What is Bored Ape Yacht Club?

BAYC is one of the most iconic collections of the 2021 NFT boom, with pieces now owned by crypto traders, celebrities and world-renowned brands alike. Since their initial 2021 launch price of a mere 0.08 ETH (~$200 at the time), Bored Apes grew to soon command exponentially higher prices in fabled auction houses such as Christie’s. The collection has since skyrocketed in both prestige and value, now ranking among the most sought-after NFTs on the market today.

Tapping into the success of this collection, the team behind Bored Ape Yacht Club released several spin-off collections, such as Mutant Ape Yacht Club and Bored Ape Kennel Club. Owners of an original Bored Ape enjoyed free access to these collections as a membership perk of the online club.

The team also released ApeCoin, their own cryptocurrency, in March 2022. The ERC-20 token allows holders to execute transactions within the Bored Ape ecosystem as well as vote on decisions guiding the BAYC community development.

In April 2022, Yuga Labs raised nearly $300 million dollars by selling 55,000 tokenized land deeds for Otherside, a gamified metaverse that will serve as a social space for BAYC members.

What makes Bored Ape Yacht Club unique?

The characters of Bored Ape Yacht Club have a unique backstory that has helped to develop their status in the NFT market today. The “Yacht Club” at the center of the collection is said to be a futuristic dive bar in a fictional swamp modeled after Florida’s Everglades.

The creators envisioned a space where “Apes”— an endearingly slanderous term that some crypto investors have given themselves — swap stories and relax while enjoying their fortunes. A BAYC NFT doubles as membership to the Yacht Club — an assortment of digital spaces and experiences reserved exclusively for Bored Ape holders.

The Bored Apes that make up the collection offer a diverse range of traits and attributes that ensure no two items from the collection are the same. Combinations of traits like laser eyes, colored fur and an array of fashionable accessories give each of the Apes in the collection a completely unique visual appeal.

BAYC and the Yuga Labs team are widely regarded as innovators in the NFT space who have managed to give Apes value beyond their aesthetic qualities. Members regularly meet up both online and in real life to network, socially and professionally.

Holders of Bored Apes have been able to mint additional yacht-club-themed NFTs from Yuga Labs, such as the Mutant Ape Yacht Club and Bored Ape Kennel Club collections. Both were created with the intention of rewarding BAYC owners for their enthusiasm for the community and bringing more collectors into the ecosystem.

When Mutant Ape Yacht Club was released, holders of Bored Apes were airdropped a “serum” to combine with their Bored Ape, creating a new Mutant Ape. Non-holders could also mint these from scratch for a price of 3 ETH.

Unlike Mutant Ape Yacht Club, the Bored Ape Kennel Club collection was only made available to existing BAYC members. For a limited time, holders were able to “adopt” one of 10,000 dogs. The 2.5% royalty fee from secondary market sales during the first six weeks was donated to no-kill animal shelters.

BAYC was also one of the first NFT collections to grant full intellectual property rights to NFT owners. Commercial use of a Bored Ape NFT, whether in print or as an animated character, would be a possibility fully within the owner’s rights.

Why buy Bored Ape Yacht Club?

Those interested in becoming a member of the BAYC online community may choose to buy one of the NFTs from the collection. The various membership perks, far beyond just the visual appeal of the images, have attracted many to the NFT collection.

Those looking to own a piece of one of the most significant digital art collections brought about by the NFT movement may also choose to buy a Bored Ape. Its algorithmic approach to building images with traits of varying rarity levels has caught the attention of a countless number of other NFT projects and art critics that recognize the significance of the project.

Purchasing a Bored Ape NFT also comes with the potential to receive future spin-off NFTs from Yuga Labs. The team has publicly shown their appreciation for their loyal fans not just with online praise, but exclusive rewards.