what is a bored ape yacht club nft

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Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs Explained

This collection of 10,000 cartoon apes has become the poster child of NFTs. Right now, the cheapest you can buy one for is $150,000.

Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs cost $190 at launch last April. Now they go for over $400,000.

NFTs have been around for five years, but the nonfungible token boom only truly began in 2021. It coincided almost perfectly with the launch of Bored Ape Yacht Club, a collection of 10,000 cartoon ape NFTs that's come to embody the whole industry. BAYC has over the past year become a bellwether for NFTs, just like bitcoin is for the crypto market at large. 

When NFTs were at their hottest, in April , the entry price for Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs was $400,000. Following the crypto crash, caused by the Federal Reserve's hiking of inflation rates to tackle inflation , that's fallen closer to $150,000. Far from the all-time-high, but insane considering these NFTs sold for about $200 apiece last April. 

You've probably seen a BAYC, even if you didn't realize you were looking at one.

Bored Ape owners currently using their NFT as a Twiter profile picture include Timbaland (1.6 million followers), Eminem (22.6 million followers) and footballer Neyman Jr. (55 million followers). Jimmy Fallon and Paris Hilton are also BAYC holders, discussing their Apes in a (cringey) Tonight Show segment . Justin Bieber made headlines with his purchase of a $1.29 million Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT in February. 

In June, Eminem and Snoop Dogg released a video clip in which the rappers are depicted by their respective Bored Apes . 

Name my ape! Drop your suggestions below 👇 @BoredApeYC #BAYC #BoredApeYachtClub #NFTs pic.twitter.com/pwFynGy9QJ — jimmy fallon (@jimmyfallon) November 17, 2021

BREAKING: @Eminem just bought BAYC #9055 for 123.45 ETH ($461,868.42) WELCOME to the BAYC 🤗 pic.twitter.com/UvQFntDa8Q — m0rgan.ethᵍᵐ 💎🙆🏼‍♀️🆘 (@Helloimmorgan) December 31, 2021

Yuga Labs, the company behind the NFT collection, has already expanded the ecosystem to include a cryptocurrency (Ape Coin). More importantly, it's developing a "metaverse" MMORPG game called "Otherside." People holding Bored Ape NFTs are betting that the brand will completely break through and go mainstream. Already it's collaborated with brands like Adidas and Gucci, and last year a Bored Ape  graced the cover of Rolling Stone magazine . 

Like everything else to do with NFTs, the Bored Ape Yacht Club is contentious. Apes inspire jealousy among those who own and trade NFT art but confusion and suspicion among people who don't. Their value is instrinsically tied to ether, the second biggest cryptocurrency. That means NFTs like BAYC are likely to lose their lustre if crypto collapses -- something critics have prophesized for years. 

Here's what you need to know about the collection.

10 of the 10,000 Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs. Each has different attributes, some rarer than others, that makes them unique. 

Wait, what are NFTs again?

NFT is short for nonfungible token. These are tokens verify ownership on the blockchain. In essence, an NFT is like a certificate of authenticity for a fancy watch or the deed to a house. It certifies that the digital asset -- in this case a cartoon picture of an ape -- is legitimate, and denotes who the owner is.

The most ubiquitous criticism of NFTs is that they're useless because pictures can simply be right-clicked and saved for free. The point of NFT technology is that it makes public who the owner of an asset is. The idea is that anyone can buy a Mona Lisa print for a few bucks, but only one person or institution can own the original. Everyone in the world can save a BAYC jpeg on their computer, but only one person can own the NFT. 

Whether that makes NFTs valuable is a judgement call. Some people think they'll revolutionize the internet, at last allowing digital goods to be bought and sold like real-world, physical products. Others think they're an environmentally-costly ponzi scheme. 

Why are there 10,000 Bored Apes?

Broadly speaking, there are two types of NFT art. First, you have one-off visuals that are sold as non-fungible tokens, just like paintings in real life. Think the  Beeple NFTs that were sold at Christie's for as high as $69 million. Second, you have NFT collections like the Bored Ape Yacht Club, which are mostly designed to be used as profile pictures on social media. The latter have become the dominant style, where most of the money is spent. 

Pioneered by CryptoPunks in 2017, NFT collections are a little like Pokemon cards. You have a set amount -- usually between 5,000 and 10,000 -- which all have the same template, but each has different attributes that make them unique. In the case of BAYC, there are 10,000 apes, each with varying fur types, facial expressions, clothing, accessories and more. Each attribute has a rarity component, which makes some much more valuable than others. 

These properties are displayed on OpenSea, the main platform where NFTs are traded. On any given NFT's page, its properties will be listed as well as the percentage of NFTs in the collection that share the property. Usually, anything under 1% is considered rare. For instance out of 10,000 apes only 46 have solid gold fur, making these particularly valuable.

Each NFT has traits which are ranked by rarity, making some more valuable than others. 

As noted, the "floor price" for the project -- what you'll pay for an ape with common traits -- is currently about $150,000 (85 ether). Apes with the golden fur trait are rare, and so sell for much more. One sold in January for $1.3 million . Another  with gold fur and laser eyes , two sub-1% traits, went for $3 million.

BAYC is the biggest NFT project of this kind, recently eclipsing CryptoPunks , which is credited as the first "pfp" (profile picture) collections. Other notable sets include CyberKongz, Doodles and Cool Cats .

What makes Bored Ape Yacht Club valuable?

This is a complicated question. The short answer is that they're status symbols , and like all status symbols their value comes from perception and branding rather than utility. Just like a CEO may try to communicate business acumen with a Rolex or a luxury suit, people who trade NFTs display their success with a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT. Their argument is that NFTs are better status symbols than real-world items, since when used as profile pictures they can be seen by millions of people on Twitter and Instagram.

Let's start at the beginning. Bored Ape Yacht Club was launched last April. It took 12 hours for all 10,000 to sell out at a price of $190 (0.08 ether). The price of Bored Ape NFTs rose steadily until July, when they spiked dramatically and the collection became a blue-chip set.

What makes an NFT collection successful is highly subjective. Broadly, it's a mix of four things: Influencer or celebrity involvement, mainstream potential, utility for members and community appeal.

The first and second are obvious. When famous people own an NFT, it makes others want to own one too. When celebrities like Jimmy Fallon and Justin Bieber bought into Bored Ape, it caused a run in sales and hype -- and hype is what the NFT market is all about. People buying into BAYC today, at a steep price of over $150,000, are likely to believe that the brand could one day adorn more than celebrity social media accounts: Netflix shows, popular games and Hollywood movies are the goal. 

Thirdly, utility. Most NFT projects claim to offer a utility of some sort, which means it does something other than act as a profile picture. That can be access to play-to-earn games or the option to stake an NFT in exchange for an associated cryptocurrency. 

Bored Ape Yacht Club has done a few things to keep owners interested. First, it created the Bored Ape Kennel Club , offering owners the opportunity to "adopt" a dog NFT with traits that mimic those of the Bored Apes. Another freebie came in August of 2021: Digital vials of mutant serum. Owners could mix their Bored Ape with the serum to create a Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFT (see below). 

The advent of this second collection last August is when the Bored Ape brand really popped. Seen as doing innovative things with NFT technology, and coinciding with a huge amount of money entering the space that month, Bored Ape Yacht Club started to be seen as the premiere NFT brand. 

Both Kennel Club and Mutant Ape NFTs now sell for a lot. The Mutant Ape Yacht Club collection entry point is about $30,000, while Bored Ape Kennel Clubs are selling for about half that. (Remember, these were free to BAYC holders.)

A Bored Ape and its Mutant Ape counterpart. 

Last but not least is the community that's built around a collection. NFTs double as membership cards to holder groups. The more valuable people find belonging to that community, the less they'll want to sell their NFT. Bored Ape Yacht Club has organized meetups in New York and California, and there have been Bored Ape get-togethers in Hong Kong and the UK, too. This past June, BAYC holders were treated to "Ape Fest", a festival that included performances from Eminem, Snoop Dogg, LCD Soundsystem and Amy Schumer.

But "community value" also extends to financial self interest. The higher the floor price on a collection, the more crypto-rich traders you can expect to be holders. These savvy investors trade information within locked Discord groups, providing valuable (sometimes insanely valuable) tips to one another. Sell your NFT and you'll no longer be privvy to such tips. 

Eminem is the latest celebrity to flaunt a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT as a social media profile picture.

Who's behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club?

The Bored Ape Yacht Club was developed by Yuga Labs. At the time, Yuga Labs consisted of four people, all of whom went by pseudonyms. There's Gordon Goner and Gargamel, who are the two co-founders, and two friends who helped on the development side, No Sass and Emperor Tomato Ketchup.

Got doxxed against my will. Oh well. Web2 me vs. Web3 me pic.twitter.com/uLkpsJ5LvN — GordonGoner.eth (@GordonGoner) February 5, 2022

Got doxed so why not. Web2 me vs Web3 me. pic.twitter.com/jfmzo5NtrH — Garga.eth (@CryptoGarga) February 5, 2022

Seems like the cat is out of the bag anyway, so... Hi, I'm Kerem 👋🍅 web2 me vs. web3 me pic.twitter.com/v7i4JDCTlc — EmperorTomatoKetchup (@TomatoBAYC) February 8, 2022

Welp, here we go... Hey, I'm Zeshan. Nice to meet y'all (: Web2 me vs. Web3 me pic.twitter.com/0AnqurQ1el — Sass (@SassBAYC) February 8, 2022

All four went exclusively by their pseudonyms until February, when BuzzFeed reported the identities of Gordon Goner and Gargamel. Gargamel is Greg Solano, a writer and book critic, and Gordon Goner is 35-year-old Wylie Aronow. Both went on to post pictures of themselves on Twitter alongside their Bored Apes. Following that, Emperor Tomato Ketchup and Sass both "doxxed" themselves -- that is, revealed their identity -- by doing the same. 

The actual art was created by freelance artist Seneca , who's not part of Yuga Labs. 

What's next?

Yuga Labs has big plans for its Bored Ape Yacht Club brand, plans that are both on- and offchain. (That is, both on the blockchain and in the real world.)

Start with more blockchain stuff. In March, Yuga Labs released Ape Coin, its own cryptocurrency. All Bored Ape holders were airdropped just over 10,000 Ape Coins at launch, worth around $100,000 at the time (now about $70,000). Ape Coin will be the primary currency in Otherside, the metaverse Yuga Labs is building .

Metaverses are big, virtual spaces shared by hundreds or thousands of people at a time. They've existed for a long time, think Second Life or even Fortnite. Blockchain-integrated metaverses are different only in the sense that the land, building and items within the world are owned by users as NFTs. Yuga Labs has already sold land for the metaverse, making over $300 million in just a few hours of sales .

Out in the physical world, the Bored Apes are integrating themselves into fashion. Adidas launched its first NFT project, Into The Metaverse, in collaboration with several NFT brands, Bored Ape Yacht Club chief among them. Collaborations between Adidas and BAYC on both virtual and physical clothing are coming soon. 

Adidas is also a member of the Bored Ape Yacht Club. 

The Bored Ape Yacht Club brand has popped up in other industries too. Literally in the case of food: A pop-up restaurant in Los Angeles was recently turned into a permanent burger spot. In January, a mobile game, Apes vs. Mutants , launched on both the App Store and Google's Play Store. (Reviews have been unkind.) Another mobile game is in production , scheduled for Q2. Bored Ape figurines by Super Plastic are on the way too.

