What Is Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)?

The digital masterpiece of Yuga Labs, Bored Ape Yacht Club, BAYC, became very popular within three months of its launch, competing favorably with leading NFTs in the marketplace and by May 2022 had recorded a total sales volume of $2.04 billion.

A feat only achieved by four notable NFT collections — Axie Infinity ($4.08 billion), CryptoPunks, ($2.3 billion), Mutant Ape Yacht Club, ($1.5 billion), and Art Blocks ($1.26 billion) — already dominating the NFT marketplace long before BAYC NFT Collections were launched.
The huge success recorded by these NFTs, popularly referred to as “Bored Apes” within a very short period is a matter of concern in the NFT industry, and in this guide, we will get to know the secret and why it is so popular among NFT collectors and those outside the crypto world.

What Is Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)?

The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) is a group of four friends who use pseudonyms - Gargamel, Gordon Goner, Emperor Tomato Ketchup, and No Sass - and are known for creating innovative and imaginative non-fungible tokens (NFTs). According to the BAYC website, the group set out to “build some dope Apes, test [their] skills, and try something ridiculous.”

The creators of BAYC were anonymous for several months after the launch of their NFT collection but eventually revealed their identities after being doxxed. The BAYC NFTs are digital artworks that are highly valued and unique, similar to the “Mona Lisa” by Da Vinci or “Les Femmes d’Alger” by Pablo Picasso.

BAYC was launched on April 20, 2021, during the “NFT Craze” and quickly became one of the most successful and highly valued NFT collections in the industry. The collection sold out within 12 hours of its launch, and by the first quarter of 2022 (Q1), it had surpassed other industry leaders, such as CryptoPunks, CryptoKitties, and Art Blocks, in terms of sales, floor price, market value, and popularity among NFT collectors and celebrities.

More Details Regarding Bored Apes

The ‘Bored Apes’ are 10,000 unique NFTs belonging to the BAYC collection, programmatically generated from over 172 possible traits, including expressions, clothing, head wears, etc. Some Apes have high rarity, thus, are more expensive than the less rare Apes in the collection.

Bored Apes are a revolutionary form of digital art inspired by elements of the late 1980s and 1990s music, including hip hop, hardcore, and punk. They offer a nostalgic look back at these genres, while also bringing a fresh perspective to the world of NFTs. In addition to being a unique form of digital artwork and collectible, owning a Bored Ape NFT grants access to an exclusive “club” reserved for holders of the NFT. This adds an extra layer of utility to the NFT industry, which previously focused mainly on the appreciation in value and asset valuation of digital assets.

Here are the benefits of owning a Bored Ape NFT:

• Access to exclusive online members-only areas;

• Limited edition merchandise for BAYC members;

• Real-world events for Bored Ape owners;

• Free NFTs from both the Bored Ape Kennel Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (More details later in this article);

• Full commercial rights to the NFT, including the ability to monetize it (uncommon in the NFT industry);

Before the launch of Bored Apes, it was common for NFT investors to display their costly “avatars” as profile pictures on social media and boast about their ownership of digital art as a form of bragging rights. NFTs are stored and secured on the blockchain, allowing anyone to view them and verify their authenticity as proof of ownership. Bored Apes have become a landmark in the NFT art movement, bringing a fresh perspective to the industry and building on the foundations laid by early leaders such as CryptoPunks.

Why Are Blue Chip Digital Artworks Very Expensive?

Source: Rollingstone.com

NFT critics have most often been critical of the thousands and millions of dollars spent to acquire a “JPEG Picture,” which, according to them, has “no real-life utilities or applications.”The argument is that the huge sum spent isn’t worth it as these NFTs can easily be downloaded within seconds and argues that NFT trade is an avenue for money laundering and other criminal activities.

Physical works of art on their own have little or no value rather their true worth comes from market valuation and demand and how collectors view them. However, here is a list of factors that can contribute to a high price of an NFT:

• Rarity: Some NFTs are rare, which can drive up their price. For example, if there is only one edition of a particular NFT, it may be more expensive because it is unique and cannot be obtained elsewhere;

• Demand: The price of an NFT may also be influenced by the demand for it. If there are a lot of people interested in purchasing an NFT, the price may increase due to competition;

• Artistic value: Some NFTs are created by well-known or highly respected artists, which can increase their value. The time and effort that goes into creating a high-quality NFT can also contribute to its price;

• Utility: Some NFTs have utility beyond being a digital asset, such as granting access to a particular service or event. This added value can also contribute to their price;

• Investment potential: Some people may purchase NFTs as an investment, hoping to sell them later at a higher price. This speculation can also contribute to the cost of NFTs;

• Limited edition: If an NFT is part of a limited edition series, it may be more expensive because it is scarce and only available for a limited time;

• Celebrity endorsement: If an NFT is endorsed by a celebrity, it may be more expensive due to the added notoriety and attention it receives;

• Hype: If an NFT is part of a trend or has generated a lot of buzz, it may be more expensive due to the heightened interest and demand;

• Use case: Some NFTs may have a specific use case, such as being used in a game or as a ticket to an event. This added functionality may increase their value.

NFT collectors and some buyers of these blue chip items — digital assets — deeply understand the importance of value and can afford to spend a fortune to own any of these assets. For example, Mike Winkelmann, popularly known as ‘Beeple,’ is famous for his creativity. In 2021, his “Everyday: The First 5000 Days” NFT — a collection of his digital artworks for 5000 days — was bought by Vignesh “Metakovan” Sundaresan for a staggering $69.3 million, becoming to date the most expensive NFT bought by an individual.

