A Comprehensive Guide On Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs

• Ayushi Abrol
• December 29, 2022

The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) is possibly the world’s most influential NFT initiative. It was second to CryptoPunks in the competition for the world’s most successful collection for over a year. However, as the world entered 2022, the price of BAYC NFTs skyrocketed. You could make billions of dollars now if you sold all of the NFTs in the collection (they sell for around $200k per piece).

Finally, BAYC proves how quickly everything can change with only a few moves. In fact, BAYC may not exist if it weren’t for one particular NFT collector. But we’ll get to that later. Now, the project’s creators are taking on Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta.

What is Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)?

NFT art can be classified into two categories:

• First, there are one-of-a-kind visualizations begin that are sold as non-fungible tokens, similar to how paintings are traded in real life. For example, consider the Beeple NFTs, which sold for as much as $69 million at Christie’s.
• Second, there are other “editions,” such as the Bored Apes. These collections, which are more like collectible trading cards, can contain any number of NFTs.

To create massive editions, artists generally use generative art, which is a process in which a computer software generates new versions algorithmically. Creators create variations by mixing and matching particular qualities in a template. Because each trait is usually rated by its rarity, some traits appear considerably less frequently than others.

There are 10,000 apes in BAYC, each with its own unique “features.”For example, there are several fur varieties, face expressions, clothing, jewelry, and other items in the BAYC NFT collection. Only 49 of the Bored Apes have daggers in their mouths, 108 have cybernetic eyes, and 115 have a cross earring.

Creators of BAYC

Yuga Labs was responsible for the creation of the BAYC NFT collection. This is BAYC’s parent corporation. Yuga Labs’ ultimate goal is to create a media empire centered completely on NFTs. The BAYC NFTs were the first step in realizing this dream.

That’s the company’s foundation, but who are the folks behind Yuga Labs?

Gargamel, Gordon Goner, Emperor Tomato Ketchup, and No Sass formed the Bored Ape Yacht Club in late April.
Following the doxxing in February 2022, all of the founders went on Twitter and revealed their true names. Greg Solano, a journalist and book reviewer, plays the role of Gargamel. A former student, Gordon Gone is Wylie Aronow.

And the true names of Sass and Tomato Ketchup are Zeshan and Kerem, and both are software engineers.
Prior to BAYC, Gargamel and Gordon Goner had dabbled in cryptography to some extent. Neither had any prior expertise in the field of innovation, although they had been trading since 2017. Both Tomato and Sass were new to NFTs and cryptography. Yuga Labs was founded by the four of them, and it was via Yuga Labs that BAYC was established.

Which of the Founders Actually Created the Artwork? 

Surprisingly, none of the founders were involved in the design of BAYC.
A woman addressed as “Seneca” or “All-Seeing Seneca” is the principal artist behind BAYC’s original collection. Thomas Dagley, Migwashere, and an unnamed couple were among the other artists.

How did the Idea for Creating BAYC Drop in?

When the troop was first thinking about an NFT project, they discovered that their ideas for “art” were more appropriate for presentation on a bathroom wall than on a traditional canvas. Taking that concept further, they decided that the restroom should be located within a bar, but one that was exclusively open to club members. As a result, the concept of a Yacht Club was conceived.

Following that, they planned that the club would be inhabited by future Apes: those who “aped” (jumped into) crypto and NFTs in particular. Years from now, the apes will be bored and will spend most of their time in a bar with their buddies. The creators were satisfied with that foundation.

They are said to have put all of their funds into the project. The team at Yuga Labs then prepared to launch Bored Ape Yacht Club, with attributes determined, art obtained, and a minting contract drafted. Finally, on April 29, 2021, it began. Things initially got off to a sluggish start, with apes priced at0.08 ETH per ape (about $190 at the time) for equitable distribution.

There were still a few deals on May 1. Pranksy, a well-known NFT trader, then purchased a large number of apes. He informed his enormous followers via Twitter. And the few tweets by Pranksy led BAYC to sell out within 12 hours.

What makes the Bored Ape Yacht Club so valuable?

It’s difficult to say what makes BAYC or any other NFT collection valuable. According to NFT experts it’s a combination of three factors: celebrity or influencer participation, community strength, and member benefits, in general.

Celebrity Influence

The first is self-evident. When celebrities own an NFT, it inspires others to want one as well. An example is Jimmy Fallon. The Tonight Show host acquired a BAYC on November 8 (for a cool $145,000), and for weeks following, he used it as a profile photo on Twitter, where he has 50 million followers. That produced a frenzy of hype and sales for BAYC.

Benefits

Second, there is the issue of usefulness. The majority of NFT initiatives promise to provide some type of usefulness, whether it’s access to play-to-earn games or the ability to stake an NFT in return for a cryptocurrency. For example, CyberKongz, another high-value collection, gained recognition by allowing Kong owners to breed a BabyKong NFT with two Kongs.

To keep owners interested, the Bored Ape Yacht Club has done a few things. First, it established the Bored Ape Kennel Club, which allows owners to “adopt” a dog NFT with characteristics similar to those of the Bored Apes. Then, in August, another freebie arrived: digital bottles of mutant serum. Owners might produce a Mutant Ape NFT by mixing their Bored Ape with the serum.

NFTs from the Kennel Club and Mutant Ape sell for a lot of money. The Mutant Ape Yacht Club collection has exploded in popularity in recent weeks, with the floor price climbing from roughly 4 ether ($60,000) in November to 20 ether ($60,000) presently.

Community Strength

Finally, and maybe most importantly, a collection’s community. Meetups for the Bored Ape Yacht Club have taken place in New York and California, as well as Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. In November, owners were treated to a weekend of celebrations in New York, which included a real boat party and a concert with Chris Rock, Aziz Ansari, and The Strokes.