More unusual, though, is what people are doing with their apes. Owning a Bored Ape NFT gives you full commercial rights to it, and holders are taking advantage of that in some creative ways. One Bored Ape owner set up a Twitter account for his ape where he created a backstory, turning him into Jenkins, a valet that works for the Yacht Club. Jenkins is now signed to a real-world agency, and has a biography written by New York Times bestseller Neil Strauss . Universal Music Group has invested by  signing a band consisting of three Bored Apes and one Mutant Ape . 

You might think NFTs are silly -- and terrible for the environment -- but don't expect the Bored Apes to disappear anytime soon.

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What Is Bored Ape Yacht Club?

• Understanding BAYC
• BAYC's High Value
• More Than an NFT

The Bottom Line

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Erika Rasure is globally-recognized as a leading consumer economics subject matter expert, researcher, and educator. She is a financial therapist and transformational coach, with a special interest in helping women learn how to invest.

Bored Ape Yacht Club, popularly called BAYC, launched in 2021, is a collection of 10,000 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum blockchain . These NFTs are graphical representations of cartoon-like apes with specific traits. The characters have combinations of backgrounds, earrings, clothes, fur, eyes, expressions, and more that make them all unique.

Key Takeaways

• Bored Ape Yacht Club is a non-fungible token (NFT) collection of 10,000 cartoon-like apes.
• At launch, each Bored Ape Yacht Club token cost 0.08 Ether (ETH), or $220; by mid-October 2022, they cost 76 ETH, or approximately $100,418.
• BAYC was developed in April 2021 by Yuga Labs, whose founders use the pseudonyms Gordon Goner and Gargamel.
• Rarity and celebrity endorsement drove the high price of the BAYC collection. 
• Some consider BAYC a status symbol, and celebrities like NBA star Stephen Curry, singers Eminem and Snoop Dogg, and late-night show host Jimmy Fallon own one.

History of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)

The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT was launched in 2021 at the pinnacle of the cryptocurrency bull market. Yuga Labs developed the Bored Ape Yacht Club. The Yuga Labs team comprised four core members who appeared under these pseudonyms in the early days of the launch: Gordon Goner and Gargamel (co-founders), No Sass, and Emperor Tomato Ketchup, who handled the technical aspects of BAYC.

BuzzFeed, a news publication, broke a story in February 2022 revealing two of the co-founders’ identities. This led the other two core members to also give up their incognito status and post pictures of themselves on X (formerly Twitter).

On March 11, 2022, Yuga Labs acquired the intellectual property for rival NFT collections CryptoPunks and Meebits, giving it ownership of the brand and logo of each of those NFT collections. CryptoPunks is one of the earliest NFT projects and was among the most valued NFT collections on the NFT marketplace OpenSea. It had a total trading volume of 1 million ETH before it was delisted in February 2022 for a copyright violation.

In a historic moment in September 2021, Sotheby’s , one of the world’s largest auction houses, closed its online auction for 101 Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs at a price of $24.4 million.

Early Fundraising and Interest

In a fundraising round led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, the Yuga Labs team raised $450 million. In March 2022, it was reported to be valued at $4 billion. Yuga Labs planned to use the capital to expand its activities and accelerate brand growth.

When launched, a BAYC NFT cost 0.08 Ether (ETH), the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum platform. That was equivalent to $220 at the time. It sold out within 12 hours. By mid-October 2022, it had climbed to a “floor price” of 76 ETH, or approximately $100,418. An NFT's floor price is the minimum price allowed for an NFT within a collection.

BAYC garnered interest from a few celebrities, who purchased the NFTs at inflated prices. Some high-profile stars who flaunt their BAYC include “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon, who bought Bored Ape #599; NBA champions Steph Curry and Shaquille O’Neal; singers Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Justin Bieber; and world-class soccer player Neymar Jr.

Contrary to popular belief, the images are not the non-fungible tokens. The tokens are a hashed version of the image's metadata, and the images are stored (hosted) elsewhere. The tokens are transferred when rights to the images are sold.

What Makes BAYC Valuable?

Whether the Bored Ape collection is truly worth millions of dollars has been hotly debated. Some believe the high valuations are simply based on speculation. But, in fact, rarity, demand, celebrity endorsements, perks, and project development have driven the collection’s value.

The array of BAYC’s unique traits and accessories are used to measure its value. The term “rarity” gauges how unusual an NFT is within a collection with an assigned number. In the BAYC collection, there are more than 160 traits, and each ape may have four to seven trait categories. These traits are background, clothes, earrings, eyes, fur, hat, and mouth.

The most expensive Bored Ape in the collection, BAYC #8817, was auctioned in October 2021 for $3.4 million on Sotheby’s Metaverse marketplace, an online platform dedicated to rare and extraordinary NFTs. BAYC #8817 had the Solid Gold Fur trait—making it a relatively rare variety of the NFT. Other characteristics of the #8817 token are the Silver Hoop Earrings and the Wool Turtleneck.

Celebrity Endorsement

BAYC has enticed several celebrities and brands to own pieces of its NFT collection. Adidas contributed to the hype surrounding the NFT collection by launching “Into the Metaverse,” its native digital collectible, in partnership with Bored Ape Yacht Club, Gmoney, and PUNKS Comic.

Following the partnership launch, BAYC uploaded an image of a Bored Ape wearing an Adidas jacket on X. Gmoney tweeted a silhouette picture that displayed the Adidas logo. PUNKS Comic tweeted a picture of a character wearing a shirt bearing the Adidas logo.

Other celebrities, beyond those already mentioned, who bought BAYC include billionaire Mark Cuban, prominent X personality and DJ Steve Aoki, X personalities and musicians Post Malone and Mike Shinoda, and producer and songwriter Timbaland.

Perks and Development 

One of the distinctive features of the Bored Ape NFT, compared with other NFT collections, is the perks. Owners of Bored Apes have exclusive access to a private Discord group where they chat, network, and build relationships with other Bored Ape members, including celebrities who own a Bored Ape. Ape holders also have access to “The Bathroom,” letting them draw whatever comes to mind on a virtual bathroom wall every 15 minutes.

ApeCoin is the official currency for the Bored Ape ecosystem and is used to purchase BAYC merchandise, event tickets, and more. ApeCoin DAO is a decentralized autonomous organization whose members—every ApeCoin holder—govern the DAO’s treasury and decide on future projects by voting on proposals.

Also, owning a Bored Ape is considered a status symbol among many individuals, contributing to its popularity among a certain crowd.

The Future of Bored Ape Yacht Club

Bored Ape Yacht Club has a community of active members, and the NFTs are actively traded on marketplaces. The ApeDAO consistently votes on funding for different project proposals and is searching for ways to further involve itself in Web3 development.

As of July 2024, the BAYC appears to be positioning itself for the future, but what that future entails is anyone's guess. While funded and apparently popular among a specific crowd, the project has somewhat faltered in finding its place in the market after its initial successes.

How Much Are Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs Worth?

The price floor for BYAC on July 25, 2024, was 9.30 ETH, which was about $30,000.

What Does a Bored Ape Give You Access To?

A Bored Ape NFT gives you access to the project's Discord channel and ApeCoin, which can be used in governance activities within the ApeDAO.

What Happened to Bored Ape Yacht Club?

The NFT collection still exists, and there is trading activity, but the NFTs in the collection have dropped in value compared to their highs in 2021. In July 2024, many were priced between $28,000 and $36,000, with a few in the $40,000 range.

BAYC has evolved into more than a profile-picture (PFP) NFT. It has set a new standard and pace for other NFT collections with the various additions and the project's evolution. Yuga Labs has introduced products built on the blockchain as well as physical products from the Bored Ape collection.

The comments, opinions, and analyses expressed on Investopedia are for informational purposes online. Read our  warranty and liability disclaimer  for more info.

OpenSea. “ Bored Ape Yacht Club .”

Yuga Labs. “ Let’s Make a NFT .”

Decrypt. “ The Biggest Celebrity NFT Owners in the Bored Ape Yacht Club .”

X. “ @BoredApeYC: Apr. 23, 2021 .”

BuzzFeed News. “ We Found the Real Names of Bored Ape Yacht Club’s Pseudonymous Founders .”

X. “ @TomatoBAYC: Feb. 8, 2022 .”

X. “ @SassBAYC: Feb. 8, 2022 .”

X. “ @yugalabs: Mar. 11, 2022 .”

OpenSea. “ CryptoPunks .”

Sotheby’s. “ Samsung’s State-of-the-Art 98 Inch Neo QLED TV on View at Sotheby’s .”

X. “ @Sothebysverse: Oct. 26, 2021 .”

X. “ @BoredApeYC: Nov. 28, 2021 .”

X. “ @gmoneyNFT: Nov. 28, 2021 .”

ApeCoin. “ ApeCoin Is for the Web3 Economy .”

Animoca Brands. " Animoca Brands Update on Financial Position as of 31 March 2024 ."

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How Four NFT Novices Created a Billion-Dollar Ecosystem of Cartoon Apes

By Samantha Hissong

Samantha Hissong

J ust last year, the four thirtysomethings behind Bored Ape Yacht Club — a collection of 10,000 NFTs, which house cartoon primates and unlock the virtual world they live in — were living modest lifestyles and working day jobs as they fiddled with creative projects on the side. Now, they’re multimillionaires who made it big off edgy, haphazardly constructed art pieces that also act as membership cards to a decentralized community of madcaps. What’s more punk rock than that?

The phenomenal nature of it all has to do with the recent appearance, all over the internet, of images of grungy apes with unimpressed expressions on their faces and human clothes on their sometimes-multicolored, sometimes-metal bodies. Most of the apes look like characters one might see in a comic about hipsters in Williamsburg — some are smoking and some have pizza hanging from their lips, while others don leather jackets, beanies, and grills. The core-team Apes describe the graffiti-covered bathroom of the club itself — which looks like a sticky Tiki bar — in a way that echoes that project’s broader mission: “Think of it as a collaborative art experiment for the cryptosphere.” As for the pixel-ish walls around the virtual toilet, that’s really just “a members-only canvas for the discerning minds of crypto Twitter,” according to a blurb on the website, which recognizes that it’s probably “going to be full of dicks.”

(Full-disclosure: Rolling Stone just announced a partnership with the Apes and is creating a collectible zine — similar to what the magazine did with Billie Eilish — and NFTs.)

“I always go balls to the wall,” founding Ape Gordon Goner tells Rolling Stone over Zoom. Everything about Goner, who could pass for a weathered 30 or a young 40, screams “frontman,” from his neck tattoo to his sturdy physique to the dark circles under his eyes and his brazen attitude. He’s a risk taker: Back during his gambling-problem days, he admits he’d “kill it at the tables” and then lose it all at the slot machines on the way to the car. He’s also the only one in the group that wasn’t working a normal nine-to-five before the sudden tsunami of their current successes — and that’s because he’s never had a “real job. Not bad for a high school dropout,” he says through a smirk. Although Goner and his comrades’ aesthetic and rapport mirror that of a musical act freshly thrust into stardom, they’re actually the creators of Yuga Labs, a Web3 company. 

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Goner and his partners in creative crime — Gargamel, No Sass, and Emperor Tomato Ketchup — were inspired by the communities of crypto lovers that have blossomed on platforms like Twitter in recent years. Clearly, people with this once-niche interest craved a destination to gather, discuss blockchain-related developments, and hurl the most inside of inside jokes. Why not, they thought, give NFT collectors their own official home? And Bored Ape Yacht Club was born.

