If you’re an NFT collector, you would definitely know the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT. Even though you’re not an NFT collector, you must have come across those gimmicky arts of Apes on the internet.
The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT frenzy started in 2021 when celebrities of different climes started collecting NFTs. Although NFTs are quite pricey, they are beginning to gain traction by the day.
2021 has unquestionably been the year of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In the NFT realm, tens of billions of dollars have been exchanged, and the number is growing every day. One of these efforts is the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC).
The project immediately gathered traction and is now one of the most well-known NFT initiatives of all time. To build an intriguing and noteworthy NFT initiative, the project blends features of community, exclusivity, and social capital.
This article has been curated to help you understand why everyone is talking about the Bored Ape Yacht Club, why it is so valuable and whether it is worth buying.
What is the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)?
The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) is a collection of 10,000 Bored Ape NFTs that are all distinct. Before we get into what BAYC is, let’s take a quick look at what NFTs are. This will help readers who are unfamiliar with NFTs gain a better understanding of what they are.
An NFT (Non-fungible Token) is a digital asset that may be used to purchase products such as art, music, video games, and other digital assets. If you want to purchase or sell items on the internet, you’ll almost always do so using cryptocurrency. They’re frequently encoded using the same software that’s used for other cryptography.
NFTs have been available since 2014, but they’re gaining a lot of attention lately since they’re becoming increasingly popular as a way to purchase and trade digital art. A total of $174 million has been spent on NFTs since November 2017.
On the blockchain, an NFT is simply a mechanism to express ownership of digital assets. The digital products being represented in the instance of BAYC are pictures. On the blockchain, each photo has its own unique address.
The owner of the NFT has a wallet linked to this unique address. This enables BAYC holders to confirm their ownership. BAYC, which was unveiled on the 23rd of April 2022, is a 10,000-photo NFT project. Although each NFT is a headshot of an ape, it has distinct qualities that distinguish it and indicate its uniqueness.
The overall uniqueness of an ape is determined by its attire, backdrop, and eyes, among other traits. The more valuable an ape is, the more it sells for. This is a standard approach across NFT projects, and it ensures that each bearer receives a one-of-a-kind NFT.
Cartoonish or gimmick apes with accentuated features and unusual qualities make up the graphics for BAYC. Some people believe the painting is juvenile, while others believe it belongs in the Louvre. In any case, for many in the blockchain world, the apes are a status symbol.
While each ape is distinct, some have qualities that make them more valuable. Laser eyes, genuine gold fur, and a king’s crown are among the most desired features. There are substantially fewer NFTs with these characteristics than there are with others.
Only 46 of the 10,000 NFTs in existence, for example, have solid gold fur. The most expensive monkey with gold fur costs more than $2 million, while less expensive apes cost roughly $300,000. While all BAYC NFTs are exorbitantly priced, several have unique qualities that make them even more so.
Who are the founders of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)?
The Bored Ape Yacht Club began operations in April 2021, and it was managed by Yuga Labs. The founders’ names, however, remained unknown until now. Greg Solano and Wylie Aronow, both in their 30s and residents of Florida, founded the Bored Ape Yacht Club.
According to a BuzzFeed News investigation, Solano and Aronow were childhood friends, and their identities were disclosed through Yuga Labs’ public company documents. Nicole Muniz, CEO of Yuga Labs, later acknowledged that Solano and Aronow are the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s founders.
The names of two of the four creators of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), an NFT collection that runs on the Ethereum blockchain, have been uncovered in a probe that has been dubbed “doxing” by some.
On Friday (4 February), BuzzFeed News claimed that it had been able to identify Greg Solano and Wylie Aronow, two Florida individuals in their 30s, as the pseudonymous founders of Bored Ape.
Solano, also known as Gargamel, is a 32-year-old writer and editor, while Aronow, also known as Gordon Goner, is a 35-year-old Miami native who graduated from the same creative writing school as Solano.
Yuga Labs, the firm behind Bored Ape, has publicly available information that BuzzFeed used to piece together the riddle of the famous NFT collection, which has become a celebrity favorite.
In January 2022, Bored Ape was on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon as Paris Hilton, and the presenter proudly displayed images of their Bored Ape NFTs, which cost over half a million dollars.
Yuga Labs, according to BuzzFeed News, is incorporated in the US state of Delaware and has a Solano address. Nicole Muniz, the CEO of Yuga Labs, verified both men’s names to the news source.
