In this article, we’ll dive deep into Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). We’ll explore the BAYC ecosystem, the various value propositions, and how the project has become one of the most elite social clubs in the Web3 industry. Also, we’ll explore the team behind Bored Ape Yacht Club and the various features it has implemented since the project launch.
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Exploring Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)
A product of four friends collaborating on a creative coding project, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) is a pioneer of novel non-fungible token (NFT) utility. The digital NFT collectibles do not only offer value as one-of-a-kind art but provide exclusive membership rights to the club. Furthermore, benefits and privileges will increase as the NFT holders maintain their BAYC membership. Moreover, with only 10,000 Bored Ape NFTs available, the BAYC collection has grown to become one of the most popular NFT collections to date.
Celebrities including Paris Hilton, Eminem, and Jimmy Fallon all have Bored Ape NFTs with access to the exclusive social club. Operating on the Ethereum blockchain, the design of Bored Ape NFTs contains different properties with varying degrees of scarcity. This includes various facial expressions, accessories, fur types, and more. Originally, each collectible sold for about 0.08 ETH at launch (around $190 at the time). Currently, the floor price for an NFT and membership entry cost is 94 ETH (approximately $280,000). As a result, the Bored Ape Yacht Club membership is fast becoming an increasingly elite privilege as popularity and, thus, value soars.
With such a hefty price tag, Bored Ape Yacht Club promises investors to make the experience worth it. Accordingly, BAYC regularly introduces new features and projects to keep its members interested and engaged. This includes opportunities to adopt a pet for their Bored Ape NFT. Also, an airdrop of digital vials of mutant serum which, upon a Bored Ape consumption, will produce a “Mutant Ape” NFT.
With celebrity endorsements and mainstream media attention, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) strives to become an off-chain brand. In the last twelve months, BAYC has achieved a partnership with Adidas, featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, and numerous Bored Ape real-life gatherings for holders.
BAYC Team
At the time of launch in April 2021, the team behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection was pseudonymous. BAYC is developed by Yuga Labs, comprising friends using the alias’ Gargamel, Gordon Goner, Emperor Tomato Ketchup, and No Sass. Furthermore, Gargamel and Gordon Goner are the project’s co-founders. Emperor Tomato Ketchup and No Sass assist with project development. Their collaborative goal is “to make some dope apes, test our skills, and try to build something (ridiculous)”.
However, their identities didn’t remain secret for long. In February 2022, BuzzFeed published the identities of co-founders Gordon Goner and Gargamel, or rather, Wylie Aronow and Greg Solano. A few hours after being “doxxed” (unwillingly had their identity revealed), the remaining members also publicized their names. Emperor Tomato Ketchup and No Sass revealed their “real” names on Twitter – Kerem and Zeshan.
Another announcement surprised some fans around the time of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) founders revealing their Web2 selves. Yuga Labs outsources the BAYC artwork and non-fungible token (NFT) designs. Seneca, a freelance artist, is responsible for bringing the creative and artistic side to the project. However, she didn’t stay around for long. A Rolling Stone interview confirms she “had no idea that the collection was a hit until she queried Google for the name months later”.
Why NFTs?
Currencies such as cryptocurrency and fiat are fungible, meaning they are interchangeable, divisible, and facilitate a fair medium of exchange. Conversely, non-fungible assets are unique. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) represent pieces of code on the blockchain that no one can duplicate, alter, or remove. Moreover, NFTs can represent just about anything, including the tokenization of real-world assets.
In addition, NFTs are ideal for enabling digital property rights of a non-tangible asset, for example, a piece of art or music. Although people can still technically “steal” certain aspects of NFTs (i.e., downloading a JPEG or a recording of an audio clip), it is far easier to trace. In the case of Bored Ape NFTs, using a download of the original asset is akin to wearing a cheap knockoff Rolex. However, it is publicly transparent for the world to see the largest smart contract in the industry on the behemoth of programmable blockchains, Ethereum.
When Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) launched its NFT assets, the entire collection sold out in twelve hours. The value of the NFTs gradually increased for around three months between April and July. Then, coinciding with a crypto bull run in the summer, the price of Bored Ape NFTs rose over 400% in four weeks during August.
What is Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs?
When an investor purchases a Bored Ape non-fungible token (NFT), the asset holds multiple utilities. Bored Apes are unique pieces of art embracing features with varying degrees of scarcity. In addition, Bored Ape NFTs represent a digital identity for holders, opening elite metaphorical digital doors. Each Bored Ape has a number (e.g., BAYC #3284) and a name reflecting its appearance for its identity.
ERC-721 Bored Ape non-fungible tokens (NFTs) contain more than 170 variables in possible traits. As a result, each of the 10,000 NFTs is unique. Varying traits include facial expressions, fur color, clothing, and accessories. Plus, some traits are rarer than others, such as laser eyes or golden fur (two sub-1% traits). Currently, the floor price for entry is 94 ETH for a regular Bored Ape with common features. However, the price for rare traits is substantially higher. For example, the solid gold fur ape with shooting laser eyes, BAYC #3749 (or “The Captain”), sold for 740 ETH ( around $3.9 million at the time).
