Bored Ape Yacht Club is now one of the most well-known NFT projects in the industry. His influence is so widespread that even people who are not familiar with cryptocurrency seem to know about it. But what exactly is the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT series? Well, as one of the pioneers of NFT membership clubs, it is easy to understand why top celebrities have "copied" it. Now, it can be said that this is the most important NFT series since Cryptopunks.
In this article, we'll explain everything you might want to know about BAYC. In addition, all of Yuga Labs' other top series include: The Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), The Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC), and their upcoming MMORPG Metaverse, The Otherside.
What is Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)?
Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) is an avatar NFT collection project consisting of 10,000 unique tokens. Hosted on the Ethereum blockchain, each token is a unique piece of art featuring one of the many bored apes. The collection is generatively programmed. Therefore, each NFT collectible has its own unique expression, outfit, and accessories that make it unique.
Who founded The Bored Ape Yacht Club?
Yuga Labs, the company behind BAYC, was founded by four friends; Gargamel, Gordon Goner, Emperor Tomato Ketchup, and No Sass. Initially, they saw the BAYC NFT series as a joke. Mainly, their intention was to have fun together and test their creativity. In fact, the original plan for BAYC was to simply "make some goofballs and try to build something ridiculous."
Fortunately, this “ridiculous” thing was welcomed by fans, creating a brand that goes far beyond the NFT field and enters the mainstream in a way that has never been seen before in NFT series.
Initially, the identities of its four founders were unknown. However, this changed in February 2022 when two of Yuga Labs’ founders/co-presidents, Gordon Goner and Gargamel, were doxed by BuzzFeed. Unfortunately, they later released photos of themselves via Twitter. Emperor Tomato Ketchup and No Sass have since revealed their names and faces via Twitter as well.
When will Bored Ape Yacht Club be launched?
BAYC launched in April 2021, but the series is now becoming famous in its own right. While the initial primary sale of 10,000 tokens took a week to sell out, Bored Apes has been thriving on the secondary market since then. So much so that BAYC NFTs are arguably the most sought-after status symbol NFTs in the space.
At the time of writing, BAYC has amassed over 483,000 ETH — about $1.7 billion — in OpenSea trading volume.
How did BAYC become popular?
Upon release, each Ape sold for 0.08 ETH (about $250 at the time). According to the creators, they wanted the initial sale to be fair and accessible. To deliver on that promise, each Ape was worth the same amount at launch. It’s important to note that this was a different bonding curve pricing method than was common in the space at the time.
As mentioned above, the current reserve price for the collection is 70 ETH, the highest reserve price for a 10K PFP collection to date. In other words, the cheapest Bored Ape costs at least the value of an average house! Of course, the collection has seen some ridiculous sales at the high end.
How much is the Bored Ape NFT worth?
OpenSea’s highest-ever BAYC NFT sale took place on September 30, 2021, for an eye-popping 769 ETH. That’s about $2.7 million today. The second-highest sale was for 740 ETH, and the third-highest sale was for 696.969 ETH.
Another notable top 10 sale came from global music superstar Justin Bieber. The pop star made big news in late January when he purchased a Bored Ape for a whopping 500 ETH. While this was only the eighth-largest Bored Ape auction of all time, it’s worth noting that the Ape Bieber purchased wasn’t all that rare. In contrast, seven of BAYC’s top 10 sales were of apes with two of the rarest fur characteristics – solid gold and psychedelic fur.
Why is the Bore Ape Yacht Club NFT so expensive?
So what makes the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT series so successful? After all, there are a ton of animal-themed NFT avatar projects out there. However, none can match the success and impact of BAYC. Of course, Bored Apes is a trendsetter, being the first project to execute many things at a high level.
However, in many ways, it was the Bored Ape community that drove its early success. To this end, many Ape holders stated that the number one reason they bought Bored Ape was the community. In fact, there is a large number of long-term holders in BAYC. On the other hand, the number of unique owners of the series now stands at about 6.4K. This is definitely one of the largest holder distributions for a blue chip 10K project.
