Is BAYC Destined to Fail
Pressures mount and the question of BAYC and its rise to fame comes under scrutiny
The History of BAYC
BAYC, aka Bored Ape Yacht Club, is one of the most well-known NFT collections. BAYC was created and inspired from the depths of the crypto and meme stonk community paying homage to ape into a certain stock or crypto ticker together with a community. In January of 2021, Reddit users banded together to form a massive army of small retail traders that aimed to stick it to the hedge funds and cause a massive short squeeze around the stock ticker GME. This had a massive cultural impact on traders in all industries, including crypto. Now, crypto traders commonly call buying a meme token without due diligence or research “aping in'' as a nod at the GME short squeeze phenomenon that happened previously. This eventually would carry over into the NFT space during one of the most hyped-up bull cycles the space has ever seen. BAYC was born shortly after the GME phenomenon as a nod to the meme culture.
Fast Track To Success
Since BAYC’s launch in 2021, the founding company Yuga Labs has seen massive success around its original 10,000 generative NFTs (BAYC). Yuga Labs has expanded to having multiple collections like Bored Ape Kennel Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club. Yuga Labs is even building its metaverse called The Otherside. Their original ascent to fame came around the massive bull cycle and NFT craze. Many celebrities started to get into the NFT space due to all the press and excitement of this new digital renaissance around NFTs. Celebs began searching for their social flex pieces. Bored Ape Yacht Club was already immensely popular due to its cultural significance and appeal that celebrities began buying them up, causing the floor prices to go through the roof. BAYC has seen massive press and coverage since then, including the Rolling Stone magazine.
Since then, the original BAYC collection has seen a high floor price that is simply too expensive for most. The cheapest BAYC NFT has run between 60-70 ETH in the last 90 days and is around 77 ETH ($133k) as this article is being written.
With Success Comes Controversy
Since Yuga Lab’s insanely fast success comes with major controversy, it has garnered some negative light since the rise of BAYC and its cultural impact. An alleged internet culture expert and provocateur Ryder Ripps is blowing the whistle on Yuga Lab, calling the BAYC collection a nod at far alt-right internet culture full of racist innuendos instead of a nod at the GME and ape culture that surrounded Reddit short squeeze. Originally the claims hadn’t surfaced much outside of the NFT space until a large YouTuber named Philion, with 825k subscribers, covered the topic with the help of Ryder Ripps, who is what most would consider the most innovative troll in the history of troll culture. This video to date has almost 2 million views, and other well-known YouTubers have also reacted to the video. Some say the video by Philion is a stretch, and others are not sure what to believe. Whatever you believe, this had a major impact on Yuga Labs. They responded to the claims as false and denied any claims to the accusations in a formal statement. Ryder Ripps has yet to back down and even created an exact 10k collection using the original BAYC art called RR/BAYC to troll Yuga Labs, saying that they do not own the original artwork. Since then, Yuga Lab’s has sued Ryder Ripps, and the case is still ongoing. Ryder also has filed counterclaims more recently.
Founder of BAYC Steps Away Amid Health Concerns
Wylie Aronow, also known by his internet name GordonGoner and one of the founders of BAYC, announced on Jan. 28th, 2023, that he has congestive heart failure. Wylie says congestive heart failure means 50% of those diagnosed do not live past 5 years. This was, of course, a shock to the entire NFT space and the BAYC community. Wylie cites that he had symptoms last year but waited a while before getting tested and learning the news. Wylie says he will still remain a board member and strategic advisor but will not be on the front to rest and recover.
Final Thought
The NFT and internet sensation BAYC has changed the game in what’s possible for an NFT project in terms of success and what is obtainable for a new IP and a brand. What Yuga Lab has done in such a short time is nothing to ignore, with multiple successful collections, a game, and a metaverse. But Ryder Ripps has thrown a major wrench into the BAYC machine with his claims against Yuga Lab that have garnered a lot of attention that people haven’t easily forgotten. The Yuga Lab’s lawsuit with Ryder Ripps also brings into question if Yuga Lab has the copyrights to or rather what the users have the copyrights to in terms of art and underlying images since that was the major selling point in the beginning for holders despite the lawsuit being a trademark case. Also, another hurdle is one of the original co-founders, Wylie Aronow having to step back somewhat amid his health problems. What is certain is that Yuga Lab and the Bored Apes have been the center of attention for the past two years, and it doesn’t look like they’re done with the limelight, be it positive or negative.