This summer, 101 of Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape Yacht Club tokens, which were first minted in early May, resold for $24.4 million in an auction hosted by the fine-art house Sotheby’s. Competitor Christie’s followed shortly thereafter, auctioning off an art collectors’ haul of modern-day artifacts — which included four apes — for $12 million. Around the same time, one collector bought a single token directly from OpenSea — kind of like eBay for NFTs — for $2.65 million. A few weeks later, another Sotheby’s sale set a new auction record for the most-valuable single Bored Ape ever sold: Ape number 8,817 went for $3.4 million. At press time, tokens related to the Bored Ape Yacht Club ecosystem — this includes the traditional apes, but also things called “mutant” apes and the apes’ pets — had generated around $1 billion. “My name’s not even Gordon,” says Goner, who, like the rest of Yuga Labs’ inner circle, chooses to hide his true identity behind a quirky pseudonym. “Gordon Goner just sounded like Joey Ramone. And that made it sound like I was in a band called the Goners. I thought that was fucking cool. But when we first started, I kept asking, ‘Are we the Beastie Boys of NFTs?’ Because, right after our initial success it felt like the Beastie Boys going on tour with Madonna: Everyone was like, ‘Who the fuck are these kids?’ ” (Funnily enough, Madonna’s longtime manager, Guy Oseary, signed on to rep the foursome about a month after Goner made this comment to Rolling Stone .) He’s referring to the commotion that immediately followed the first few days of Bored Ape Yacht Club’s existence, when sales were dismal. “Things were moving so slowly in that weeklong presale,” recalls Goner’s more soft-spoken colleague, Emperor Tomato Ketchup. “I think we made something between $30,000 and $60,000 total in sales. And then, overnight, it exploded. All of us were like, ‘Oh fuck, this is real now.’ ” The 10,000 tokens — each originally priced at 0.08 Ethereum (ETH), around $300 — had sold out. While the crypto community may have been asking who they were, the general public started wondering what all the fuss was about. Even Golden State Warriors player Stephen Curry started using his ape as his Twitter profile picture, for all of his 15.5 million followers to behold. 

Bored Ape art isn’t as valuable as it is because it’s visually pleasing, even though it is. It’s valuable because it also serves as a digital identity — for which its owner receives commercial usage rights, meaning they can sell any sort of spinoff product based on the art. The tokens, meanwhile, act like ID cards that give the owners access to an online Soho House of sorts — just a nerdier, more buck-wild one. Noah Davis, who heads up Christie’s online sales department for digital art, says that it’s the “perennial freebies and perks” that solidify the Bored Ape Yacht Club as “one of the most rewarding and coveted memberships.” “In the eyes of most — if not almost all of the art community — BAYC is completely misunderstood,” he says. However, within other tribes of pop culture, he continues, hugely prominent figures cherish the idea of having a global hub for some of the most “like-minded, tech-savvy, and forward-thinking individuals on the planet.” Gargamel is “a name I ridiculously gave myself based off the fact that my fiancée had never seen The Smurfs when we were launching this,” says Goner’s right-hand man, who looks kind of like a cross between the character he named himself after and an indie-music-listening liberal-arts school alum. He’s flabbergasted at the unexpected permanence of it all. “Now, I meet with CEOs of billion-dollar companies, and I’m like, ‘Hi, I’m Gargamel. What is it that you would like to speak to me about?’ ” 

The gang bursts out in laughter.

In conversing, Gargamel and Goner, whose relationship is the connective tissue that brought the others in, are mostly playful — but they do bicker, similar to how a frontman and lead guitarist might butt heads in learning to share the spotlight. They first met in their early twenties at a dive bar, in Miami, where they were both born and raised, and immediately started arguing about books. “He doesn’t like David Foster Wallace because he’s wrong about things,” Goner interjects, cheekily, as Gargamel attempts to tell their story. “He hasn’t even read Infinite Jest . He criticizes him, and yet he’s never read the book! He’s like, ‘Oh, it’s pretentious MFA garbage.’ No, it’s not.” Gargamel then points out that he has read other books by Wallace, while No Sass, who still hasn’t chimed in, flashes a half-smile that suggests they’ve been down this road more than once before. “I think, on the whole, he was the worst thing to happen to fucking MFA programs, given all the things people were churning out,” says Gargamel. They eventually decide to agree that Wallace, like J.D. Salinger, isn’t always interpreted correctly or taught well, and we move on — only after Goner points out the tattoos he got for Kurt Vonnegut and Charles Bukowski “at like 17,” but before diving too deep into postmodernist concepts. Goner and Gargamel’s relationship speaks to how the group operates as a whole, according to No Sass, whose name is self-explanatory. “There’s always a yin and yang going on,” he says. Throughout the call, No Sass continues to make sense of things and keep the others in check in an unwavering manner, positioning him as the backbone of the group — or our metaphorical drummer. “It’s like, I’ll come up with the idea that wins us the game,” Goner says, referencing his casino-traversing past. “And his job is to make sure we make it to the car park.” No Sass’ rhythm-section counterpart is clearly Tomato, the pseudo-band’s secret weapon who’s loaded with talent and harder to read. (He picked his name while staring at an album of the same name by English-French band Stereolab.) The project’s name, Bored Ape Yacht Club, represents a club for people who got rich quick by “aping in” — crypto slang for investing big in something unsure — and, thusly, are too bored to do anything but create memes and debate about analytics. The “yacht” part is coated in satire, given that the digital clubhouse the apes congregate in was designed to look like a dive bar in the swampy Everglades. 

Gargamel, whose college roommate started mining Bitcoin back in 2010, got Goner into crypto in 2017, when the latter was bedridden with an undisclosed illness, bored, and on his phone. “I knew he had a risk-friendly profile,” Gargamel says. “I said, ‘I’m throwing some money into some stupid shit here. You wanna get in this with me?’ He immediately took to it so hard, and we rode that euphoric wave of 2017 crypto up — and then cried all the way down the other side of the roller coaster.” At the start of 2021, they looked at modern relics like CryptoPunks and Hashmasks, which have both become a sort of cultural currency, and they looked at “crypto Twitter,” and wondered what would happen if they combined the collectible-art component with community membership via gamification. The idea was golden but they weren’t technologically savvy enough to know how to build the back end. So, Gargamel called up No Sass and Tomato, who both studied computer science at the same university he had attended for grad school. “I had no idea what was involved in the code for this,” Gargamel admits. “I read something that said something about Javascript, so I called them and said, ‘Do you guys know anything about Javascript?’ And that couldn’t be further from what you’re supposed to know.” While they were tech-savvy, No Sass and Tomato were not crypto-savvy. They both wrote their first lines of solidity code — a language for smart contracts — in February of this year. “I was like, ‘Just learn it! It’s going to be great. Let’s go,’ ” recalls Gargamel. “From a technical perspective, some of the stuff that we’ve built out has had relatively janky workflows, which people then seize upon, asking us how we did it,” says Tomato. “It’s actually stake-and-wire or whatever, but nobody else has done it.” A lot of “stress and fear” went into the first drop, according to No Sass: “We were constantly on the phone going, ‘Oh, shit, is this OK? Is it going to explode?’ ” He shakes his head. “I wish we still had simple NFT drops. We can pump those out superfast now.” “Every single thing we do scares the shit out of me,” adds Tomato.

They started out with unsharpened goals of capitalizing on a very clear trend. But a fter one particularly enervating night of incessant spitballing, Goner realized that all he really wanted was something to do and for like-minded people to talk to in an immersive, fantastical world. Virtual art was enticing, but it needed to do something too. “We’d see these NFT collections that didn’t have any utility,” Goner says. “That didn’t make any sense to me at the time, because you can cryptographically verify who owns these things. Why wouldn’t you offer some sort of utility?”

Gargamel told him the next day he loved the clubhouse idea so much that he’d want to do it even if it was a failure. They realized they just craved “a hilarious story to tell 10 years later,” Gargamel says. “I figured we’d say, ‘Yeah, we spent 40 grand and six months making a club for apes, but it didn’t go anywhere.’ And that’s how we actually started having fun in the process.” Goner chimes in: “Because at least we could say, ‘This is how we spent our summer. How ridiculous is that? We made the Bored Ape Yacht Club, and it was a total disaster.’ ”  Gargamel interjects to remind everyone that Tomato ended up reacting to their springtime victory by buying a Volvo, the memory of which incites another surge of laughter. They haven’t indulged in too many lavish purchases since then, but they all ordered Pelotons, Tomato bought a second Volvo, and they all paid their moms back for supporting them in becoming modern-day mad scientists. “I’ll never forget the night that we sold out,” says No Sass. “It was like two or three in the morning, and I hear my phone ring. I see that it’s Tomato and think something has gone terribly wrong. I pick up the phone and he’s like, ‘Dude, you need to wake up right now. We just made a million dollars.’ ” Nansen, a company that tracks blockchain analytics, reported that for one night Bored Ape Yacht Club had the most-used smart contract on Ethereum. “That’s absurd,” says Gargamel. “Uniswap [a popular network of decentralized finance apps] does billions and billions of transactions. But for that one night, we took over the world.” At press time, the foursome — let’s just go ahead and call them the Goners — had personally generated about $22 million from the secondary market alone. “Every time I talk to my parents about how this has blown up, they literally do not know what to say,” adds Tomato, whose mom started crying when he first explained what had happened.

Since its opening, the group has created pets for the apes via the Bored Ape Kennel Club, as well as the Mutant Ape Yacht Club. The latter was launched to expand the community to interested individuals who weren’t brave enough to “ape in” at the beginning: Yuga Labs unleashed 10,000 festering, bubbling, and/or oozing apes — complete with missing limbs and weird growths — via a surprise Dutch auction, which was used to deter bots from snatching up inventory by starting at a maximum price and working its way down. With a starting price of 3 ETH — or about $11,000 — this move opened up the playing field for about an hour, which is how long it took for the mutants to sell out. (The team also randomly airdropped 10,000 “serums,” which now pop up on OpenSea for tens of thousands of dollars, for pre-existing Apes to “drink” and thusly create zombified clones.) When they sold 500 tangible hats to ape-holders in June, the guys spent days packaging products in Gargamel’s mom’s backyard in Florida. “Immediately, some of them sold for thousands of dollars,” Gargamel exclaims. “It was a $25 hat. We were like, ‘Holy shit, we can be a Web3 streetwear brand. What does that even look like?’ ”

But the team is still searching for ways to create more value by building even more doors that the tokens can unlock. They recently surprised collectors with a treasure hunt; the winner received 5 ETH — worth more than $16,000 at press time — and another ape. And on Oct. 1, they announced the first annual Ape Fest, which runs from Oct. 31 through Nov. 6 and includse an in-person gallery party, yacht party, warehouse party, merch pop-up, and charity dinner in New York. Goner tells Rolling Stone that they’re currently discussing partnership ideas with multiple musical acts, but he refuses to reveal additional details in fear of jinxing things. Further down the line, the Goners see a future of interoperability, so that collectors can upload their apes into various corners of the metaverse: Hypothetically, an ape could appear inside a popular video game like Fortnite , and the user could dress it in digital versions of Bored Ape Yacht Club merch. “We want to encourage that as much as possible,” says Gargamel. “We’re making three-dimensional models of everybody’s ape now. But, y’know, making 10,000 perfect models takes a little bit of time.” At the start of the year, the guys had no idea their potentially disastrous idea would become a full-time job. They were working 14 hours a day to get the project up and running, and after the big drop, they decided to up that to 16 hours a day. “None of us have really slept in almost seven months now,” says Goner. “We’re teetering on burnout.” To avoid that, Yuga Labs has already put a slew of artists on staff and hired social media managers and Discord community managers, as well as a CFO. “We want to be a Web3 lifestyle company,” says Goner, who emphasizes that they’re still growing. “I’m a metaverse maximalist at this point. I think that Ready Player One experience is really on the cusp of happening in this world.” If Bored Ape Yacht Club is essentially this band of brothers’ debut album, there’s really no telling what their greatest hits will look like.

