What’s going on with Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs?

Original author: Samuel Wan

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Although Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs launched in April 2021, a flurry of recent activity has pushed the collection firmly back into the collective crypto consciousness lately.

A string of celebrity owners, a tie-in with Adidas, not to mention a current floor price of 72.5 ETH ($277k), makes it one of the most successful non-fungible ventures out there.

Some believe the high selling price of in-demand NFT pieces offers poor value for money. All the same, that argument isn’t stopping investors from snapping up BAYC NFTs.

Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs have featured heavily in the news

Things seemingly started in mid-December when the former owner of BAYC #3547, who goes by the Opensea username “Maxnaut,” accidentally sold it for 0.75 ETH ($2,800), instead of its rated price of 75 ETH ($280,000).

Maxnaut said he often lists NFTs, but in this case, wasn’t paying attention, causing a lapse of concentration. The piece was instantly bought by a bot account and later resold for 60 ETH ($228,000), netting an 8,000% profit in the process.

Nonetheless, Maxnaut isn’t bitter about what happened. Instead, he chalks the incident down to “part of the game.”

“I saw the error as my finger clicked confirm, but a bot sent a transaction with over 8 eth of gas fees so it was instantly sniped before I could click cancel. I have no animosity to the botter, it’s just part of the game.”

We already know Jimmy Fallon, DJ Khaled, Steph Curry, and Post Malone own BAYC NFTs. But recently, other celebs have joined the club as well.

Eminem paid 123.45 ETH ($462,000) for BAYC #9055, which some say bears a passing resemblance to the rapper. Also, comedian Dave Chappelle yesterday paid 99 ETH ($371,000) for BAYC #8343.

Good investment or passing fad?

From an opportunity cost perspective, paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for a digital token is a big ask, even for a well-to-do celebrity.

This begs the question what gives BAYC, and NFTs in general, their value?

Proponents talk about digital scarcity and the bragging rights of owning such pieces. In the case of BAYC, token ownership also grants access to organized meetups and exclusive events in the real world, including a yacht party and concert.

Mid-December saw Hong Kong-based software house and VC firm Animoca Brands announce a collaboration with BAYC to produce an NFT blockchain game. The firm said it will feature Play-to-Earn mechanics and is expected in Q2 2022.

NFTs are becoming more than just digital art. With the advent of the Metaverse and GameFi (combining gaming with decentralized finance), they will become a way to access exclusive realms and features in the virtual world.

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