Who bought the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT?
To be sure, The Bored Ape Yacht Club’s massive visibility among major celebrities and brands has been the biggest factor in its massive cultural impact.
Indeed, the list of BAYC's celebrity members is too long to list. For reference, the yacht club's celebrities include: Snoop Dogg, Madonna, Eminem, Justin Bieber, Steve Aoki, Post Malone, Paris Hilton, Jimmy Falon, Gary Vaynerchuk, Stephen Curry, and Josh Hart.
Some big brands are also involved, such as MeUndies and Adidas. There are also cases of Christie's and Sotheby's - two well-known auction houses that have held multiple NFT auctions, including some Bored Apes.
Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC)
First, BAYC launched the Bored Ape Kennel Club. While not directly available for purchase, each Bored Ape holder will receive a dog-themed NFT airdropped directly to them. Despite the free airdrop, BAKC NFTs now command quite a bit of fees on the secondary market, with a floor price of 6.19 ETH (at the time of writing).
Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC)
Secondly, the BAYC NFT team launched the Mutant Ape Yacht club (MAYC). Bored Ape Yacht Club holders received an airdrop of one of three NFT serums that can be “injected” into their Apes to create another mutant ape!
The rarity and characteristics of the mutant apes depend on the serum you randomly airdrop from one of three types: M1, M2, or M3. In addition, 10,000 MAYC NFTs will also be available through a public Dutch auction.
Although the announcement was made only 24 hours before the Twitter post, Mutant Ape Yacht Club became an overnight sensation! In fact, some Mutant Serum NFTs were priced as high as 269 ETH ($872,000) on the secondary market immediately after the drop. Each Bored Ape NFT holder dropped one serum, but each ape can be "injected" with each of the three serums once. As a result, the demand for Bored Ape Mutant Serum is high.
Bored Ape Yacht Club Coin: APEcoin
After months of anticipation, the token of the BAYC ecosystem is finally online. Everyone has the opportunity to participate in APEcoin. In short, the coin is the product and governance token of the APEcoin DAO.
First, BAYC and MAYC holders are direct beneficiaries of the APEcoin drop. To this end, both Bored Ape and Mutant Holders received an airdrop of APEcoin on the day of launch. In addition, holders with BAYC-BAKC or MAYC-BAKC pairings received a larger quota of APEcoin. In addition, APEcoin tokens were listed on almost all major cryptocurrency exchanges from day one.
Clearly, Yuga Labs fully expects APEcoin to be a big part of its future plans. For one thing, the token will be at the center of its upcoming metaverse game “Otherside” (more on that later).
All about BAYC Events: ApeFest
The first Ape Fest was BAYC's massive IRL event, held in New York City in late 2021. The multi-day event included immersive gallery events, merch pop-ups, and a warehouse party headlined by Beck, The Strokes, and BAYC member Lil Baby. Appropriately, the highlight of the first Ape Fest was a real yacht party for holders.
After the huge success of the first Ape Fest, the BAYC team put on an unforgettable show for the second year in a row. Yuga Labs managed to convince Eminem and Snoop Dogg to perform in 2022. In fact, they even dropped their new tracks at the event! ApeFest is a full 3-day event, and holders have the option of booking one day per Ape – a one-plus-one, of course.
IRL：BAYC Merch
One of Yuga Labs’ most popular products is its IRL, holder-only merchandise. The first limited edition of Bored Ape Yacht Club merchandise went on sale on May 29, 2021. Since then, Bored Ape hoodies, hats, and shirts have become status symbols in their own right. Especially at IRL NFT events, Ape holders wear them with pride. Today, single Bored Ape merchandise sells for hundreds of dollars on eBay.
Since its initial merchandise launch, BAYC has conducted a number of additional drops, including the genesis Mutant Ape merchandise drop, and most recently, the March merchandise drop, which required holders to pay for all merchandise exclusively with APEcoin. It has also partnered with legendary streetwear brand The Hundreds for a merchandise drop.