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Bored Ape Yacht Club: A complete and up-to-date overview of the revolutionary and leading NFT project

Table of contents

Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) is arguably the most influential NFT project in the world. For almost a year, it remained second only to CryptoPunks in terms of turnover. This collection led to the creation of other equally popular and large-scale projects: BAKC, MAYC, Otherside metaverse, ApeCoin. The history of BAYC is a living testament to how a couple of successful deals can change an entire market. If not for one prominent NFT influencer, BAYC might not exist at all. But more on that later.

Today’s review is about an amazing global success story that has led to over $2 billion in sales, NFT market dominance, and elite status.

Bored Ape Yacht Club Official Links

• Official site: https://boredapeyachtclub.com
• Twitter @BoredApeYC: over 1M followers,
• Discord @BoredApeYachtClub : over 209K subscribers,
• Instagram @boredapeyachtclub : over 700K subscribers.

What is Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)?

Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) is a fusion of digital collectibles and an exclusive online community. Each Bored Ape is a unique digital character, created with over 170 distinct traits such as clothing, expressions, and headwear.

Moreover, owning a Bored Ape grants membership to the elite community, unlocking exclusive benefits. The value of these perks depends on an individual’s engagement with the concept. For instance, members can access The Bathroom, a collaborative art space within the cryptosphere, allowing them to contribute to a digital wall painting experience.

A more substantial advantage is that Bored Ape NFT holders possess complete commercialization rights for their apes. This means if you own a Bored Ape, you have the freedom to use it for various commercial purposes. In addition, each community member has exclusive access to the annual IRL ApeFest and participates in the project’s airdrops. And this, believe us, turns this valuable investment asset into 2-3-4 additional digital assets.

In general, we won’t tell you everything at once. Therefore, this comprehensive, up-to-date guide to the most prestigious ecosystem is for you.

Bored Ape Yacht Club in numbers

• The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) comprises a limited collection of 10,000 unique NFTs, launched on April 29, 2021, at a mint price of 0.08 ETH (equivalent to $190).
• Presently, the collection is under the ownership of 5,546 distinct wallets, with 55% being unique owners.
• Notably, the floor price for these exclusive NFTs currently stands at around 26 ETH, translating to approximately $40,000.
• The sales volume of BAYC has surpassed a remarkable 1.3 million ETH, equivalent to a staggering $2.17 billion.
• The peak of its popularity was evident when the most expensive BAYC, numbered #8817, was sold at Sotheby’s for an astounding $3.4 million in late October 2021. In another remarkable auction, the Yuga Labs team successfully sold a lot of 101 NFTs for an impressive $24.4 million at Sotheby’s in September 2021.
• During the peak of the NFT craze in April 2021, the entry price for BAYC was as high as $400,000.
• Demonstrating its widespread appeal, a special edition of Rolling Stone magazine featuring a Bored Ape on the cover, limited to 2,500 copies, sold out within a mere four minutes at the beginning of November 2021.
• Interestingly, only a small fraction of the collection, approximately 2% (244 pieces out of 10,000), is currently available for sale. These listings range from 26 ETH to 5,000 ETH, indicating that the majority of holders view their BAYC assets as valuable long-term investments, showing no haste in parting with their prized possessions at lower prices. This steadfast confidence underlines the collective belief in the project’s enduring potential.

Thanks to all these records, the project is included in the TOP of the best NFT collections .

Data (including exchange rates) are given at the time of publication (October 18, 2023)

Bored Ape Yacht Club attributes

Every BAYC possesses distinct features (168), categorized into 7 main attributes, each having various versions:

• The background

Some attributes are rarer than others, which makes these monkeys more collectible. Therefore, they are more expensive than others. For example, apes with Solid gold fur are rarer and more expensive than others. The floor price for these NFTs has consistently remained above 330 ETH throughout their sales history, having been offered for sale only twice. This rarity is attributed to their substantial investment potential, promising far greater returns in the future compared to a quick but less rewarding sale.

What sets this collection apart? It stands as one of the initial projects meticulously hand-drawn by artists, deviating from the algorithm-generated images prevalent in other collections like the renowned CryptoPunks. This distinction marks their first and most significant departure from the CryptoPunks phenomenon.

Who created the Bored Ape Yacht Club?

Let’s delve into the origins of this journey. In a twist of fate, a group of friends came together to establish their startup venture. They named their team Yuga Labs , driven by the ambition to construct a media empire exclusively dedicated to NFTs. Crafting Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) marked their inaugural stride toward achieving this ambitious vision.

Initially, all developers at Yuga Labs operated under pseudonyms, a practice they maintained until BuzzFeed unmasked two of them in a February 2022 article.

And the aliases are:

• Gordon Goner @GordonGoner ,
• Gargamel @CryptoGarga ,
• Sass @SassBAYC ,
• Emperor Tomato Ketchup @TomatoBAYC .

It was revealed that Gargamel is, in fact, Greg Solano, an author and literary critic, while Gordon Goner goes by Wiley Aronov. Sass and Emperor Tomato Ketchup, whose real names are Zeshan and Kerem respectively, both work as software engineers.

Prior to their involvement with BAYC, Gargamel and Gordon Goner had minimal presence in the crypto community, lacking any prior development experience in the field. Despite their lack of experience, both individuals had been active traders since 2017. Tomato and Sass were newcomers to the world of NFTs and cryptocurrencies. Nevertheless, the four of them collaborated, forming Yuga Labs, and subsequently launched BAYC under this banner.

Regarding the creation of actual art, none of the founders were responsible. The primary artist for the original BAYC collection is a woman known by the pseudonym Seneca, or the All-Seeing Seneca. Additional contributors included artists such as Thomas Dugley, Migwasher, and a couple who preferred to remain anonymous.

Bored Ape Yacht Club success story

Before the inception of BAYC concept, the team at Yuga Labs was already immersed in project development. Yuga Labs realized that traditional art market concepts did not translate well into the digital realm. While paintings adorn living room walls, NFTs serve as social media profile pictures. Recognizing this shift, the team sought an “exclusive” feature for club members, giving rise to the idea of a yacht club.

Yuga Labs envisioned the club as a haven for early crypto and NFT pioneers, individuals who had ventured into the world of cryptography during its nascent stages. These early “apes,” having reaped the benefits of their earlier investments, found themselves in a leisurely state, spending their days on yachts or socializing in bars.

Reportedly, Yuga Labs swiftly attracted prominent crypto investors who backed this vision with their savings. With investments secured, the team commenced collection development, determining attributes, crafting illustrations, and securing a minting contract. The official release occurred on April 29, 2021, with NFTs initially priced at 0.08 ETH per ape (approximately $190 at that time). Initial sales were gradual, and by May 1, the momentum was still low.

However, the narrative took a dramatic turn when influential NFT personality, Pranksy , acquired nearly all the monkeys, announcing the purchase to his extensive Twitter following. This event catalyzed a rapid transformation; BAYC’s collection completely sold out within 12 hours.

Remarkably, the BAYC team emphasized in interviews that they had no prior contact with Pranksy before the sale. In the subsequent month, BAYC experienced a surge in secondary sales, marking the beginning of its rapid ascent.

Why is Bored Ape Yacht Club popular?

The widespread appeal of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) can be attributed to several key factors:

Celebrity and Mass Appeal

When influential figures or celebrities own NFTs, it creates a desire for others to own them too. Notable personalities such as Jimmy Fallon and Justin Bieber owning Bored Ape NFTs triggered a surge in sales and excitement. This celebrity endorsement generates hype, a driving force in the NFT market. People purchasing BAYC at high prices today anticipate its potential expansion beyond celebrity social media profiles, envisioning its presence in popular media like Netflix shows, renowned games, and Hollywood movies.

Community Engagement

The community surrounding the collection serves as a vital driving force. Members are drawn not only to the project’s existence but also to the exclusive privileges it offers, providing them a sense of belonging to an elite society alongside stars and celebrities. NFTs function as membership cards, granting access to exclusive groups. The more valuable people perceive their membership, the less inclined they are to sell their assets. Additionally, higher floor prices attract wealthy crypto traders, enhancing the community’s financial dynamics.

Long-term Project Viability

Unlike many projects in the market consisting solely of visual images and minimal backstory, BAYC stands out. After the initial collection release, the team expanded their initiatives, introducing two more collections, a governance token, and eventually, a metaverse. These interconnected projects are meticulously designed around the concept of monkeys, amplifying their value, significance, and impact. Notably, BAYC boasts a detailed project whitepaper outlining the team’s plans, providing transparency and assurance to investors about the project’s future trajectory.

BAYC’s value extends beyond mere collectibility, encompassing a robust social component.

Upon purchasing a BAYC token, buyers gain membership not just in the form of a token, but in an exclusive community of like-minded crypto enthusiasts. Membership privileges within this closed club continue to expand and currently include:

• Access to Exclusive Discord Server. Members join a private Discord server comprising over 30,000 individuals, including token holders and celebrities. This platform allows interaction and communication among the BAYC community members.
• Ownership and Commercial Use Rights. Owners of BAYC NFTs possess not only the rights to their virtual apes but also the commercial freedom to monetize these assets. Owners can generate income by licensing the images or creating products based on their NFTs. For instance, a BAYC member created a Twitter account for their monkey, inventing a backstory. This narrative led to the creation of a biography by New York Times author Neil Strauss, detailing the virtual valet Jenkins, an employee of the yacht club.
• Participation in Online and Offline Activities. BAYC members enjoy opportunities for both virtual and real-world engagement. They can attend exclusive events, including private parties. A notable offline event, Ape Fest, took place from October 31 to November 6, 2021, in New York. The festival featured diverse activities for monkey owners across the city, including a yacht party, charity dinners, and a concert featuring renowned personalities like Chris Rock, Aziz Ansari, and the Strokes. Over 700 attendees participated in these events. In June 2022, Ape Fest featured performances by artists like Eminem, Snoop Dogg, LCD Soundsystem, and Amy Schumer, further enhancing the unique experiences available to BAYC members. In 2023, ApeFest will be held in Hong Kong from November 3 to 5.

• The Bathroom serves as a digital canvas for Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) graffiti holders. Each NFT owner has the opportunity to contribute by drawing one pixel every fifteen minutes on a designated virtual wall.
• Access to derivative NFT collections. BAYC members gain exclusive entry to other NFT collections curated by Yuga Labs. Furthermore, they are eligible for free airdrops (we will talk about them below).

Remarkably, the creators managed to transform their monkeys into a cultural phenomenon. BAYC has transcended being merely an image; it now functions as a key to an exclusive community and serves as a status symbol. This transformation has led many individuals to invest substantial sums, ranging from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars, in these digital images.

Which celebrities own BAYC NFT?

Notably, BAYC has garnered significant attention from celebrities. A-listers prominently feature NFTs as their avatars on social media platforms, incorporate them into videos, and even participate in events dedicated to these digital creations. This widespread celebrity endorsement has introduced BAYC to hundreds of millions of people, further enhancing its popularity and reach.

