What is Bored Ape Yacht Club?

• Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) is an Ethereum-based NFT project created by Yuga Labs that has taken both the NFT and art market by storm.
• Each of the 10,000 Apes in the collection is completely unique, with hundreds of different traits and attributes available. 
• BAYC holders have received airdrops of spin-off collections from the team as well as exclusive access to online and real-world events.

Bored Ape Yacht Club is a collection of 10,000 non-fungible tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. Each NFT in the collection depicts an Ape with an algorithmically generated set of traits, including different eyes, facial expressions, hair colors and accessories.

BAYC is one of the most iconic collections of the 2021 NFT boom, with pieces now owned by crypto traders, celebrities and world-renowned brands alike. Since their initial 2021 launch price of a mere 0.08 ETH (~$200 at the time), Bored Apes grew to soon command exponentially higher prices in fabled auction houses such as Christie’s. The collection has since skyrocketed in both prestige and value, now ranking among the most sought-after NFTs on the market today.

Tapping into the success of this collection, the team behind Bored Ape Yacht Club released several spin-off collections, such as Mutant Ape Yacht Club and Bored Ape Kennel Club. Owners of an original Bored Ape enjoyed free access to these collections as a membership perk of the online club. 

The team also released ApeCoin, their own cryptocurrency, in March 2022. The ERC-20 token allows holders to execute transactions within the Bored Ape ecosystem as well as vote on decisions guiding the BAYC community development.

In April 2022, Yuga Labs raised nearly $300 million dollars by selling 55,000 tokenized land deeds for Otherside, a gamified metaverse that will serve as a social space for BAYC members.

Bored Ape Yacht Club was conceived by two artists, known pseudonymously as Gargamel and Gordon Goner. Lacking the technical expertise to bring the project to life on Ethereum, they enlisted the help of Sass and Emperor Tomato Ketchup. Collectively, they created BAYC via the company Yuga Labs, LLC. 

The original Ape behind the BAYC’s main character is reportedly based on the designs of Asian American artist Seneca, with other artists contributing other elements.

Sass and Emperor Tomato Ketchup eventually revealed their identities on Twitter after BuzzFeed outed Gargamel and Gordon Goner. Nicole Muniz joined Yuga Labs as their CEO in September 2021.

In March 2022, the Yuga Labs team acquired the intellectual property (IP) rights for prominent NFT collections developed by the Larva Labs team, including CryptoPunks and Meebits.

The characters of Bored Ape Yacht Club have a unique backstory that has helped to develop their status in the NFT market today. The “Yacht Club” at the center of the collection is said to be a futuristic dive bar in a fictional swamp modeled after Florida’s Everglades. 

The creators envisioned a space where “Apes”— an endearingly slanderous term that some crypto investors have given themselves — swap stories and relax while enjoying their fortunes. A BAYC NFT doubles as membership to the Yacht Club — an assortment of digital spaces and experiences reserved exclusively for Bored Ape holders.

The Bored Apes that make up the collection offer a diverse range of traits and attributes that ensure no two items from the collection are the same. Combinations of traits like laser eyes, colored fur and an array of fashionable accessories give each of the Apes in the collection a completely unique visual appeal.

BAYC and the Yuga Labs team are widely regarded as innovators in the NFT space who have managed to give Apes value beyond their aesthetic qualities. Members regularly meet up both online and in real life to network, socially and professionally.

Holders of Bored Apes have been able to mint additional yacht-club-themed NFTs from Yuga Labs, such as the Mutant Ape Yacht Club and Bored Ape Kennel Club collections. Both were created with the intention of rewarding BAYC owners for their enthusiasm for the community and bringing more collectors into the ecosystem.

When Mutant Ape Yacht Club was released, holders of Bored Apes were airdropped a “serum” to combine with their Bored Ape, creating a new Mutant Ape. Non-holders could also mint these from scratch for a price of 3 ETH.

Unlike Mutant Ape Yacht Club, the Bored Ape Kennel Club collection was only made available to existing BAYC members. For a limited time, holders were able to “adopt” one of 10,000 dogs. The 2.5% royalty fee from secondary market sales during the first six weeks was donated to no-kill animal shelters.

BAYC was also one of the first NFT collections to grant full intellectual property rights to NFT owners. Commercial use of a Bored Ape NFT, whether in print or as an animated character, would be a possibility fully within the owner’s rights.

Those interested in becoming a member of the BAYC online community may choose to buy one of the NFTs from the collection. The various membership perks, far beyond just the visual appeal of the images, have attracted many to the NFT collection.

Those looking to own a piece of one of the most significant digital art collections brought about by the NFT movement may also choose to buy a Bored Ape. Its algorithmic approach to building images with traits of varying rarity levels has caught the attention of a countless number of other NFT projects and art critics that recognize the significance of the project.

Purchasing a Bored Ape NFT also comes with the potential to receive future spin-off NFTs from Yuga Labs. The team has publicly shown their appreciation for their loyal fans not just with online praise, but exclusive rewards.

Rarity - Each Bored Ape NFT is a unique combination of 170+ traits and attributes, some significantly rarer than others. Gold fur and laser eyes are especially rare, so NFTs with these traits are particularly desirable and valuable to many collectors. Especially rare traits have fueled BAYC’s rapid rise in popularity and helped the collection gain the attention of major art auctioneers Sotheby’s and Christie’s. This rise in popularity and recognition from major art institutions has compelled many influential art collectors to take notice of the NFT world.

Membership - Bored Ape Yacht Club’s value lies not just in the on-screen aesthetics of the collection, but also in the vibrant community it has cultivated. Ownership of a Bored Ape offers exclusive membership perks (and, ultimately, bragging rights) both online and in the real world. Celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, Stephen Curry and Eminem, as well as brands such as Adidas and PrettyLittleThing have flexed their own Apes as social media profile pictures.

The Bathroom - Holders of a BAYC NFT are granted exclusive access to a digital “bathroom” where members can draw on the walls — similar to r/place, the Reddit phenomenon where users can place a single pixel on a massive canvas every few minutes. 

The BAYC Discord - All Bored Ape holders can join the project’s Discord server where they connect with like-minded Apes, including the growing list of celebrities buying their own NFTs from the collection.

The Kraken NFT marketplace is coming soon. Join the Kraken NFT waitlist for a chance to get early access to buy your Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT.