CryptoPunks were the first NFTs to gain mass media attention and huge price tags, but their status as the biggest NFT project is already in doubt with the popularization of the Bored Ape Yacht Club. This collection has become a hot sensation in 2021, with celebrities such as Eminem, Stephen Curry, Jimmy Fallon, and many more jumping on the trend and shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars for a picture. But what exactly is Bored Apes Yacht Club, and how did it become so famous?
Bored Apes are a collection of NFTs on the Ethereum chain. In total there are 10,000 unique Apes with different characteristics and rarity. For example, red fur is one of the rarest characteristics of Apes and only 5% of them have it, while only 3% have biker vests. These characteristics are what determine the price of the Ape, the more rare characteristics it has, the more it's going to fetch.
This is not just an NFT collection but a club. When someone owns a Bored Ape, it doubles as their membership card into the Bored Ape Yacht Club. Members of this club receive many different benefits, one of which is THE BATHROOM. This is a collective digital space where Ape owners have the ability to leave graffiti.
During its initial release, each Ape cost 0.8 ETH, which was equivalent to around $190 at that time. They soon all sold out and today the only way to obtain an Ape is through the secondary marketplace OpenSea. Currently, the floor price of an Ape is 91 ETH or just shy of $110,000.
Yuga Labs is the company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club. It was founded in 2021 by four founders who go by the names Gargamel, Gordon Goner, Emperor Tomato Ketchup, and No Sass. At first, their real identities were hidden but as time passed we got to know the real identities of these creators.
Inspiration for creating the Bored Ape Yacht Club came from the first NFT collection ever released, CryptoPunks. Bored Ape Yacht Club took the concept of releasing 10,000 unique characters as NFTs, just like CryptoPunks, this was a successful approach as Apes started to sell for astronomical prices.
When creating Bored Ape Yacht Club, Yuga Labs didn’t want their work to just be collectibles and wanted to have some utility that came with owning an Ape.
As we mentioned before, Bored Ape Yacht Club is not just an NFT collection but a club that uses Apes as membership cards. But what kind of club, especially an NFT club, would cost a minimum of $110,000 to join?
Whenever you purchase an NFT from the marketplace, usually they don’t come with intellectual rights. What this means is that, yes, you will be owning the NFT, but using them as commercial material or in any similar way will be prohibited. Most NFT creators retain those commercial rights for different reasons, you can find out more in the pros and cons of NFTs article. Bored Ape Yacht Club does not do that. Everyone who owns an Ape has the right to use them as they see fit.
This gives those Apes utility outside of just being PFP and bragging right. For example, the owner of the cheapest Ape created a whole internet personality, where he told a story as to how his Ape named Jenkins worked as a valet. This brought huge success and Jenkins has been monetized in many different ways following his popularity.
The popularization of Bored Ape Yacht Club has also given brands and celebrities the ability to use their Apes to promote different stuff. For example, Adidas purchased an Ape in order to create an internet personality for it and develop a backstory. Recently rappers Eminem and Snoop Dog released a music video for their newest song where they used their Apes as characters who are rapping.
There are many different rewards and exclusive content that Bored Ape Yacht Club gives to Bored Ape owners. For example, in June 2021, everyone who owned an Ape was given the opportunity to adopt a canine NFT for free. This created the Bored Ape Kennel Club, which used $1 million generated from secondary market sales to help dog shelters.
Despite them being given out for free, sales on the secondary market have soared and currently, the floor price for these canines is 6.3 ETH or around $8,000.
The canine collection was not the only collection released by Yuga Labs to gift Bored Ape Yacht Club members. In August 2021, they created 20,000 new NFTs in the form of Mutant Apes. They released half of it to the public for 3 ETH each, which generated $96 million for the project, while the remaining 10,000 was given to Bored Ape owners in the form of mutant serums which were used to mint new Mutant Ape NFTs.
Bored Ape Yacht Club also released their own cryptocurrency $APE and airdropped those tokens to every Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club member. Each Bored Ape owner received approximately $100,000 worth of $APE tokens.
These $APE tokens alongside NFTs will also hold utility in Yuga Labs' upcoming expansion of the Bored Ape Yacht Club universe with the introduction of The Otherside. This is a metaverse where people can purchase land plots with $APE tokens and use their NFTs as playable characters in their RPG-style metaverse.