Bored Ape owners include:

• American singer and show woman Paris Hilton,
• Pop legend Madonna,
• Singer Justin Bieber,
• Actor Kevin Hart,
• Broadcaster Jimmy Fallon,
• Musician Lil Baby,
• Rappers Snoop Dogg and Eminem, Post Malone and Jermaine Dupri,
• Billionaire Mark Cuban ,
• Basketball players Shaquille O’Neal, Stephen Curry, Josh Hart, LaMelo Ball and Tyrese Haliburton,
• American football stars Dez Bryant, Tom Brady and Von Miller,
• Musical groups The Chainsmokers and Waka Flocka Flame.
• Post Malone even managed to show the process of buying Bored Ape through the MoonPay app in a recent clip from The Weeknd – One Right Now. At the time of writing the video has received more than 106 million views on YouTube.

Imagine, we have listed only a small part of the celebrities who have invested large sums in these bizarre works.

Bored Ape Yacht Club ecosystem

The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) ecosystem is a thriving digital universe that combines exclusive NFT collectibles, vibrant community engagement, and innovative utility. With celebrities endorsing these NFTs and an expanding range of interactive experiences, the BAYC ecosystem stands as a pinnacle of creativity and community within the NFT space.

Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC)

Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) introduces a collection of 20,000 uniquely mutated apes, each boasting an array of distinctive physical flaws. These mutations range from eerie rotting features to curious growths and even blurry snouts, making each mutant ape a truly one-of-a-kind creation. Upon the launch of the Mutant Ape Yacht Club, owners of Bored Apes were gifted a unique “serum.” This serum could be fused with their existing Bored Ape, resulting in the creation of an entirely new Mutant Ape character.

The purpose behind their creation was to acknowledge the enthusiasm of BAYC owners for the community, while also enticing more collectors to join the ecosystem. The initial price of MAYC stood at 3 ETH, and astonishingly, the entire collection was sold out within just one hour in August 2021, generating a staggering $96 million for the project team.

What sets MAYC apart is the introduction of innovative “serums,” randomly distributed among users. These serums hold the power to transform ordinary Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) monkeys into unique MAYC mutants. The serums come in three distinct levels:

• M1 and M2 Serums: These serums allow users to create a mutant monkey with some resemblances to the original BAYC character. The mutations are noticeable yet maintain a connection to the ape’s origins.
• M3 Serum: The coveted M3 serum takes the concept further by enabling the creation of an entirely new mutant monkey. This serum enhances the ape’s uniqueness, resulting in a mutant creation that stands apart from the rest, making it a highly prized asset in the NFT realm.

• You can buy a token for a minimum of 4.8 ETH,
• Total sales exceeded 988K ETH (Over $1.5 billion),
• The most expensive MAYC #30002 was sold for 500 ETH,
• Over 11K unique owners (58%).

You can also check out our ranking of the rarest MAYC tokens.

Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC)

Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC) comprises 10,000 unique NFT dogs, each possessing distinctive traits. The collection is designed around a particular theme: a bored ape’s melancholy can be comforted by the presence of a faithful companion dog, bringing warmth and joy. Unlike the MAYC, the BAKC was exclusively offered to existing BAYC members. In June 2021, digital dogs were randomly distributed to BAYC owners for free as part of their perk – one dog for each BAYC. Within a limited timeframe, these members had the opportunity to “adopt” one of these 10,000 charming dogs. Notably, during the initial six weeks, a 2.5% royalty fee from secondary market sales was directed towards supporting no-kill animal shelters, adding a philanthropic aspect to the endeavor.

• You can buy a token for a minimum of 1.5 ETH,
• Total sales exceeded 273K ETH (Over $430k),
• The most expensive BAKC #5908 was sold for 50 ETH,
• Over 5K unique owners (53%).

ApeCoin Governance Token

ApeCoin ( $APE ) serves as the economic management token within the BAYC ecosystem, fostering community development. It operates as an ERC-20 token specifically designed to empower the community of bored monkeys. Yuga Labs, the brains behind the BAYC collection, has integrated ApeCoin across all its products and services.

Why is this relevant in our article? Well, 15% of the total coin supply was distributed to BAYC holders, enabling them to engage in lucrative trading activities on various prominent cryptocurrency exchanges.

• The total supply of $APE stands at 1 billion coins;
• The cryptocurrency’s market capitalization has surpassed $420 million;
• The value of a single Apecoin recently ranged from $1.1 to $2;
• The token reached its peak value on April 29, 2022, hitting $23.

Otherside Metaverse

On March 19, 2022, Yuga Labs took the virtual world by storm, unveiling a captivating trailer for the highly anticipated Otherside metaverse via their official Twitter account. Unlike anything seen before, this metaverse is a masterpiece of gamification, combining elements of role-playing games with iconic characters from popular NFT collections including BAYC, MAYC, CryptoPunks, Meebits , World of Women , Cool Cats and others blue chips.

What sets Otherside apart is its unique collaboration with industry giants Animoca Brands and Improbable, promising a groundbreaking virtual experience. In this immersive metaverse, NFT enthusiasts can interact with digital assets from well-known collections, creating an interconnected universe of creativity and innovation.

However, what truly sets Otherside apart from the rest is its ambitious endeavor to create a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) metaverse. This bold step aims to seamlessly integrate diverse NFT universes, providing players with an unparalleled gaming experience that transcends traditional boundaries.  

Today, Otherside is a strategic priority for the entire ecosystem, as recently confirmed by the company’s CEO, pointing out strategic focuses .

How much do BAYC cost?

In April, 2021 the mint price was 0.08 ETH ($190). To visualize the price growth, we made a cut at the average price for 1 NFT:

• In August 2021: 24 ETH;
• In October 2021: 62 ETH;
• In January 2022: 116 ETH;
• In May 2022: 159 ETH;
• In August 2022: 120 ETH;
• In January 2023: 75 ETH;
• In August 2023: 28 ETH.

Now (October 2023) the floor price is 26 ETH. On average, the latest sales are in the range of 24-40 ETH. To date, the sales volume has surpassed a remarkable 1.3 million ETH, equivalent to a staggering $2.17 billion.

The most expensive BAYC sales

• In September 2021, Yuga Labs achieved a significant milestone by selling a collection of 101 NFTs for an impressive $24.4 million at Sotheby’s.
• #8817 fetched an astonishing $3.4 million at Sotheby’s by the close of October 2021, further solidifying the club’s status as a coveted and valuable collection in the NFT market.
• #7537 sold on June 15, 2022 for 1024 ETH ($1.2M at time of purchase).
• #6388 sold on July 9, 2022 for 869.69 ETH ($1M at time of purchase).
• #232 sold on November 23, 2022 for 800 ETH ($947k at time of purchase).

You can also see our ranking of the most expensive , rarest and most popular BAYC NFTs.

Where to buy Bored Ape Yacht Club?

In early April 2021, the NFTs were at their peak and quickly sold out. Now they can only be bought in secondary markets. You can see all NFTs available for sale on their page only on the marketplaces:

• LooksRare ,

How to buy Bored Ape Yacht Club?

Wondering how to become a part of the Bored Ape Yacht Club community? Here’s a simple guide:

• Connect Your Crypto Wallet: Start by linking your crypto wallet, ensuring secure storage for your digital assets.
• Visit the Official Collection: Locate the official Bored Ape Yacht Club collection. You can find links to official accounts in the previous paragraph.
• Choose Your NFT: Explore the collection to find the specific NFT you wish to purchase. Click on the NFT and then hit the “Buy” button.
• Place a Bid (Optional): Alternatively, you can place a bid on the token you like. Ensure you have enough ETH to cover gas or transaction fees. If the seller accepts your bid, the transaction will proceed.
• Congratulations!: Once the deal is confirmed, you officially become a valued member of the Yuga Labs community. Enjoy your newfound privileges!

Collaborations and news about BAYC

This extensive review would be incomplete if we did not touch on important news about the project itself. So, below are the largest of them.

• In October 2021, Yuga Labs inked a deal with renowned music manager Guy Osiri, known for his collaborations with Madonna and U2. Osiri’s agency, Maverick Records, will serve as the representative for BAYC in the realms of film, television, and music.
• Following suit, in November 2021, music powerhouse Universal Music revealed its intentions to create a virtual metaverse centered around NFT apes. Additionally, they announced the promotion of a virtual group named Kingship, comprised of three rare Bored Ape members and one Mutant Ape.

• In November 2021, American rapper and producer Timbaland made a significant move by purchasing multiple BAYCs and establishing Ape-In Productions. This company and platform are dedicated to crafting content for various metaverse applications, specifically those incorporating BAYC visuals. Timbaland’s venture introduced TheZoo, a virtual group comprised of six Bored Ape members. The label debuted their inaugural track, “ApeSh!t,” accompanied by a music video in March 2021.

• In early November 2021, the renowned magazine Rolling Stone unveiled an exclusive NFT cover showcasing a Bored Ape. Limited to 2,500 copies, this special edition sold out within a mere four minutes, emphasizing its immense popularity.

• In December, 2021, Adidas launched its first NFT project, Into The Metaverse , in collaboration with several Bored Ape Yacht Club, Punk Comics, and NFT influencer Gmoney . Collaboration between Adidas and BAYC is coming soon on both virtual and physical wear.
• In June 2022, Snoop Dogg and Eminem launched a fresh track and music video featuring the Bored Apes collaboration. Both artists took on the persona of animated monkeys in the video. As of the latest update, the official channel has amassed over 88 million views for this captivating collaboration.

• In July, 2023, Yuga Labs launched network licensing for BAYC and MAYC brands called “ Made by Apes ”. Owners of these NFTs can officially register their goods, services or company under the NFT brand based on a unique online license.
• On August, 2023, Snoop Dogg and the world-famous shoe brand Skechers presented a collaboration in the form of a limited collection of street shoes called Dr. Bombay featuring a leopard BAYC. A total of 5 models in the collection with elements of leopard style and a large image of a leopard NFT ape. The cost is from 75 to 100 dollars.
• In September, 2023, the team has revealed its latest collaboration with the legendary Japanese streetwear brand BAPE . The collaboration will feature an extremely limited collection available exclusively to the community. The collaboration will feature an extremely limited collection available exclusively to the community. The premiere will take place at ApeFest 2023 in Hong Kong.
• In September, 2023, Yuga Labs announced The Yacht Club Open House IRL event. This inaugural event, designed to welcome non-members, promises a day filled with panel talks, immersive encounters, and the chance to connect with web3 creators, collectors, and the crypto-curious.

The Future of Bored Ape Yacht Club

Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) has undeniably made its mark on the NFT and blockchain landscapes, but its journey is far from over. Looking ahead, we can expect BAYC to not just maintain its momentum but also soar to even greater heights.

BAYC has transcended into a cultural phenomenon, and its popularity is set to surge as more individuals get acquainted with its unique appeal. Several factors, such as the growing acceptance of NFTs, the metaverse’s rising popularity, and the steadfast support from its vibrant community, will act as the driving force behind its continued expansion.

In the realm of blockchain, BAYC is positioning itself as the most major player. The club’s potential lies in its ability to innovate, constantly introducing groundbreaking products and services. Through strategic partnerships and collaborations, BAYC could reshape how we engage with digital assets and virtual experiences, setting new standards in the industry.

BAYC’s future is remarkably promising. Its current success, combined with ongoing innovations, suggests a future where BAYC will wield significant influence over the NFT and blockchain sectors. Keep an eye on this space; exciting developments are undoubtedly on the horizon.

Should you invest in Bored Ape Yacht Club?

In the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrencies and NFTs, the Bored Ape Yacht Club has emerged as a significant player, capturing the attention of investors and enthusiasts alike. The question on many minds is: Should you invest in Bored Ape Yacht Club?