Bored Ape NFTs sell at free-market value, cryptographically secured by blockchain technology. In short, this means that the supply and demand of the asset determine the NFT’s value. Plus, no centralized organization can manipulate or artificially inflate the price of the Bored Ape assets. Although the value of a Bored Ape NFT can be highly subjective, there are a few elements that can add value to it. Aside from apparent rare features, endorsement from celebrities and influencers can affect the demand for an asset. In addition, if an ape holds features of a socially trending topic (which again is subjective and continually changes), this could affect the NFT’s value. Also, Bored Ape NFTs offer different utilities and benefits within the club, which can drastically influence its value.
The Bathroom
What is Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) doing to keep its members engaged? Well, it first began with BAYC’s Bathroom. The bathroom is a digital representation of a private physical space to write whatever comes to you on the walls freely. Further, encouraging some “creative” fun, the BAYC website states the bathroom “is the place to draw, scrawl, or write expletives”.
With strict members-only access, Bored Ape NFT holders must have their assets present in their MetaMask wallet to participate. With cutting-edge security, BAYC members can collaboratively create an art piece while remaining anonymous if they so choose. The canvas space allows each ape holder access to the bathroom every 15 minutes to paint a pixel on the wall of their choice. The exclusivity, option of anonymity, and the freedom to be creative are a few ways BAYC is growing its momentum of membership engagement.
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Bored Ape Kennel Club
Fearing the apes may get lonely in the swamp, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) set up Bored Ape Kennel Club. As such, Bored Ape Kennel Club allows every ape to adopt its own four-legged friend! What’s more, apes could adopt a Club Dog NFT for free (gas fees not included). Available during one week of June 2021, members could sign up to adopt with a surprise reveal of the dogs at the end of the adoption period. The Bored Ape NFTs served as an adoption entry ticket, with a maximum of one Club Dog NFT per ape. 96% of Bored Ape members adopted a canine friend. The remaining 400 dogs were released into the swamp, never to be seen again.
Like their ape leaders, there are 10,000 unique Club Dog NFTs available. Also, Club Dog NFTs use the same Ethereum standard (ERC-721) and storage facility (IPFS). Plus, there are 170 different traits with varying scarcities akin to Bored Ape NFTs.
The Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC) collection integrates charitable contributions cryptographically encrypted into the NFT assets with secondary sales on OpenSea. Accordingly, a 2.5% royalty fee was in place for six weeks following the launch to raise funds for animal charities. The exact amount raised is unknown, but in August 2021, the official BAYC Twitter account tweeted about its 66.45 ETH (over $200,000) donation to Orangutan Outreach.
The Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC) release of Club Dog NFTs is another valuable incentive for membership. In addition to the cute canine digital companionship, Club Dog NFTs were essentially a free asset that greatly benefited HODLers. A recent report found that the BAKC collection now has a floor price on OpenSea of twelve ETH (around $36,000)!
Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC)
Another example of how Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) engages its members is the distribution of mutant serum vials. An airdrop was given to members following a snapshot of Bored Ape holders on August 8th, 2021. Also, the minting opportunities of 10,000 Mutant Apes became available in a public Dutch auction. Accordingly, the cost to mint a Mutant Ape was reduced from three ETH to .01 ETH over nine hours. At the end of the auction, Mutant Apes were unveiled, and BAYC members were able to begin mutating their apes with serums.
There are three types of mutant serums: M1, M2, and M3. Bored Apes are willing to try each serum only once – with M1 and M2 serums resulting in mutations with traces of original traits. However, apes will become unrecognizable upon ingesting an M3 “Mega Mutant” serum. After use, serum vials are burned. As a result, the value of serum vials has soared, with an M3 vial reported selling for 888.88 ETH (approximately $3.6 million at the time).
A collection of new Mutant Apes resulted in the creation of Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), exclusively for 20,000 mutant members. Member criteria require the exposure of mutant serum to existing Bored Apes. In addition, investors from the Mutant Ape public auction can be members. The MAYC rewards existing Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) members by offering a mutant version of their ape NFT. Also, representing the final tier of membership, MAYC facilitates a layered BAYC ecosystem, lowering the membership tier for newcomers. The project states it will introduce varying member-only benefits and utilities for Mutant Apes, Bored Apes, and Bored Apes with BAKC companions.
Exploring Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) – Summary
What is Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), and why is it so popular? Hopefully, after reading this article, you can understand the origin and operations of the crypto project, alongside its various value propositions. This includes being the topic of conversation with many social media influencers and celebrities! BAYC is far more than solely another NFT collectibles collection. Members can receive a range of exclusive benefits, invitations to VIP events, and options to expand their Bored Ape’s utility. The longer an investor is a member, the more benefits they will accrue. Moreover, BAYC is transitioning toward being an off-chain brand, partnering with leading global brands.
What is Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) doing to keep its members enthralled? The BAYC team periodically releases new elements to the BAYC ecosystem. This includes the addition of canine companions via the Bored Ape Kennel Club project. Also, a society of new apes, Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), is a social club home to 20,000 mutated apes of various kinds. As the full roadmap is complete on the project’s website, many are wondering and waiting for the next Bored Ape activity. Let us know what you think might be the next move from Bored Ape Yacht Club on Twitter @MoralisAcademy!
Articles on Moralis and Moralis Academy are full of educational material with daily updates about different crypto projects. For example, why not see our “Polkadot vs Cardano” or “Exploring ApeCoin (APE)” articles next? Or, check out our “Why to Learn Web3 Development” or “Crypto Backed by Gold” articles to expand your blockchain knowledge!
