Bored Apes are the top-ranking non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by market value. The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection was unveiled last year, and this collection is now worth millions of dollars.
Yuga Labs is the company behind the BYAC NFT collection. On Tuesday, the company announced it had raised $450 million, raising its valuation to $4 billion. The funding round was led by Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z crypto fund.
Yuga Labs reaches $4 billion valuation
The $450 million funding round that was recently closed also saw participation from some notable players in the blockchain and crypto space. These include FTX, Animoca and The SandboxThe Sandbox. The closure of this funding round comes after Yuga labs launched ApeCoin, which has also seen a staggering gain in value.
Yuga Labs’ success comes from the popularity of NFTs. NFTs have become increasingly popular over the past year. NFT trading volumes have skyrocketed significantly. The BAYC NFT collection was launched when the NFT buzz was at its peak. It benefited from this and is now one of the most successful NFT drops.
NFTs are digital assets that are created using blockchain technology. NFTs can be used for a wide range of things, such as gaming, the metaverse, etc. Bored Ape NFTs are mainly used as profile pictures on social media platforms.
In 2021, NFT sales hit $25 billion. This is significant growth, given that the year before, the sales were at a mere $94.9 million. As the cryptocurrency and financial markets dipped in January, NFT volumes surged to reach monthly highs on different marketplaces.
The NFT sector has become so popular that it has even attracted celebrities that are now launching NFTs to boost fan engagement. Recently, Snoop Dogg launched an NFT series on The Sandbox. Other celebrities with their own NFT drops include Mike Tyson, Steve Aoki and Sylvester Stallone. The former first lady of the United States, Melania Trump, also had an NFT release.
Controversy with NFTs
NFTs have been described as beneficial in a wide range of areas. These areas include arts, collectibles and gaming. However, the use case for NFTs has been a controversial topic, where some have questions why some pieces are sold for millions of dollars when the user cannot have these items physically.
Despite becoming popular with some gamers, the use of NFTs remains controversial among traditional gaming companies. In December last year, Ubisoft, a gaming giant, announced the launch of Quartz, which would be a platform allowing users to buy and sell NFTs. The announcement was met with a lot of backlash, with users vowing to leave Ubisoft over this service.
Besides gaming, NFTs have also posed a regulatory headache. Last year, China introduced a ban on cryptocurrency trading and mining, but NFTs are still permitted. However, the use of NFTs in China is limited to personal benefits. The use of NFTs to speculate on price movements is not allowed.
The Bored Apes NFTs have attracted a wide range of celebrities. Justin Bieber, Stephen Curry and Snoop Dogg are just among the few celebrities that have purchased a Bored Ape. However, these NFTs do not sit well with some members of the cryptocurrency community.
Recently, Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, appeared on the cover of Time Magazine’s first NFT issue. During an interview with the magazine, Buterin hinted that the Ethereum blockchain could be used for good. However, he noted that the potential was crowded by “$3 million monkeys” that did not have any use in the real world. Buterin did not mention BAYC directly, but it is the most valuable NFT, with prices reaching millions of dollars.
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