At its core, BAYC is not just a collection of unique and artistic NFTs; it represents a thriving community and a cultural phenomenon. The exclusivity and creativity embedded in each Bored Ape make them highly coveted digital assets. With celebrities, influencers, and notable personalities endorsing BAYC, its popularity has skyrocketed, leading to substantial market demand.

Investing in these NFTs offers the allure of potential profits, especially given its historical price trends and the ever-expanding NFT market. The limited supply of 10,000 Bored Apes ensures their rarity, a key factor driving their value. Additionally, BAYC’s foray into the metaverse and collaborations with renowned artists and musicians hint at its potential for long-term growth and innovation.

However, like any NFT investment , BAYC comes with risks. The volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market means prices can fluctuate rapidly. Potential investors must conduct thorough research, understanding the market trends, community dynamics, and the overall utility of BAYC within the NFT ecosystem.

In conclusion, investing in Bored Ape Yacht Club can be a lucrative venture for those willing to navigate the complexities of the crypto world. With its strong community, unique value proposition, and continuous developments, BAYC stands as a compelling investment opportunity. As always, diversification and a well-informed approach are key when considering any investment in the digital realm.

Opinion of NFTmetria

In the vast sea of NFT collections, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) has emerged as a beacon of exclusivity and innovation. While countless NFT projects come and go, only a select few truly capture the public’s imagination, and BAYC stands firmly among them. Its unprecedented popularity can be attributed to several key factors, making it a standout choice for both collectors and investors.

• Celebrity Allure and Social Status: One of the driving forces behind BAYC’s meteoric rise is the endorsement by celebrities and influencers. When influential figures, like Jimmy Fallon and Justin Bieber, proudly display their Bored Apes, it creates a hype that resonates far beyond the crypto community. BAYC serves not just as a digital art collection, but as a social symbol, a pass to an exclusive club where social status intertwines with digital ownership.
• Active Community and Social Component: BAYC has redefined the concept of NFT ownership. It’s no longer just about owning a piece of digital art; it’s about being part of a thriving community. The active engagement within the BAYC community fosters a sense of belonging, turning mere token holders into active participants in a digital society. This social component, where digital assets mirror real-world social interactions, is reshaping the way we perceive ownership in the digital realm.
• A Glimpse into the Future: While BAYC is undeniably a form of conspicuous consumption, it also serves as a trailblazer for the crypto sector. Its success raises an intriguing question: Could blockchain technology find its true calling in the realm of entertainment, paving the way for a future where digital experiences hold as much value as physical possessions? As mass adoption of blockchain technology inches closer, BAYC’s unique blend of art, social interaction, and celebrity endorsement might very well point the way forward.

In the ever-evolving landscape of cryptocurrencies and NFTs, Bored Ape Yacht Club stands as a testament to the potential of digital assets beyond financial investments. Its allure goes beyond monetary value; it represents a cultural shift where the digital and physical worlds intersect. As we witness the unfolding chapters of blockchain technology, BAYC offers a tantalizing glimpse into what the future might hold – a future where our digital lives are as rich and meaningful as our physical ones. Only time will reveal the full extent of this transformative journey.

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Bored Ape Yacht Club and its multibillion-dollar ApeCoin, explained: What they are and how investors got rich

NFTs jumped into the mainstream last year, and some of the most popular collections rose to celebrity status.

Foremost among them is a bored-looking ape avatar, with thousands of unique varieties in terms of appearance.

In 2021, countless celebrities bought an NFT from the Bored Ape Yacht Club , including late-night talk show host Jimmy Fallon, tennis star Serena Williams, and pop star Justin Bieber. Thursday’s release of ApeCoin , a cryptocurrency that was “airdropped” for free to all holders of a Bored Ape NFT, brought renewed—and new—attention to the line of unamused-profile-picture–style NFTs.

The ApeCoin token surged as much as 90% in just its second day of trading, and CoinMarketCap said APE had a $3.7 billion market cap as of early Friday afternoon.

But what is Bored Ape Yacht Club, and how is it helping NFT collectors get rich?

What makes a Bored Ape valuable?

Bored Ape Yacht Club, or BAYC, is a top-selling series of NFTs owned by Yuga Labs. The NFT collection had anonymous creators until February, when BuzzFeed News reported that they were Greg Solano, a 32-year-old writer and editor, and Wylie Aronow, a 35-year-old from Florida. 

It’s customary in the NFT space for creators to maintain this kind of anonymity, which raises questions about fair payment.

For instance, the BAYC creators came up with the idea of rich apes living in a swamp clubhouse, then hired freelance artists to design the apes, and partnered with two engineers, whose identities are still unknown, to launch the NFT project. Rolling Stone reported that one of the primary visual artists, who goes by the alias Seneca, had no idea they were such a big—and profitable hit—until Googling “Bored Apes” months later. Yuga CEO Nicole Muniz told BuzzFeed that each of the original five BAYC artists were “compensated over $1 million.”  

There are 10,000 original Bored Ape NFTs, each with a different combination of features like fur color, background color, outfits, and accessories that make each one unique. All share the same uninterested look. These features give each ape a certain value, depending on how many apes also share the same characteristics.

For example, one of the rarest NFTs in the collection, Bored Ape #7495 , has a dagger in its mouth, a feature that only 48 other apes have, according to the NFT marketplace OpenSea . 

A non-fungible ape on the blockchain

What gives the Bored Apes their underlying value, though, is the blockchain technology on which they are built. The apes are NFTs, or non-fungible tokens , which means that every ape is a unique item with a single owner. The owner of each ape is recorded on the blockchain, a digital and transparent ledger where everyone can see who owns a particular NFT. Whenever the NFT is purchased, sold, or transferred, a new entry is added to the blockchain, updating the ownership details.

A combination of NFT technology, eye-catching art, and some hype have propelled prices of Bored Apes into the six figures . The lowest price for a Bored Ape was about $262,630 as of Thursday, according to DappRadar , which tracks NFT prices. 

Some Bored Apes have even sold for millions of dollars. In January, Bored Ape #232 sold for 1,080.69 tokens of the Ether cryptocurrency, or about $2.85 million at the time. From the original collection, Yuga Labs has built upon the popularity of Bored Ape Yacht Club with a newer series launched last August called Mutant Ape Yacht Club.

Owning a Bored Ape is now the epitome of NFT coolness for many. Holding the NFT can give you access to an exclusive Discord server with some celebrity owners, as well as free perks like additional NFTs or tokens from the BAYC ApeCoin launch this week . Bored Ape owners can also show off their NFT as their profile picture on Twitter with a Twitter Blue subscription.

Owning a Bored Ape is becoming increasingly lucrative, as seen with ApeCoin’s skyrocketing rise in the past two days. As Fortune ’s Taylor Locke reported , Nathan Head, a 25-year-old NFT artist and collector, made $75,000 from an ApeCoin sale on the day of the token’s release, when the token was trading at about $6.80. Had he held on, his ape-themed crypto would have been worth more than $431,000. 

While he said it makes him a “little bit sick” to think about how much more he could have made, the money was still “life-changing.” And he’s holding on to his ape.

“I’ve had my ape for nine months, and it is probably the best investment I have ever made in my life. I initially purchased it on a bit of a whim,” Head said. “I honestly don’t know if I would ever sell my Ape, even though it’s worth more money than I have ever had in fiat. It truly feels like being in a very cool club that comes with a lot of very valuable freebies and opportunities.”

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Bored Apes as NFTs: What is the Bored Ape Yacht Club?

Bayc is one of the hallmark nft collections and a billion-dollar ecosystem. this forkast explainer explores the cartoon primates and what makes them so special..

What do Eminem, Serena Williams, Stephen Curry, Shaquille O’Neal and Justin Bieber all have in common? Each celebrity owns at least one of 10,000 Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible tokens (NFTs) , one of the most popular digital collections in the world.

NFTs exist on the blockchain. They are publicly traceable and present the first solution for proving digital ownership rights of digital assets. Due to their programmability, they are gaining adoption in the content creator space, music, real estate and other industries.

NFTs Explained in Less than 4 Minutes

Below, we’ll take a deep dive into the BAYC NFT collection, its utility, and what makes individual collectors and companies dish out millions of dollars for these digital images. This Forkast explainer will explore:

What is the Bored Ape Yacht Club?

What makes bayc nfts so valuable, how to buy a bored ape nft, where is the bored ape yacht club heading in the future.

The Bored Ape Yacht Club, or BAYC, is the largest NFT avatar by market capitalization .

The BAYC collection consists of 10,000 unique NFTs, algorithmically generated from over 172 possible traits which determine each ape’s rarity. Some of the most sought-out features include laser eyes on 69 apes, blue beams on 49 apes, solid gold fur on 46 apes, and “ Bored Unshaven Pizza ” mouth, of which only 26 specimens exist. The more rare traits an ape image possesses, the more valuable the NFT. The collective value of trading in BAYC on the OpenSea marketplace amounted to over 466,000 ETH (US$1.4 billion), according to data collected as of March 2022.

Aside from their widespread use as social media profile pictures, what makes the BAYC collection special is their utility. The NFTs represent membership to the Bored Ape Yacht Club — a digital club with members-only access and benefits. For example, membership provides access to THE BATHROOM , a collaborative graffiti board that’s only accessible to MetaMask wallets holding Bored Apes. Members will also gain additional benefits as the BAYC roadmap progresses.

The Bored Ape project was developed by the four pseudonymous co-founders of Yuga Labs — Gargamel , Gordon Goner , Emperor Tomato Ketchup and No Sass . The collection lives on the Ethereum blockchain as ERC-721 tokens and is hosted on IPFS.

The BAYC collection offers exclusive access to the Yacht Club, a members-only merchandise store, and an exclusive Discord server. BAYC holders have access to additional NFTs, such as a free Bored Ape Kennel Club . Yuga Labs provided BAYC golfers with a free mutant serum, which generated a Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFT for Bored Ape owners. More recently, MAYC and BAYC owners were airdropped the ApeCoin cryptocurrency . In a sense, holding a BAYC is like an ongoing subscription to new NFTs and assets.

Another element is its community appeal. BAYC holders have actively been showcasing their NFTs as profile pictures on social media.

Yehudah Petscher, a strategist at NFT data aggregator CryptoSlam, told Forkast that the BAYC collection can be considered unique for the popularity it has attracted. “This is what makes BAYC so strong,” Petscher said. “They capture a moment in time where NFTs were starting to become relevant in a mainstream way, and owning one is owning a piece of that moment.”

The third reason these NFTs are so valuable is that they’re seen as status symbols owing to their high cost of ownership. As the global Covid-19 pandemic drove accelerated digital adoption, NFTs became assets to showcase socioeconomic status.

As for the collection’s appeal to some of the world’s wealthiest artistic performers and athletes, Petscher believes it may help extend their celebrity brands. “Some careers require a person to be relevant, so what better way to do that than owning the most well-known NFT in the world,” he said. “BAYC is cool, and everyone wants the cool thing.”

Bored Ape NFTs were made available to the public for 0.08 ETH during an initial sale in April 2021, which saw the entire collection snapped up within 12 hours. The images are currently changing hands on NFT marketplaces like OpenSea. Users can simply browse through the BAYC collection , which boasts a high floor price.

Bored Ape buyers will need an Ethereum wallet, like MetaMask. Potential buyers can choose to either purchase at auctions or through listings that set a fixed price on NFT marketplaces.

Many believe that BAYC is gradually transcending the blockchain. In December BAYC announced it was co-developing a play-to-earn game with Animoca Brands . Another focus is the “Mysterious Note” which begins a treasure hunt for 5 ETH and a Bored Ape NFT.

