Despite the numerous explanations that have flooded the internet since its introduction, most people are still baffled by Web 3.0 and NFTs. It doesn't help that the industry is rife with absurd purchases, like Eminem's nearly $460.000 purchase of a cartoon monkey. This monkey is one of 10.000 in an NFT collection called the Bored Ape Yacht Club.
In this article, we will discuss:
What is Bored Apes?
Bored Apes are a collection of 10.000 unique NFTs based on blockchain Ethereum. Bored Apes are dirty simian avatars with different characteristics – some rarer than others. For example, only 5% of bored monkeys have red fur and 3% have a motorcycle vest. The rarer the traits of a bored monkey, the more expensive it is likely to be. As is the case with all NFTs, Bored Ape is not the asset itself – instead, it is a sort of certificate of ownership or, in this case, an access key. If you are new to NFT purchases, find out what you actually own when purchasing an NFT.
Bored Apes are the cornerstone of an elite movement called, you guessed it, Bored Apes Yacht Club. Your Bored Ape doubles as your Yacht Club membership card and grants access to members-only benefits – the first of which is THE BATHROOM, a community clipboard where Bored Ape owners can leave digital graffiti. Bored Ape ownership also comes with access to a private Discord server where you can hang out and chat with other owners.
All Bored Apes were initially available on a first-come, first-served basis and were priced the same – 0,8 ETH or about $190 at launch. But as they all sold out quickly, they are now available on the OpenSea secondary market, which is like eBay for NFTs. So far, the minimum price for an Ape on OpenSea is 108 ETH, or around $368.000.
Who are the project founders?
Bored Ape Yacht Club was created by four founders through their company Yuga Labs in 2021. The founders use cartoon aliases: Gargamel, Gordon Goner, Emperor Tomato Ketchup, and No Sass. Or at least they did until February 2022, when BuzzFeed revealed the identities of Gordon Goner and Gargamel.
It turns out that Gargamel is Greg Solano, a writer and book critic, and Gordon Goner is 35-year-old Wylie Aronow. Both went on to reveal their true identities on Twitter alongside their Bored Apes. After that, Emperor Tomato Ketchup and No Sass went ahead and did the same.
According to an interview with Rolling Stone, the founders drew inspiration for BAYC from modern NFT OGs like CryptoPunks, which have become something of a cultural currency. Just like the Bored Apes, the CryptoPunks are also a collection of 10.000 NFT-exclusive avatars and they also cost a fortune – with one selling for a whopping $11,7 million. If you haven't already, keep up with the news about CryptoPunks and why they are so expensive.
For BAYC, the plan was to combine the collectible art component of the NFTs with community participation, essentially giving the NFT property some utility beyond just being cult symbols of crypto-cool kids.
Why are Bored Apes so expensive?
To the most pressing question of all: why do bored monkeys cost so much? Even the most exclusive club memberships in the US don't cost $368. What's the uproar? We will see.
Utility
Bored Ape's art is not only valuable because it serves as a digital identity, but also because of the commercial use rights that come with it. Bored Ape owners can not only resell the NFT at a profit, but can also sell derivative products based on the artwork. A bored monkey owner has created a Twitter account for his monkey, spinning an entire story where the monkey is Jenkins, a valet at the yacht club. Jenkins is kind, encrypted, and tells amazing stories - it's the perfect combination for a successful Twitter account.
Jenkins' story is made all the more enjoyable by the fact that he is the cheapest monkey in the collection, which influenced his character as a valet. On a basic level, people are drawn to the classic story “Rise of the Underdog”. In September 2021, Jenkins signed with a real-life agency to explore publishing opportunities in books, podcasts, movies, TV, and more. He will also have his own biography, written in part by New York Times bestselling author Neil Strauss.
Jenkins' owners are creating a sort of sub-BAYC community, allowing users to buy NFTs that serve as voting rights in the creative direction of Jenkin's first book release. It's essentially a massive community project, except in this case, people are paying to participate. The potential for opportunities like this increases the value of a Bored Ape. Brands have also stepped in, with Arizona Iced Tea purchasing an NFT Bored Ape Yacht Club in August 2021 and using it in marketing materials. Adidas also purchased a BAYC NFT with the intention of developing a character and backstory.
Scarcity
Some basic savings here: Because there are only 10.000 bored monkeys, the supply of NFT art is pretty limited. Along with the huge interest in the brand, we have a high demand/low supply dynamic that inevitably drives up prices.
For starters, some Bored Ape avatars within the same collection are rarer than others. Each Monkey is a unique, randomly generated combination of 170 characteristics such as background color, earrings, expression, headgear, clothing, etc. This derived scarcity also contributes to the high prices of some Bored Monkeys.