Under their pseudonyms, the two men have given interviews to publications such as the New Yorker and Rolling Stone on how they came to start an NFT collection centred on the concept of anthropomorphic bored wealthy apes living in a swamp clubhouse.
Seneca, a 27-year-old freelance artist, created the original Bored Ape artwork. Muniz told BuzzFeed News that she was paid over $1 million for her services.
Benefits of holding the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)
You may join the Yacht Club, an exclusive social club if you own a Bored Ape. Users will also be able to meet other Bored Ape owners through the BAYC Discord channel and real-life events as a member of the Yacht Club.
Here’s a quick rundown of some of the benefits of holding Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT
- Members get access to additional NFT airdrops
- Access to real life events with celebrity guests and performers
- A Copyright license for commercial use, allowing users to monetize their Bored Ape
- Access to ‘The Bathroom’, a collaborative art piece
- Access to the Apes vs Mutants Mobile Game
The biggest benefit of owning a BAYC NFT is the social standing that comes with it. An ape on a Twitter profile photo is a symbol of affluence and crypto knowledge. You not only have enough money to buy an ape, but you also enter the ranks of famous celebrities if you possess one.
The community, in addition to the social prestige, is another reason to buy a BAYC NFT. A boat party, media attention, and a performance by fellow BAYC holder Lil Baby were all part of a recent encounter in New York City. The event was, without a doubt, an ostentatious stretch on the crypto world.
Aside from prestige and exclusivity, some people invest in BAYC with the expectation of profit. As BAYC grows in popularity, the floor price, or the lowest price at which an NFT may be offered, rises. As a result, investors will acquire apes with the purpose of later selling them for a profit.
There’s also a BAYC-created digital board dubbed “the bathroom.” A computerized drawing board in the bathroom allows ape owners to draw anything they want. While this isn’t a great benefit, it does indicate exclusivity.
Why is the Bored Ape Yacht Club Valuable (BAYC)?
One of the most well-known NFT initiatives in the world is the Bored Ape Yacht Club. But how did it stand out among the millions of other NFT collections that were similar to it? OMR sifted through the nonsense and discovered firms that were putting the project on hold only for the purpose of making more money.
Some of the high-profile members of the Bored Ape Yacht Club include Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Serena Williams, Gwyneth Paltrow, and NBA player Steph Curry (BAYC). That description is more than true if you’ve heard of the club.
BAYC has come a long way to get to where it is now. In April 2021, Yuga Labs, a business formed by two men in their thirties who created the BAYC, launched 10,000 NFTs. The pre-launch was a flop. Only 650 BAYC NFTs were produced.
It isn’t until the “reveal” and actual launch that two well-known crypto personalities get their hands on BAYC NFTs and begin pushing them: People who work for NFT’s Jimmy McNelis, also known as “j1mmyeth,” learned about the BAYC through an “Honorary Ape” who tweeted about it (a collection of 35 NFTs of special members, that Yuga Labs gifted to smaller-scale crypto influencers).
McNelis buys 100 and then 320 more in this scenario. He frequently tweets about it, which aids BAYC’s popularity in the crypto community.
Where to buy the Bored Ape Yacht Club
As a result of their widespread appeal, BAYC and its other collections have grown relatively pricey. Since there are no more mint slots available, they are only accessible on the secondary market at this time. OpenSea and Rarible are two websites where you may get them if you have the necessary finances.
Ensure that your wallet contains enough ether (ETH) to cover the cost of the Ape as well as transaction costs before proceeding with the purchase. Using a wallet that is capable of connecting to DApps, such as Metamask or Binance Chain Wallet, will also be required.
How to buy the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)
Having learned the fundamentals of BAYC, you may be interested in obtaining an NFT for your own use. If you have the necessary funds, it is a rather uncomplicated procedure. If you want to purchase a Bored Ape NFT, you will need Ethereum/ETH (at least 100 ETH) as well as a Metamask cryptocurrency wallet. You may purchase ETH via CEX (which is available globally, including the United States) or Bitpanda (Europe only).
Take a look at the steps listed below.
1 Create an account
BAYC is a cryptocurrency that is hosted on the Ethereum blockchain. As a result, purchasing Ethereum is the first step in the process of owning an ape. To do so, you must first create an account on a trading platform.
While there are many options, Gemini Trust Co., Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN), Webull Financial LLC, and eToro are the best because of their security, ease of use, and low fees. Gemini Trust Co., Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN), Webull Financial LLC, and eToro are the best because of their security, ease of use, and low fees.