In January the members-exclusive BAYC x MAYC mobile game was released, beginning a 10-day competition wherein the top 1,000 players will be rewarded with BAYC merchandise. The competition created a lot of buzz around BAYC and Ape Fest 2022, a four-day event kicking off June 20 in Manhattan, exclusively for BAYC holders. The event was recently rescheduled to coincide with NFT.NYC , an NFT event that is expected to draw more than 5,500 attendees.

The recent launch of the ApeCoin governance token has followed announcements such as the Otherside metaverse and gaming project.

“The project itself will then be turned over to the community, and it will be the responsibility of the holders to shape the future of the BAYC. Perhaps this is where the celebrity holders will really pay off for the brand,” Petscher said.

Big companies are also starting to adopt Bored Ape NFTs. In September Adidas purchased BAYC #8774 for 46 ETH, or US$156,000. The image is now displayed as the company’s Twitter profile. In December Adidas announced its metaverse ambitions in partnership with NFT collections BAYC, Punks Comic, and NFT collector Gmoney . The company also released its first NFT collection known as Adidas Originals into the Metaverse .

In January, Twitter introduced NFT profile picture verification, providing another shot in the arm for the BAYC collection. Analysts expect BAYC will likely see continued interest from crypto investors and celebrities alike as NFTs gain widespread acceptance and adoption.

Author profile

Zoltan vardai.

Zoltan is a writer at Forkast with a deep passion for storytelling and blockchain. Prior to joining the team, he worked as a marketing and content writer, focused on software and technology. Zoltan holds a master’s degree from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and is interested in the future of global financial decentralization.

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Nft avatars in a nutshell, so what's up with the monkey business, ok, but why are they worth anything, celebrities are going bananas for bored apes, why are nfts exploding.

If you're scratching your head at the deluge of Gorillaz-style monkey avatars everywhere on the web, congratulations! You've just had your first encounter with the Bored Ape Yacht Club , and it might make even less sense than you imagine.

Before we can even touch what the whole Bored Ape thing is about, you need to know a few fundamental things about NFTs or Non-fungible Tokens. We'll go over the least you need to know for it all to make sense, but you can check out our NFT explainer  for the complete rundown.

Related: What Are NFTs? Meet Crypto's Digital Collectibles

NFTs are cryptographic tokens on a blockchain . A blockchain is a public record of transactions that can't be altered. Blockchains are usually decentralized, which means that no one owns or controls them.

A "token" on a blockchain is a unique string of numbers that can be assigned to a "wallet", which is in turn controlled by someone. NFTs are non-fungible tokens because each one is totally unique. That's as opposed to a dollar bill, which can be exchanged for any other dollar bill without changing anything about its value. Gold, money, and bananas are all fungible.

The avatars you see online aren't the actual NFTs! Instead, each of those images is associated with a specific NFT. A third-party entity, such as the OpenSea marketplace , maintains a record of the images and which token represents them.

The last thing you need to know is that NFTs can be traded, or sold for currencies such as US dollars, Bitcoin , or Ethereum. The last one is pretty important because NFTs are generally "minted" on the Ethereum blockchain .

The Bored Ape avatars are a type of NFT image known as a "generative" image. There are various takes on this and NFT pioneers Larvalabs , famous for their similar Cryptopunks avatars , are possibly the earliest example before the boom.

Essentially, an outfit like Larvalabs will generate a set of avatar images using a random generation method that mixes and matches character art elements almost like a video game character creator. This ensures that every image is unique. You can look at it as a set of trading cards, but there's only one copy of each card in the set.

Once the initial run of NFTs is purchased from the creators of the set, the monkey-trading begins. Owners of these NFTs can put them up for sale and see if there are any takers, and boy have there been some takers. Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT sales have totaled over 1 billion dollars alone. The current record for a Bored Ape NFT is $3.4 million , although more typically they sell in the hundreds of thousands.

The simplest answer to this is because people say they are worth something. This might sound a little trite, but the truth is that value is subjective. Humans tend to value things that are scarce or unique more than things that are commonplace and plentiful. We have irrational attachments to certain things too. A perfect replica of Elvis Presley's white jumpsuit might be worth a few hundred bucks, but the one that Elvis actually wore is worth more than a million dollars .

The real-world examples of things that have little intrinsic value (e.g. Issue 1 of Action Comics), but then sell for insane amounts . NFTs are worth what people are willing to pay for them, the hard part was convincing people to buy them in the first place, which is easier if you have a little help from a famous friend!

Whether we like to admit it or not, celebrities and other influencers have an effect on how we live our lives and, in particular, how we spend our money. This is at least partly because of the " halo effect " where one positive trait (such as being a beautiful actor) makes us think of someone as having other positive traits, such as intelligence or trustworthiness.

It's hard to tell if a tweet like this one by Gwyneth Paltrow or a weird interview between Jimmy Fallon and Paris Hilton  are the result of sincere enthusiasm or cynical profit, but they provide the social proof members of the public who are confused about NFTs need to take an interest in them.

Celebrity involvement in NFTs, especially the Bored Ape Yacht Club, also makes sense thanks to extra perks that come with Yacht Club membership. For example, there's an exclusive Discord server, and you might get invited to exclusive parties where you might run into famous Bored Ape owners such as Eminem  (who spent $462 000 on his Bored Ape) or Snoop Dogg 

Whether it's a Bored Ape, a Crypto Punk, or a Lazy Lion , there's no denying that NFTs like these are white-hot right now. It's easy to fall into the trap of assigning a single reason why that might be the case, but in the real world any trend usually has multiple drivers. We'll probably never know what's behind the perfect storm that blew up NFTs into a mainstream, late-night TV topic, but there are a few likely factors.

For one thing, in world of mass production, owning anything that's one-of-a-kind---even a string of charaters on a computer!---has a certain allure. Some people encrust their iPhones in diamonds , too.

Being part of an exclusive club is also a potent motivator. A crypto yacht club is ultimately the same as a real yacht club, and it seldom has anything to do with yachts.

Lastly, NFTs are a goldrush. Just as with cryptocurrencies, people want to get in early and make their fortunes from those who are late to the party---a party which they now have the required ticket to join.

• Cutting Edge

MIAMI--( BUSINESS WIRE )--Yuga Labs, the creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club, along with game developer and publisher Faraway, have announced the global launch of Dookey Dash: Unclogged . The game was made available in select regions ahead of today’s global release. Unlike the original game which required an NFT to play, the sequel is open to the public, giving anyone the opportunity to enter a seasonal tournament with over $1 million in prizes.

Yuga Labs released the original Dookey Dash in January 2023 and required ownership of a Sewer Pass NFT to play. Players with the highest scores qualified for rewards, which included the top prize of a digital one-of-one Golden Key awarded to Twitch streamer Mongraal, who sold the key for $1.6M.

“The first release had an amazing response, so it made sense to expand beyond web3. Dookey Dash: Unclogged is a casual, intuitive game that anyone can enjoy, but the token-gating can be a restrictive entry point. In the sequel, anyone can play whether they are an NFT-holder or not,” said Faraway Chief Product Officer Spencer Tucker.

Players who don’t qualify for the seasonal tournament still have ample opportunities to win each week with competitions for other prizes. In-game content such as boosts, coins, and skins round out the rewards in both weekly and seasonal competitions.

Dookey Dash: Unclogged is not just a game; it's a gateway. “This is how we get Yuga and Bored Ape Yacht Club into a million pockets. For the first time, we’re opening up the ecosystem to anyone with a mobile device,” added Yuga Labs CEO Greg Solano.

New to Dookey Dash: Unclogged is the “creator mode” feature. The integration of Faraway’s Creator Suite empowers players to upload 3D models or 2D art and create on-chain avatars, vehicles, stickers, and more as playable in-game content. These assets can be sold on Faraway’s Shop and used in over 9,000 gaming experiences, providing monetization opportunities for creators and interoperable owned content for players.

“Whether you’re a pro gunning for the ultimate prize, a casual gamer looking to enjoy the campaign, or a content creator looking to build your brand and monetize your work, Dookey Dash has something for everyone,” said Yuga Labs CEO Greg Solano.

The game’s first season kicks off today with weekly recurring in-game leaderboard events where players compete for Golden Plungers, an in-game asset that grants the player access to an end-of-season esports tournament where qualified players compete for $1 million in prizes.

About Yuga Labs

Yuga Labs is the leading web3 lifestyle and media company offering creative brand IP/NFT projects, gaming, and community experiences. Guided by the belief that the potential of web3 can be realized when we start with imagination, not limitations, Yuga’s initiatives aim to reinvent what NFTs look like and push the space forward as a whole. Yuga Labs’ mission is to build culture on the blockchain, and owns the IP to the most significant projects in web3, including Bored Ape Yacht Club, MAYC, CryptoPunks, 10KTF, Meebits, and PROOF Collective.

Since their launch in April 2021 with flagship collection Bored Ape Yacht Club, they’ve made headlines as one of the first companies to release IP licenses to their NFT holders, acquired and released rights to other top collections (CryptoPunks and Meebits), and made web3 history with record-breaking synchronized player participation in Otherside. One of the most ambitious interactive metaverse projects to date, Otherside is built with the community, rebelling against traditional walled gardens in gaming spaces.

About Faraway

Founded by veterans from Glu Mobile and Scopely, game developer and publisher Faraway is building the premier interoperable gaming ecosystem that combines original IP, a robust developer platform, and a portfolio of games that spans a wide audience of players and features interoperable player-owned content. Games within the Faraway ecosystem include Mini Royale: Nations, Legends of the Mara, Dookey Dash: Unclogged, HV-MTL, Shatterline, Rebel Skies, Serum City, and more. Faraway is backed by a16z, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, Pantera Capital, among other top funds in gaming and crypto.

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• Yuga Labs on X

Les NFT sont-ils déjà morts ?

Les NFT ont connu un succès retentissant lors de la dernière hausse du marché des cryptomonnaies. Mais, depuis deux ans, c’est le calme plat. Tandis que les marques se retirent discrètement, une grande partie des tokens non fongibles sont considérés comme morts. L’écosystème NFT est-il déjà tombé dans l’oubli ? On fait le point.

Il y a un peu plus de trois ans, les NFT (non fongible tokens) ont connu un succès monstre. Porté par un marché crypto en hausse, le monde des œuvres d’art enregistrées sur la blockchain s’est fortement développé. Une montagne de collections phares est arrivée sur les blockchains, dans le sillage des singes des Bored Ape Yacht Club de Yuga Labs .

Retour sur le boom des NFT

Certaines œuvres se sont vendues pour des sommes astronomiques. On se souvient notamment du NFT du premier tweet de l’Histoire par Jack Dorsey, qui s’est vendu pour près de 3 millions de dollars, ou de la création de l’artiste Beeple “Everydays: The First 5000 days”, partie aux enchères pour 69 millions de dollars. À son apogée, le marché des NFT représentait plus de 3,2 milliards de dollars d’échanges hebdomadaires, pour une valorisation frôlant les 30 milliards de dollars.

Une multitude d’influenceurs, de stars et de personnalités se sont mises à collectionner les NFT. Sur les réseaux sociaux, ils sont plusieurs à avoir changé leur photo de profil pour des images de singes ou encore des Cryptopunks. Tandis que les NFT devenaient progressivement incontournables , avec des œuvres vendues dans des maisons d’enchères comme Sotheby’s ou Christie’s, les marques se sont promptement mises à adopter les jetons non fongibles. Plusieurs marques ont annoncé des collections de NFT à l’effigie de leurs produits. C’est le cas de Porsche, des Schtroumpfs , de Picard, de Renault ou de la Française des Jeux.

