The Complete Guide To Yuga Labs – Overview, NFT, Projects And More
If you have been on any social media platforms in the past year, chances are you would have come across the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection. Today we shall take a dive into the company behind BAYC, Yuga Labs. Since the explosion of the apes, Yuga Labs have grown into one of the biggest brands in the NFT space.
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The Yuga Labs Team
Yuga Labs is the brainchild of two friends, Greg Solano and Wylie Aronow. According to BuzzFeed News, the dynamic duo decided to keep their identities a secret until earlier this year. In the beginning, Solano, Aronow, and two other friends worked with a group of artists to create the apes, the logo, etc. They are all real life friends from the start with diverse backgrounds.
Yuga lab founders:
- Greg Solano
- Wylie Aronow
The name of the company is inspired by the villain in Zelda, whose ability is to turn himself and others into 2D art. Well, it makes sense given that most of their projects are 2D. Their first NFT collection is a 10k profile picture NFT project on the Ethereum blockchain network, the Bored Ape Yacht Club.Â
The backstory is that these apes became so wealthy that they became extremely bored. As such, they now have a secretive club in the swamp. The logo utilizes an ape skull, showing how the apes are presently bored to death.Â
Since then, the team has onboarded various full time staff to work on every aspect of the BAYC ecosystem. This includes video games, merch, physical and digital experiences, scavenger hunts, etc. The team is aiming to be a community-owned brand, expanding into world-class gaming, events, and streetwear.
Meanwhile, you can check them out on their social platforms:
- Yuga labs website:Â https://www.yuga.com/
- Yuga labs Twitter:Â https://twitter.com/yugalabs
- Yuga labs Discord:Â https://discord.gg/3P5K3dzgdB
Yuga Labs Projects
First and foremost, we have the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection. These 10k Bored Apes have a floor price of 87.77 ETH and a total trading volume of 585.4k ETH at the time of writing. The collection had an original mint price of 0.08 ETH per ape. Life changing money indeed.
The project uses over 170 different traits to generate 10k unique apes with different rarities. The main distinction between BAYC and CryptoPunks is that BAYC owners get the full ownership and commercial usage rights of their assets.
Not long after, the team released an airdrop of BAYC-inspired dogs: the Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC). These NFTs are free for all BAYC owners to claim, giving each ape a cute companion. They currently have a floor price of 6.7k ETH with a total trading volume of 99.1k ETH.
In August 2021, the Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFT collection was released. There are a total of 20k Mutant Apes right now. 10k of which were used to reward BAYC owners, while the remaining 10k NFTs were sold through an auction to expand their community. These mutants were created using a serum that when exposed to a Bored Ape, mutates into a Mutant Ape. Right now, they sit at a floor price of 17.76 ETH on the secondary market.
And now, the Yuga Labs endgame: the Otherside metaverse. The metaverse is still in development, promising tons of opportunities in the near future. The metaverse is made up of 200,000 plots of land, known as Otherdeeds. The name points to the fact that they are title deeds in the Otherside metaverse.
Each plot of land has a unique blend of environment and sediment. The plots may contain some resources, powerful artifacts, or even a Koda NFT. These digital assets are distributed randomly to the plots, which are randomly distributed to the land owners. Kodas are a race of celestials that are vital to the Otherside. Their energy is what keeps the universe from collapsing.
The shiny Yuga Labs cryptocurrency: ApeCoin
The Yuga Labs ecosystem, Yugaverse, runs on their native cryptocurrency, ApeCoin. This coin is owned and run by the ApeCoin DAO. Yuga Labs is one of the main contributors to the coin, and a community member of the DAO. Starting from the Otherside metaverse, they will be using this currency as the primary token in future undertakings.
ApeCoin is an ERC-20 governance and utility token used to empower a decentralized community building at the forefront of web3.
And then came the largest acquisition in the NFT space
Yuga Labs broke Twitter on March 12th, 2022 as they announced the acquisition of Larva Labs’ CryptoPunks and Meebits. The deal gives Yuga Labs the brands, copyright in the art, and other IP rights for both collections. The company also received 423 CryptoPunks and 1711 Meebits in the package.
With this acquisition, the company effectively owns the two largest NFT collections on the planet. In case you missed it, the CryptoPunks collection is one of the earliest examples of an Ethereum NFT, successfully inspiring the modern CryptoArt movement.Â
Fancy some BAYC Merchandise?
On March 29th, 2022, the BAYC merch store officially opened its doors to BAYC and MAYC holders. The merch includes hoodies, soccer jerseys, hats, sweatpants, and throw blankets. Do note that holders can only use ApeCoin to purchase these items. This means that they are essentially giving away their votes in the DAO for physical apparel. Therefore, some of the community members seem reluctant to make their purchase. Still, what a way to flex IRL!
What is ApeFest?
On June 20th-23rd, 2022, this exclusive community met up in the physical world again! ApeFest was hosted at Pier 17 in NYC, and was one of the most hyped up events of 2022. The team organized 4 wild nights of unforgettable performances at the waterfront venue, with panoramic views, an epic 1.5-acre rooftop, and a capacity of 3,400 each night.
Notable celebrities that have ‘aped in’
If you acquire a BAYC today (a.k.a ape in), you will instantly be in the same community as some of the largest names on the planet. Some notable celebrities that own BAYC NFTs include Tom Brady, Ben Simmons, Jimmy Fallon, Post Malone, Madonna, Kevin Hart, Neymar Jr., and the list goes on. If you are a mere mortal like me, there are not many assets that can put your name in the same sentence as the superstars above.Â
Along with various other giants in the NFT space and in big tech, Yuga Labs is working hard to shape the future of Web3. The team has proven itself to the world time and time again, solidifying their place in the industry. It will definitely be interesting to see what comes next, especially in the Otherside metaverse.