Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs, took the crypto world by storm back in 2021. Since then, we’ve seen countless NFT collections launched all over the world. Around that time, one of the biggest and most popular collections to date emerged. The collection was called Bored Ape Yacht Club, and today, it's among the most valuable collections in the NFT world. This guide will explain what Bored Ape Yacht Club is and why it is so popular. It will also explain the Bored Ape ecosystem and how it works.
What is the Bored Ape Yacht Club?
Bored Ape Yacht Club is an NFT collection that consists of 10,000 unique apes. The Apes come with different levels of rarity, which depend on what the ape is doing, wearing or its background. The collection itself was launched on Ethereum. Like many similar collections, it took inspiration from older projects, such as CryptoPunks.
The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection was created by Yuga Labs. There are four founders of Yuga Labs, each of which use fictitious names, such as Gordon Goner, Gargamel, No Sass, and Emperor Tomato Ketchup. Since the initial mint, Bored Ape Yacht Club, or BAYC, created a number of new lines of NFTs. There are also multiple NFT upgrades and an exclusive club for BAYC holders. The NFT collection conquered the market, and its regular upgrades and new products kept it alive. The interest never dropped, which is partly the reason why they are so costly.
What are NFTs?
NFTs represent digital or real-world assets that have been tokenized on the blockchain, all of which have their own unique identification code. Alongside the code, each NFT has its own metadata. These unique attributes are used to distinguish it from other NFTs or copies. Think of NFTs as the asset’s digital fingerprint, where each is unique and only assigned to one specific asset.
NFTs differ from cryptocurrencies — which are also tokens — because cryptocurrencies are fungible. For example, if you hold one bitcoin, you can replace it with any other bitcoin and the value is the same. It's like replacing one dollar bill with another dollar bill. However, each NFT is unique, which means they aren’t interchangeable.
How does Bored Ape Yacht Club work?
Bored Ape Yacht Club was launched on the Ethereum blockchain. Unlike utility tokens, which are created using the ERC-20 token model, NFTs use ERC-721.
Within the BAYC collection, Apes can have up to seven traits, which include background, clothes, eyes, hats, earrings, fur, and mouth. Each individual Ape has its own combination of the traits, which is what allowed the design team to create 10,000 completely unique NFTs.
Apes that have the rarest traits are the most valuable. Those with relatively common traits are cheaper, although still exceptionally valuable.
Why are BAYC NFTs so popular?
Just like any collectible, BAYC scarcity is among the primary reasons why they are so popular. The rarer things are — the better for collectors. There are only 10,000 BAYC NFTs available, which might sound like a lot. However, when you consider how much demand there is for these NFTs, it's actually quite a small amount.
Another reason why the Bored Ape collection is so popular is due to their celebrity exposure. Many of these tokens were purchased by big names in the entertainment industry. There were even sports stars and other well-known individuals who bought one or more. Names like Shaquille O’Neal, Eminem, Jimmy Fallon, Post Malone, Stephen Curry, and many others decided to join the community. These people are looked up to by fans from all over the world. After they bought the NFTs, the collection gained a lot more exposure. Apart from celebrities, Bored Ape Yacht Club also collaborated with many major brands. Their most notable collaborator is Adidas, a famous sportswear brand.
Last but not least, owning a Bored Ape NFT became something of a status symbol. Remember — they're scarce, they received celebrity support, and they became very expensive. Not to mention that owning the NFT allows you to be a part of an exclusive club. All of this means that owning one a BAYC provides some sort of status to the owner.
Are there benefits to owning Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs?
Owning Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs comes with some exclusive benefits. First and foremost, you are a member of the club with the other Bored Ape NFT owners. You also gain access to any new NFTs, upgrades, and similar perks Yuga Labs decides to release.
Where can I buy a BAYC NFT?
Despite their scarcity and high demand, BAYC NFTs are available to purchase on the secondary market. That means that you can buy them from other owners but not from the project itself. They can be purchased on NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea and Rarible. However, there are now other marketplaces for NFTs, which contributed to the competitiveness of the sector.
Even though it is relatively easy to buy a BAYC NFT, that doesn’t mean these NFTs are affordable, with some costing millions of dollars per piece. In order to purchase them, you’ll need a sufficient amount of Ethereum for both the NFT and the transaction fees associated with the purchase.
What do you need to know about the Bored Ape ecosystem?
While the Bored Ape Yacht Club was a tremendous success, its creators didn't stop with this collection. Instead, they carried on providing additional perks and even new collections. Today, their ecosystem consists of five different projects.
One of them, of course, is the BAYC NFTs. Another is the project’s native token, ApeCoin. Then, there are three more collections — Bored Ape Kennel Club, Mutant Apes, and Otherside.
Apecoin
ApeCoin is simply a utility token used for governance. It allows its holders to vote on various proposals related to the project and its future. The token was launched on March 17, 2022, specifically to power the BAYC ecosystem. Since then, it's gained quite an impressive following. Also, the project airdropped 150m (out of 1b) tokens to NFT holders, which is another benefit of holding a BAYC NFT.
Bored Ape Kennel Club
As for the Bored Ape Kennel Club, this is another NFT collection. It was exclusively made for BAYC owners. The idea was to award each Bored Ape owner with a dog companion, free of charge. All that they had to pay was the Ethereum gas fees.
The dogs were never offered for sale, which makes them extremely exclusive. Even BAYC owners were only given a week to claim their dog NFTs. Those that weren't “rescued” were removed from the collection. However, the Bored Ape Kennel Club NFTs are available for purchase on the secondary market now.
Mutant Apes
Then there are Mutant Apes, which is another collection that was launched in August 2021. It offered BAYC owners a “mutant serum,” which, if used, transformed Bored Apes into Mutant Apes. This meant that they were allowed to mint a new mutant version of their Ape.
Otherside Metaverse NFTs
Lastly, there's Otherside, which is the most recent release in the Bored Ape ecosystem. The NFTs within this collection come in many forms, such as deeds. The Otherside is Yuga Lab’s very own metaverse. All members of the community are free to join, explore, and interact with the metaverse. It uses ApeCoin as its main currency, which can be used to buy additional NFTs. This can include merchandise, in-game items, payments for services, and more.
The Bored Ape Collection is pointing toward the future of NFTs
The Bored Ape collection is a great example of how successful an NFT project can be if done correctly. Its team has expressed great attention to detail and has rewarded supporters at every turn. They made owning a digital photo of an Ape a status symbol for celebrities and influential people, which is something no other NFT project has managed to do.
It added excitement to it when many believed that NFTs were just a bubble. As such, they may have helped preserve the image of NFTs and opened doors to new opportunities. With all that said, the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection is a good example of what NFTs should be like.
FAQs
Why are Bored Apes so expensive?
Bored Ape NFTs are expensive due to scarcity, celebrity and brand support, and similar reasons. As collectibles, people want to own them, and since there are so few of them around, that gives them value.
Who owns the Bored Ape Yacht Club?
Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs are owned by the Bored Ape community members. However, the collection was created by Yuga Labs and its four pseudonymous founders.
What are the benefits of owning a Bored Ape?
Owning a Bored Ape lets users become members of an exclusive club. As members, they have access to unique new collections, features, and perks. Members received an ApeCoin airdrop for free, and also a secondary NFT in the form of a dog companion.
