Yuga Labs CEO Greg Solano announced that the CryptoPunks project would be halted due to backlash over the new Super Punk World initiative.
According to CEO Greg Solano, the nonfungible token (NFT) company Yuga Labs will “no longer touch” the CryptoPunks project in response to community opposition to its new Super Punk World initiative.
The official CryptoPunks account unveiled a new NFT collection titled Super Punk World on May 20. They characterized the collection’s 500 hybridized 3D sculptures as erasing the distinctions between gender and race.
Nina Abney, a painter based in New York, designed the artworks with the intention of paying tribute to “the audacious, nascent internet origins of the CryptoPunks movement.”
Despite its intended purpose, the compilation was criticized by numerous members of the cryptocurrency community for being “woke.” A member of the community stated that Yuga Labs terminated CryptoPunks with the action. “Be awake and bankrupt. Present day, Yuga killed Punks.
As an additional user threatened to sell their CryptoPunk NFT, a pseudonymous influencer identified as Greg inquired in jest whether the account had been compromised. A dissatisfied NFT trader further advocated for the community to block Yuga Labs and proceed.
Solano responded to the blowback by publishing a statement on X in which he elucidated the team’s intention to establish a connection between Web3 and the conventional art world through collaboration with world-renowned artists such as Abney.
Additionally, the Yuga Labs executive disclosed their intention to distribute Abney’s collection to individuals who are already endorsing her contributions to the field. This signifies the possibility that SuperCoolWorld holders may receive it wirelessly.
The CryptoPunks collection will no longer be touched, according to the CEO of Yuga Labs. Solano composed:
“What about punks? Yuga will no longer touch punks. They will just be decentralized and preserved on the blockchain.”
According to the executive, Yuga intends to assist institutions and museums in procuring CryptoPunk NFTs and in educating their audiences about the collection.
Notwithstanding a decline in NFT trading volumes, the CryptoPunks collection experienced a resurgence in March due to the fact that two transactions surpassed the collection’s sales records.