Yuga Labs acquires Cryptopunks and Meebits
Some of the biggest news from Bored Ape Yacht Club so far in 2022 is Yuga Labs acquiring the CryptoPunks and Meebits IP from Larva Labs. This is without a doubt one of the biggest developments in the NFT space to date.
BAYC and CryptoPunks have been somewhat of a friendly rivalry, with BAYC holders long predicting that Apes would eventually “flip” Punks (i.e. their base price would grow more than Punks’). Given this, the acquisition sent shockwaves through the NFT space.
Ultimately, the Larva Labs team decided that Yuga Labs was better suited to meet the evolving needs of the majority of Punk holders. In fact, Yuga Labs immediately granted full commercial rights to all Punk and Meebits holders. It’s worth noting that this had been a point of contention between many Punk holders and Larva Labs for some time.
Beyond that, the team was quick to come out and say that it would not be pushing either series too far in the first place. Instead, it would just wait and listen to holders before making any decisions on how to move forward with the former Larva Labs assets.
On the other hand, BAYC MMORPG x Metaverse
Continuing what has been an absolutely huge week for Bored Ape Yacht Club, Yuga Labs shook up the Web3 space with the release of a trailer titled Otherside. Although the trailer didn’t reveal a whole lot, it didn’t take long for people to figure out what the trailer was teasing.
In the leaked Yuga Labs presentation, they mentioned the meta-RPG several times, that is, the gaming metaverse centered around the BAYC ecosystem. Yuga Labs finally confirmed that Otherside is indeed the name of this upcoming gaming metaverse.
Right now, Otherside is entering its first testing phase. So, fans can hope that the BAYC metaverse will be launched in 2023 or earlier!
Leveraging BAYC IP for Commercial Ventures
To be clear, buying and selling isn’t the only way to profit from Bored Apes. In fact, buying a BAYC NFT gives you full commercial rights to the artwork. What does that mean? Basically, you have every legal right to use your NFT as a logo, make merchandise, and more — all without those pesky legal repercussions.
Some members of the Bored Ape Yacht Club have used their avatars to launch craft beers or printed T-shirts. For example, Wiv Technology recently launched the Bored Wine Company, which offers BAYC holders the opportunity to invest in limited edition wines. Similarly, SOUL launched a set of exclusive custom headphones created exclusively for BAYC members.
Bored Apes has also been used in television shows, music groups and literary works. Finally, some entities have also taken advantage of commercial rights. There are the Bodega Taqueria restaurant in Miami, the Bored and Hungry restaurant in Long Beach, California and the E11EVEN nightclub in Miami.
BAYC NFTs are the target of phishing scams
Unfortunately, in the emerging NFT space, countless owners of high-value assets have lost their NFTs. Bored Ape Yacht Club is no exception. In fact, the huge value of Bored Ape NFTs makes them a target for malicious actors. As a result, there are many sad stories about Bored Ape owners losing their apes.
Phishing scams — where people click on malicious links and connect their wallets, thinking they are from the NFT project team — are some of the most common scams affecting BAYC owners and NFT owners in general. There have also been some BAYC NFTs lost due to OpenSea listing errors. There have also been some ridiculously low, unintentional sales of BAYC due to “fat finger” listing errors, careless mistakes, or other reasons.
Recently, Bored Ape Yacht Club fell victim to a Discord hack. Thankfully, the damage caused by the Discord hack did not appear to be as severe as other project server hacks. Regardless, BAYC owners arguably have more reason than any other project holders to be extra careful.
The Future of Yuga Labs
Most importantly, the Yuga Labs team deserves praise. By continuously building and delivering for its community, it has been able to bring BAYC to the success it is today. They have been a leader in the NFT space in terms of innovation and branding. It is safe to say that their success has driven the development of the entire NFT space.
And they show no signs of slowing down. With the recent news of their $450 million funding round and $4 billion valuation, the Bored Ape Yacht Club team has ample resources to continue building. All things considered, the future of Bored Ape Yacht Club and its entire ecosystem is very bright indeed.