The development of a community has a business component to it. Art, in whatever form, is only worth what people are willing to pay for it. The floor price in an NFT collection is roughly the same as what the least-invested members are prepared to sell for. People who believe they are carrying a community token are less likely to post their monkeys for sale. Selling your ape includes not just an NFT but also a community pass.

A collection also becomes a status symbol if it reaches a particular standard of worth. For example, chief executives wear Rolexes, and those in the cryptocurrency and NFT industry use Rolexes as profile images on Twitter, Discord, and other sites. Just like you can wear a $10 Rolex fake, you can download a JPG of a bored ape. However, in both circumstances, people will be aware.

The $APE token?

Yuga Labs had a strong month in March 2022. They announced the introduction of a new currency, ApeCoin ($APE), just days after announcing the acquisition of CryptoPunks and Meebits. ApeCoin is a “currency for culture, gaming, and commerce intended to promote a decentralized community growing at the vanguard of web3,” according to its description.

The $APE will specifically be used to govern the future of the Bored Ape community.
The token was not produced solely by BAYC (though the founders are involved). ApeCoinDAO is the ApeCoin creator technically. What is the issue? The flaws that members of the NFT community condemn in traditional capitalism appear to be replicated in $APE: venture capitalists and centralization.

Those with more tokens usually have more power in a DAO’s governance. Because they invested in Yuga Labs, Andreessen Horowitz and Animoca Brands were two of the biggest ApeCoin beneficiaries. Yuga Labs and other launch partners earned a total of 14 percent, according to a representative for the company (140 million tokens). That’s the same amount as the BAYC community as a whole, which is made up of tens of thousands of people.
Whatever one’s feelings are on the subject, it does appear to be a bit of a setback in terms of decentralization, which is a core tenet of the NFT community.

Yuga Labs, on the other hand, made no mention of this in their statements. “The community has long desired ApeCoin, and we’re happy to see it come to life through community ownership,” Yuga Labs CEO Nicole Muniz said in a statement. “Yuga Labs will continue to create products and experiences that inspire the community with fresh ideas and enthusiasm.”

How to Invest in the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)

You might be interested in acquiring an NFT now that you know the basics of BAYC. It is a rather simple process if you have sufficient funds.

Create an account

The Ethereum blockchain is where BAYC is housed. As a result, the first step towards getting an ape is to buy Ethereum. To do so, you’ll need to sign up for a trading platform. While there are many options, Gemini Trust Co., Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN), Webull Financial LLC, and eToro are the most secure, easy to use, and have cheap costs.

After you’ve established an account on one of these services, fund it and buy ETH. You will, however, require a storage location for your ETH and NFTs.

Own a crypto wallet

To both buy and store an NFT, you’ll need a bitcoin wallet. MetaMask is the most popular software wallet for use with a popular marketplace for buying and selling NFTs like NFTically and OpenSea.

Direct ETH to Metamask 

You must transmit your ETH to your wallet after you have it on a trading site. You’ll need to find your Metamask wallet address in order to accomplish this. In your wallet, you’ll find a string of 64 characters and digits. Copy and paste this address into your trading platform’s “Send” function. Send the specified money and complete the transaction.

Complete your purchase

Go to the appropriate marketplace once you have ETH in your wallet. Connect your wallet and look for the NFT you want to buy. You can buy it right now if it has a “buy now” pricing. You may also bid on the ape and wait for the seller to accept if it has a bid. The NFT will be saved in your wallet after the deal has been completed.

What Comes Next?

The Bored Ape community remains a vibrant, high-spirited environment with a roadmap focused on delivering ongoing value to its members. But, because time goes so quickly in the NFT environment, the question on everyone’s mind is, “what’s next?”

The Bored Ape Yacht Club is gradually moving away from NFTs and toward being an “offchain” brand, or one that lives outside of the blockchain.

The Bored Apes are assimilating into the fashion world. Into The Metaverse, Adidas’ first NFT initiative, was launched in partnership with many NFT businesses, including Bored Ape Yacht Club. Adidas also purchased a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT, which is now shown on the company’s Twitter profile.

Apes vs. Mutants, a mobile game, was released in January on both the App Store and Google Play Store.
For starters, many Bored Ape owners have had the option to profit from the sale of their apes. And we’re talking about money that might change your life. Ape #8817, the most valuable BAYC NFT of all time, sold for $3,408,000 in a Sotheby’s Metaverse auction in October 2021. A wool turtleneck, rainbow spinner hat, and silver hoop earrings are worn by the Ape. We may expect Bored Apes to go for much more in the following months.

In addition, the firm is profitable. In March of 2022, Yuga Labs secured a $450 million fundraising round led by Silicon Valley investor Andreessen Horowitz. And they intend to spend a significant portion of it. According to the team, they want to develop a virtual environment dubbed “Otherside.” This project will begin with the MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game), selling virtual land as NFTs. The plots of the Otherside metaverse game will be tied to these.

They intend to grow into additional items, events, and other areas after that. So it appears that they are well on their way to accomplishing their dream of building a media empire based on NFTs.
Investors are looking forward to seeing what comes next now that Yuga Labs owns both Meebits and CyrptoPunks. And we sincerely hope they keep the community-focused precedents they established.

Conclusion

BAYC is a very speculative project. While prices have climbed significantly in recent months, they might fall at any time. The apes’ worth derives from their rarity and media attention. It’s definitely not a smart idea to invest your life savings in an ape, but if you have the funds and are ready to take a chance, an ape may be worthwhile. However, one thing can be assured that BAYC is not disappearing anytime soon.

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