Similar successes were recorded by CryptoPunks — selling at huge sums, some of her rare NFTs, that’s CryptoPunk #5822, sold for $23.7 million, CryptoPunk #7523, sold for $11.8 million, and CryptoPunk #4156, for $10.2 million among others.

Bored Apes is regarded by NFT collectors as the most expensive NFT collection in the NFT industry because of their collective success surpassing CryptoPunks, Axie Infinity, and Art blocks among others as the most sought-after, dominant, and most expensive collection in terms of combined sales.

According to Be[In]Crypto Research, “Bored Ape Yacht Club had an all-time total sales volume of around $2.04 billion, as of May 4, 2022,” and has been top on The chart by transaction volume, average price, demand, and other important metrics.

The argument that “NFTs are an avenue for corruption” is still debatable and highly subjective to regard the NFT industry as a “Bubble,” as the industry is still at its infantile stage and its true worth has not been unraveled.

Why Hold Bored Apes?

As we mentioned before, the birth of the BAYC NFT Collection brought the idea of a “reward system” as holders of Bored Apes will have access to an exclusive “Virtual Club” and the right to in-person events, such as “The BathRoom,” a “Digital Graffiti Board,” and full commercialization rights to their Apes — this is unusual in the NFT industry — along with other perks.

To reward and encourage Bored Ape holders, Yuga Lab created Bored Ape Yacht Kennel, (BAYK) NFTs — a digital dog with unique attributes, designs, colors, and expressions. They are virtual pet companions for the Bored Apes!

Each BAYC NFT holder was to mint their companion within a week at zero cost except for the blockchain’s transaction fees and copyright fee, which was donated to Charity.

In the same vein, on August 28, 2021, Yuga Lab, in a quest to expand its ecosystem, launched the Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFT Collection — a rare collection of 20,000 “Mutant Apes,” obtained either through the transformation of their Bored Apes using a “Mutant Serum,” or through minting in the public sale. The launch aims to appreciate holders of Bored Apes and secondly to increase the number of members of her club.

To achieve this, the company airdropped, “Mutant Serum,” to Bored Ape holders which allows for the transformation of their Bored Apes into mutants by exposing them to a vial of the mutant serum.

The “Mutant Serum” has three variants —

M1 (7,500 serums), M2 (2,492 serums), and the rarest M3 (8 serums). These serums produce different Mutant Apes with different rarity. M3 is the rarest of the three and produces Mutant Apes with very high rarity and value.

Also, 10,000 Mutant Apes were sold through public sale using the Dutch Auction Strategy, a type of auction in which the price of the item being auctioned is lowered until it is sold. This is in contrast to a traditional auction, in which the price is raised until only one bidder remains. They were able to raise over $96 million within an hour. It was a sell-out and at a cost higher than Bored Apes, which launched four months back.

Furthermore, the NFT project is centered on the vibrancy and creative contributions of its members. Each holder of the priced assets is a critical stakeholder and is treated as such. Their views and opinions are held in high regard, prompting cult-like followership that is not seen among other NFT brands.

Yuga Labs and the Bored Ape Ecosystem

Yuga Labs has become a force to reckon with in the crypto industry with its creativity, innovation, and developmental drives in the NFT industry, Web3, and the Metaverse.

Within a year of the launch of its first NFT collection, BAYC dominated the NFT marketplace with different NFT collections — Mutant Ape Yacht Club, (MAYC), and Bored Ape Yacht Kernel, (BAYK).

Yuga Labs acquired the intellectual property (IP) rights for two leading NFTs in the NFT marketplace — CryptoPunks and Meebits for an undisclosed amount.

Yuga Labs shortly after the acquisition announced that it is working closely with the NFT community and holders to add utility to these NFTs. The company, just as with Bored Apes and Mutant Apes, gave full rights to holders to commercialize their NFTs.

Launched Apecoin ($APE) on March 16, 2022, and managed by the Ape DAO, a Decentralized Autonomous Organization.

ApeCoin is a digital currency designed to support and drive the growth of the web3 economy, specifically in the areas of culture and the metaverse. The APE ecosystem is a decentralized community that uses ApeCoin to make decisions and allocate resources through a proposal process called the APE Improvement Proposal Process.

The APE Foundation serves as the base layer for the ApeCoin Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) and is responsible for administering and managing the decisions made by the DAO. It is tasked with day-to-day administration, bookkeeping, and project management, and utilizes the Ecosystem Fund to pay expenses as directed by the ApeCoin DAO.

Membership in the ApeCoin DAO is open to all ApeCoin holders and allows them to participate in the governance of the APE ecosystem. ApeCoin is an ERC-20 token that is used for both governance and utility within the APE ecosystem. It is intended to empower a decentralized community building at the forefront of web3 technology and culture.

In a quest to broaden its ecosystem, the company, on 30th April 2022, launched its metaverse, the Otherside in close collaboration with Animoca Brands, where its NFT collections will play a significant role.

Conclusion

Arguably, the success of the NFT collection is the value it brought into the NFT industry, the extra benefits that come with owning one of its NFTs, and the vibrancy of its community. Simply put, owning a BAYC NFT places the holder on a high pedestal in the crypto industry because of its prestige and hype.

Moreover, having celebrity endorsements, influencers and key opinion leaders promoting the brand played an invaluable role in launching the project to the moon.

As a blue chip asset, with a promise of a high return on investment, the Bored Apes are a delight to hold and the envy of every NFT enthusiast.