2. Get a wallet
An NFT can only be purchased and stored via a cryptocurrency wallet, you will need Ethereum/ETH (at least 100 ETH) as well as a Metamask cryptocurrency wallet.
so make sure you have one.
For those who are unfamiliar with MetaMask, it is the most often used software wallet in conjunction with OpenSea – the marketplace where the majority of investors purchase and sell NFTs. OpenSea may be downloaded and installed as an extension for Google Chrome to make it more convenient to use.
3. Send ETH to your Metamask wallet
Transfer your ETH to your Metamask wallet and go to the Opensea Bored Ape Yacht Club Collection. Once you’ve arrived, scroll down to see the available Bored Apes, starting with the cheapest.
But how do you go about doing it?
After you’ve acquired ETH on a trading site, you’ll need to transfer it to your wallet. You’ll need to find your Metamask wallet address to do this. This is a 64-letter and number combination that may be found in your wallet. Copy this address and paste it into your trading platform’s “Send” feature. Enter in the amount to send and conduct the deal.
Ethereum is now sluggish and more costly than normal. As a result, it might take up to 30 minutes for your ETH to appear in your wallet, as well as hundreds of dollars in gas costs. These fees, however, are insignificant when compared to the cost of an ape.
If you see that transaction costs are excessive, you can transfer your Ether to your wallet at a more advantageous time. A reasonable transaction charge is roughly $10, and you can generally get a better deal later in the evening or on weekends.
4. Buy the NFT of your choice
Go to OpenSea once you have ETH in your wallet. BAYC is hosted on this NFT platform. 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.
Why are the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs expensive?
Since 2021, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have taken the cryptocurrency industry by storm, with the NFT project leading the charge being Bored Ape Yacht Club.
A number of celebrities, including Snoop Dogg, Lindsay Lohan, Grimes, Paris Hilton, Justin Bieber, Shawn Yue Man-lok, Steph Curry, Gunna, Eminem and a host of other celebrities, as well as top Silicon Valley venture capital firms like Andreesan Horrowitz, have expressed interest in these exclusive digital apes. The popularity of the Bored Ape Yacht Club has increased as a result of two primary factors.
The first reason is flex culture; because of their premium price tag, restricted quantity, and unique privileges, Bored Apes are seen as status symbols in some circles.
Bored Apes are similar to digital Rolexes in that they allow their owners to flaunt their affluence and social standing just by owning one.
We should anticipate this tendency to continue now that Twitter has authorized verified NFT profile images via Twitter Blue, which was previously unavailable. The potential of BAYC as an investment asset is the second and most crucial factor for the increase in popularity of the company.
On the 29th of April in the year 2021, the mint price of Bored Apes was 0.08 ETH. The price of Ethereum was about $2,700 at the time, therefore it is reasonable to guess that it cost between $210 and $200 (excluding gas expenses) to manufacture a Bored Ape on that particular day.
The BAYC owners who hung on to their apes have gained 1,400 times over their initial investment, as measured against the current floor price of $310,000 for a Bored Ape
Even in the face of adverse emotions in the cryptocurrency market, the Bored Ape Yacht Club has managed to preserve its six-figure floor price.
Recently, it has been reported that the BAYC developers are in discussions with the US venture capital company Andreesen Horowitz about a possible investment.
According to The Art Newspaper, Yuga Labs is trying to sell a multi-million dollar interest in a fresh investment round that may value BAYC at between $4 Billion and $5 Billion, as reported by The Art Newspaper.
However, while the negotiations are still underway if the transaction is completed, it will be the first institutional investment in an NFT project.
Is the Bored Ape Yacht Club Worth Buying?
The NFTs for the Bored Ape Yacht Club are absolutely worth it, despite the fact that it is a very speculative venture. Even if the price of gold has climbed considerably in recent months, it is possible that it may drop at any time.
The majority of the apes’ value is derived from their exclusivity and media coverage. The investment of your life wealth in an ape is definitely not the best choice, but if you have the money and are prepared to take a chance, an ape may be worth your while.
Wrapping up
Bored Ape Yacht Club has successfully innovated a popular NFT model. By combining ethical charity donations, upgrades, and other membership benefits like access to meetup events, airdrops, and exclusive games, NFT owners have demonstrated that utility is just as important as a rarity to them.
Yuga Labs has injected new life into the CryptoPunks formula. Like the rest of the NFT community, there will be a new focus on usefulness rather than collectability for NFTs in the near future.
Will you be the next ape to join in the fun?
