana Ventures.