Exclusive Content
BAYC offers exclusive content benefits for Bored Ape holders, some of which are outlined in the detailed roadmap on the Bored Ape Yacht Club website. The roadmap is a sort of to-do list that founders intend to check when they reach their target sales percentages. In keeping with the 10th objective of finding “new ways to imitate our friends”, BAYC has gotten even more creative with its community building tactics.
For example, in June 2021, all Bored Ape holders were allowed to 'adopt' an NFT canine companion for free (paying only for 'gas', which is the fee you must pay to process transactions on the Ethereum blockchain). Thus was born the Bored Ape Kennel Club. The club used the secondary sales of these canine companions to raise $1 million for animal shelters. While these dogs were free for BAYC holders, the current minimum price for a Bored Ape Kennel Club dog is 7,60 ETH or about $17.000 at current ETH prices.
In August 2021, BAYC created 20.000 mutant monkeys. They released 10.000 to the public for 3 ETH to bring new members on board. It worked—the entire set sold out within an hour, generating $96 million in the process. But, all Bored Ape owners received a free airdrop of 10.000 digital vials of mutant serums with which they could mint new mutant monkeys from existing Bored Apes. And they could sell the new NFT on the secondary market for a profit.
And in March 2022 – BAYC launched its own cryptocurrency, the APE coin, and distributed $ape tokens to every BAYC and MAYC holder. Owners of BAYC NFTs will be able to claim approximately 10.000 ApeCoin each, which equals around $100.000 for each holder. APE Coins Are Already Finding Use in the BAYC Community Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa have released an eight track NFT mixtape for $APE holders.
To top it off, BAYC has begun welcoming club members to real-life offline events that will become an annual tradition. BAYC held its first annual Ape Fest in November 2021, which included a gallery exhibition, a costume contest and a party on a 1000-seat royal yacht off the coast of Manhattan. Lil Baby, The Strokes, Questlove, Beck, Chris Rock and Aziz Ansari made surprise appearances at the grand finale's "warehouse" party in Brooklyn.
celebrity support
Jimmy Fallon, Post Malone, Mark Cuban, Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg, Stephen Curry, Eminem, and Shaquille O'Neal own all Bored Apes. And it's a well-known fact that involving celebrities in anything can increase interest — and prices. Because of significant celebrity involvement, Bored Apes have become a status symbol – like a Veblen digital asset – the more expensive they are, the more people want to own one.
early entry
While Bored Apes aren't the first NFT collection, they are one of the few collections out there. Not to discredit innovation, but novelty contributes to the movement's success. CryptoPunks, for example, are valuable primarily because they represent the first NFT collection.
BAYC purchased Cryptopunks in early March 2022 an acquisition that significantly addresses the competition and establishes its position as a pioneer of the NFT community movement. BAYC plans to grant intellectual property and commercialization rights to the owners of CryptoPunks, just as they did to the owners of Bored Ape. Inevitably, this will increase demand, which will lead to an increase in prices.
How's that for Monkey Business?
BAYC recently raised $450 million in funding to develop its own gamified, decentralized Metaverse project, dubbed Otherside. The company is pursuing a “Ready-Player-One-Esque” experience that blends virtual reality with real life. If the Metaverse project is successful, the utility for BAYC's offerings will explode on a massive scale.
There are many doubts surrounding the viability of the NFT sector in the cryptosphere, but BAYC's moves are establishing the brand as more than just an art collection. If anyone thought BAYC was a fluke, the company's methods of building community and encouraging participation should change their mind this is definitely a brand to keep an eye on.
Bored Ape Yacht Club #8817: $3.408.000
At this point, sales of the most expensive BAYC NFT ever continued to break records, making Bored Ape #8817 the most expensive BAYC NFT ever.
Bored Ape #8817 is perhaps the most frowning Bored Ape that pulls off a Spinner hat and party horn at the same time. The digital artwork was auctioned on the renowned auction house Sotheby's Metaverse, and the winning bid was $3,4 million (852,39 ETH). Its attractiveness stems from a unique combination of features. A silver hoop earring and wool turtleneck complete the look, with the rarest trace of solid gold leather. The rarity score of this NFT on rarity tools is 297,37.
Longtime NFT collector and founder and CEO of 'nft42' Jimmy (@jimmyeth) has sold Bored Ape #8817 as the auction revealed in a Tweet: “This is the first time it has been made available since it was minted. ” It remains to be seen which Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT will outperform Bored Ape #8817. With a sales volume of $14 billion, the Bored Ape Yacht Club has become the second most expensive NFT during the current NFT market boom.
You can access the collection here: OpenSea
Conclusion
NFTs are big business, with around $25 billion being spent on them in 2021. But despite all that money flying around, non-fungible tokens have yet to enter mainstream culture. Tens of millions have heard about NFTs, but only a fraction could describe what they really are – let alone name any. However, if there's one brand that has transcended the NFT culture, even in a smaller way, it's the Bored Ape Yacht Club.