On se souviendra aussi et surtout des ambitions affichées par Meta . Sous l’impulsion de Mark Zuckerberg, Meta a fait des NFT l’une des pierres angulaires de son métavers. L’entreprise voulait que tous les objets numériques présents dans Horizon Worlds, le métavers en réalité virtuelle qui peine à décoller, soient des NFT. Contraint de revoir ses ambitions à la baisse pour des raisons économiques et stratégiques, Meta a graduellement passé les NFT sous silence. Comme le métavers, les NFT sont devenus peu à peu des sujets tabous chez Meta.

En 2024, les marques prennent du recul

Trois ans plus tard, le marché s’est effondré. D’après les données de The Block, le marché n’a enregistré qu’entre 50 et 100 millions de dollars d’échanges par semaine au cours du mois d’aout 2024. Les marques ont pris du recul avec les tokens non fongibles. Courant 2024, de nombreuses enseignes ont en effet mis sur pause toutes les initiatives impliquant des NFT.

C’est le cas de Lacoste. Cet été, la marque de prêt-à-porter a annoncé un revirement de taille dans sa stratégie NFT . Lacoste a en effet décidé de tirer un trait sur ses collections, baptisées UNDW3 ou  The Emerge. Pour mémoire, Lacoste s’était fait remarquer en 2022 avec une collection d’objets numériques offrant des accès exclusifs à des évènements de marque.

Prudent, Lacoste a préféré revoir l’initiative en assurant que « le projet ne prend pas fin, mais évolue vers une initiative plus large qui vise à offrir une expérience plus inclusive et accessible à tous les fans de la marque ». Par contre, Lacoste a commis l’erreur de supprimer tous les réseaux sociaux et les sites consacrés à ses NFT. Ce retrait brutal a fortement heurté les investisseurs. Ils sont nombreux à avoir accusé Lacoste d’avoir voulu enterrer l’initiative sans considération pour les détenteurs de NFT.

Il y a en fait énormément de marques qui ont pris leurs distances avec leurs projets NFT. Citons aussi Picard, Renault, Roland Garros ou la Française des Jeux. Ces entreprises ont progressivement mis un terme à leurs projets NFT. Dans ce contexte, on peut légitimement s’interroger sur l’avenir des tokens non fongibles. Après un démarrage en trombe, les NFT sont-ils condamnés à tomber dans l’oubli ?

Pour décrypter l’évolution du monde des NFT, 01Net est entré en contact avec Maxime L., analyste spécialisé dans les tokens non fongibles. Celui-ci est arrivé dans l’univers des NFT en 2018, aux prémices du boom des NFT.

« J’ai pu voir en fait toute l’évolution du début, le pic de 2021 et puis après comment ça a évolué » , nous relate l’analyste, qui vient d’annoncer une prise de recul par rapport au monde des NFT.

96 % des NFT sont déclarés morts

D’un point de vue économique, le marché des NFT semble au point mort. Une grande partie des tokens non fongibles émis sur les blockchains n’ont plus la moindre valeur. D’après une étude réalisée par NFTEvening , un site spécialisé, 96 % des NFT sont morts :

« La durée de vie moyenne d’un NFT est de 1,14 an, soit 2,5 fois plus courte que la durée de vie moyenne des projets cryptos. L’année 2023 a vu le plus grand nombre de NFT mourrir, près d’un tiers d’entre eux étant morts cette année-là ».

L’an dernier, une étude analogue avait déjà mis en exergue le décès prématuré de la plupart des tokens non fongibles . Les rapports publiés au cours de l’été 2023 indiquaient déjà que 90 à 95 % des NFT n’avait plus de valeur, et n’enregistraient plus aucune transaction. Selon NFTEvening, un projet NFT peut être considéré comme mort et enterré si son volume d’échange est nul, s’il a enregistré de faibles ventes sur 7 jours consécutifs, et s’il n’y a plus « aucune activité sur Twitter au cours des 3 derniers mois » .

« D’un point de vue dollar, oui, les NFT sont morts. Il suffit de regarder quelques statistiques pour le voir » , admet Maxime L, qui se fait appeler Konohime sur X.

Par contre, ce sont surtout les NFT les moins utiles et intéressants qui ont perdu toute leur valeur marchande. Maxime L. explique pouvoir « citer pas mal d’exemples de projets qui datent de 2021-2022, et qui eux, sont bel et bien morts » .

« C’est vrai, il y a plein de projets qui sont morts, mais je pense que leur utilité de base était limitée de toute façon. En fait, c’était le genre d’idée qui aurait dû être morte dès le départ » , estime le collectionneur de NFT.

Suite au boom du marché NFT, une avalanche de tokens non fongibles s’est déversée sur les blockchains. La plupart de ces objets numériques ont été émis par opportunisme, uniquement pour surfer sur la hausse du marché. Ce sont vraisemblablement ces tokens qui ont rendu l’âme. Comme l’explique dappGamble, un site de pari en cryptomonnaies, les collections de NFT sans « cas d’utilisation clairs », de «  récits convaincants  » ou de « valeur artistique authentique » n’attirent plus d’argent.

Crypto et NFT, une relation complexe

De nombreux investisseurs espéraient que le marché des NFT reprendrait des couleurs en même temps que celui des cryptomonnaies. Pendant un temps, les deux secteurs étaient intimement liés . Quand les détenteurs de cryptomonnaies disposent de fonds supplémentaires, ils ont parfois tendance à investir dans des actifs risqués, comme les NFT. Tout ne s’est pas passé comme prévu.

Depuis l’année dernière, le marché NFT n’est plus corrélé à celui des cryptomonnaies. En effet, le rebond des cryptomonnaies de début 2024 , qui s’est soldé par un Bitcoin à 70 000 dollars, n’a pas donné de coup de fouet au monde des tokens non fongibles.

« C’est désormais décorrélé pour une raison assez simple. Dans le marché crypto, tu peux acheter et vendre en appuyant sur un bouton vert ou un bouton rouge. Et du coup, tu as les tokens sur ton wallet directement juste en cliquant. Ou tu peux t’en séparer juste en cliquant aussi » , nous explique l’analyste.

Dans les NFT, c’est très différent. Comme l’explique notre interlocuteur, c’est un marché qui est fondamentalement illiquide. Il s’agit d’un marché dans lequel il est difficile d’acheter ou de vendre un actif rapidement sans que cela affecte de manière significative son prix.

« Parce que la NFT représente la rareté. Donc c’est quelque chose de rare. Alors en fait, il faut plutôt imaginer ça comme une plateforme comme LeBonCoin. Un Leboncoin géant en version décentralisée. Quand tu mets un truc en vente sur LeBonCoin, ça ne va pas être acheté tout de suite. Il y a quelqu’un qui va te dire, oui ça, ça m’intéresse. On va négocier un petit peu. Et après, il y a la vente qui a lieu » .

Selon l’analyste, c’est « cette différence de rythme qui fait que non, ce n’est pas corrélé du tout  ». C’est pourquoi une reprise du cours du Bitcoin, de l’Ether ou des autres monnaies numériques ne stimule pas automatiquement le marché de l’Art numérique sur la blockchain.

Interrogé par nos soins, l’analyste précise que la stagnation du marché NFT n’est pas forcément un indicateur fiable montrant que tous les tokens non fongibles n’ont plus la moindre vie. En fait, « il y a plein de gens qui achètent des NFTs mais qui vendent pas ou ne cherchent pas à revendre toujours plus cher » :

« En fait, il y a énormément de NFT qui n’ont pas vocation à être revendus, donc c’est normal que ça ne soit pas revendu plus cher ». 

Il prend l’exemple des ENS (Ethereum Name Service). C’est « un nom de domaine qui nous est propre, donc en fait, on le prend pour nous, pour notre identité numérique » . Ce service décentralisé permet de convertir des adresses complexes sur la blockchain Ethereum en noms de domaine simples et lisibles par l’homme. Ces NFT sont toujours utiles et sont toujours utilisés, mais ils ne peuvent évidemment pas contribuer à stimuler les ventes sur des plateformes de NFT.

Les survivants du marché NFT

En dépit du marché baissier, et de la disparition d’une grande partie des projets, certaines initiatives du monde NFT continuent de prospérer. C’est le cas de certaines collections cultes, que les collectionneurs ont baptisé les « graals» . En effet, les singes du Bored Ape Yacht Club et les CryptoPunks continuent d’être valorisés à des montants colossaux.

« Il y a les Bored Ape et les CryptoPunks qui marchent toujours bien, tu vas avoir, on va dire, 5 autres collections qui marchent pas trop mal. Bon, ça fait, voilà, 6-7 collections sur les 10 ou 20 000 qui existent, donc c’est peu » , résume Maxime L, qui précise que « ça ne représente que quelques collections d’élites, ça ne représente pas du tout tous les NFT ». 

Par exemple, un CryptoPunk rare s’est vendu pour près de 1,5 million de dollars en début septembre 2024, alors que le reste du marché périclite, rapporte CoinTelegraph . Citons aussi l’exemple de Sorare, le jeu sur la blockchain qui permet d’échanger des cartes numériques à l’effigie des joueurs. La licorne française continue de développer son offre en multipliant les partenariats et les compétitions . Récemment, Sorare a d’ailleurs lancé un jeu d’envergure avec le soutien de Kylian Mbappé.

Malgré un contexte particulièrement morne, il y a des artistes qui continuent d’émettre des NFT pour vendre leurs œuvres. Comme nous l’explique Maxime L, il y a encore et toujours des créateurs qui émettent des tokens pour authentifier leurs créations sur les blockchains :

« Tous les artistes qui sont restés, en tout cas de temps en temps, ils arrivent à avoir des ventes. Bon, c’est pas très glorieux. Il y a vraiment un top 50 qui se met très très bien, et après il y a un écart impressionnant avec la médiane, où la plupart des artistes qui arrivent à vendre leurs œuvres, ils font les 200 balles par an au maximum » .

Enfin, l’analyste n’exclut pas la possibilité d’un prochain marché haussier autour des tokens non fongibles. Entre les lignes, il laisse entrevoir la perspective d’ un marché qui repart à la hausse en 2025 , des mois après celui des cryptoactifs. Selon lui, « il arrivera sûrement en fin de cycle d’Ethereum ou Bitcoin, mais non, il n’arrivera pas en même temps » . C’est pourquoi des artistes et des investisseurs continuent de s’accrocher…

🔴 Pour ne manquer aucune actualité de 01net, suivez-nous sur Google Actualités et WhatsApp .

On vous dit tout sur Deblock, la néobanque crypto française à mi-chemin entre Revolut et Ledger

OpenSea : le titan des NFT est victime d’une faille de sécurité

95 % des NFT n’ont plus aucune valeur, et c’est tant mieux

Google autorise la vente et les échanges de NFT dans les jeux du Play Store

Non les NFT ne sont pas mort, on annonce cette nouvelle régulièrement en se basant sur les PFP de marque ou de collection mercantile qui se sont faites sur des coups de buzz d’influencers qui ont raflé la mise dont parti avec la casse et on laissez tombé leurs communautés… Nous ont fait de l’art, on vend des œuvres d’art numériques unique vendue a un prix dérisoire, il y a des merveilles sur tezos et particulièrement objkt, venez nous découvrir pour quelques euros vous deviendrez collectionneurs d’art et ferez partie d’une incroyable communauté soudé, à échelle humaine, accessible et faite pour durer dans le temps… Comme pour le monde de l’art traditionnelle en fait…

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