Bored Ape Yacht Club also started a yearly tradition of hosting Ape owners at real-life parties. In November 2021, they held the first Ape Fest which included a costume contest, gallery exhibition, and a party on a real 1000-person yacht.
Another thing that gives Bored Ape Yacht Club its value is its popularity in pop culture. Celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Jimmy Fallon, Paris Hilton, and Mark Cuban all own Bored Ape NFTs. This gives Bored Ape Yacht Club the spotlight in pop culture and makes them recognizable. When someone mentions an NFT, the first thing that pops into many people's heads is Bored Apes. When something is popular and well-recognizable, it is automatically worth a lot of money, as it can be used for many different purposes such as marketing.
“The Bored Ape Yacht Club is a cultural juggernaut!! Ya digg! They are bringing tech n media 2gether. They need holler and bring me on the advisory board so we can elevate this game to tha next level” - Snoop Dogg
There have been many Bored Apes that have sold for astronomical prices. Here we want to make a list of some of the most notable sales.
Bored Ape #1837 does not have that high of a rarity score, but it is an interesting design for sure and holds one really rare characteristic which is golden fur. This Golden Ape is dressed in a wool turtleneck, rocks an unshaven mohawk, and has crazy eyes.
What sparked the popularity of this Bored Ape is that the previous owner of Bored Ape #1837 claims that Elon Musk was the one who purchased this NFT for $1.5 million or 569 ETH.
This Bored Ape #3562 was bought by MachiBigBrother a famous Bored Ape Yacht Club collector at the end of 2021. He paid around 430 ETH, which at the time was $1,631,222.
This Bored Ape with zombie eyes and an unshaven face has some interesting characteristics. The black suit which Bored Ape #3562 is dressed in goes well with the cap that only 231 other Apes have.
When this Ape was purchased, it was injected with the mutant serum, turning Bored Ape #3562 into Mutant Ape #17125
Bored Ape #8135 has the 7th highest rarity score which makes sense as it was sold for 550 ETH which at the time was almost $1.9 million.
Dagger in Mouth is a rare characteristic in itself, but combine it with Unshaven Face, and it makes one of the rarest combinations. Alongside Bored Ape #8135 only 27 other Bored Apes have this trait.
Bored Ape #8135 was purchased by MetaLinkLabs and became the first Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT in their collection. They purchased it from TheArchitect who held the NFT for just 18 days and sold it for a profit of $318,000
Bored Ape #232 was sold on an NFT marketplace LooksRare for 1080.69 ETH which was around $2.9 million at the time. It was purchased by Chain CEO Deepak Thapliyal
This is another Bored Ape on our list which has Gold Fur, and this characteristic is found only in 46 apes. In combination with a Smocking jacket and seaman hat, it is finished with Sleepy eyes which gives it a Bored expression.
To afford this Ape, Thapliyal sold seven other Bored Apes and M1 and M1 serums.
Bored Ape #8817 is currently the most expensive Bored Ape ever sold. It was auctioned off at the famous auction house Sotheby’s Metaverse marketplace. Bidding for Bored Ape #8817 was fierce and finally, the winning bid came to 852.39 ETH or $3.4 million.
Bored Ape #8817 rocks, famous and scarce golden fur, alongside a spinner hat, and party horn combination. His look is complete with his Silver Hoop Earring and wool turtleneck. In total rarity score of Bored Ape #8817 is 297.37.
Our partner, XM, lets you access a free demo account to apply your knowledge.
No hidden costs, no tricks.
Currently, on OpenSea, the floor price for the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection is 91 ETH. Which at the time of writing is equivalent to $111,000. But there is another option if you want to invest in the Bored Apes Yacht Club. Bored Ape 290 has been fractionalized, and you are able to purchase a share of it.
Bored Ape Yacht Club has 10,000 Bored Apes in its collection. If you are interested in the project but can not afford Bored Apes, Yuga Labs also has similar collections that might interest you.
The rarest Bored Ape in existence is the Bored Ape #7495 with a rarity score of 164.42. Dagger in Mouth, Cyborg Eyes, and Cross Earring create the rarest combination.
© Copyright 2022, All rights reserved
