Are Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs just virtual assets or much more

With Internet seemingly flooded with different non-fungible tokens (NFTs), investors seem to be on lookout for the important ones. Amongst all the present NFTs, one which is believed to increase in popularity is the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). From what it’s understood, Ethereum blockchain is the supporting mechanism behind it.

“I believe BAYC is a collection of unique and digitally-generated images of cartoon apes, each with its attributes, backgrounds, and accessories. These NFTs represent ownership and authenticity of each Bored Ape artwork. The project has gained popularity and value within NFT space,” Alankar Saxena, founder and CEO, Mudrex, a crypto-investing platform, told FE Blockchain.

Since BAYC NFTs have a total count of 10,000, experts believe that this factor has appreciated their trading value. It’s also been reported that the limited number of NFTs has driven overall NFT-based investments. According to ClearTax, a financial technology (fintech) platform, reasons behind enhancement of BAYC NFTs are scarcity, uniqueness, celebrity impact, and other exclusive benefits. The platform further stated that valuation of these NFTs are witnessing an upward trend, even for low-priced BAYC NFTs.  

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With regard to benefits, BAYC NFTs have influenced the concept of digital art which can be quantified in monetary values. Insights from MakeUseOf, a technology website, mentioned that BAYC clocked $450 million of funding to create its metaverse project called Otherside. Reportedly, Hollywood personalities such as Mark Cuban, Eminem, Stephen Curry, Jimmy Fallon, among others, have backed BAYC NFTs by purchasing them. Sources suggest that Eminem spent roughly $460,000 to buy a cartoon ape belonging to the BAYC NFT collection. 

“I think BAYC has had an impact on NFT market and decentralised market as a whole. Its success and media attention have helped to make NFTs mainstream, introducing traditional artists, collectors, and investors to blockchain. BAYC’s membership-based NFT model seems to have inspired other projects,” Vijay Pravin Maharajan, founder and CEO, bitsCrunch, a blockchain analytics firm, highlighted. 

Data from Statista, a market research company, suggests that as of April 15, 2023, market capitalisation of BAYC NFTs present on Ethereum and listed on OpenSea carried a nearly $1.68 billion value. The company also stated that BAYC NFTs accounted for one of the highest market caps in terms of global profile picture (PFP) NFT collections, as of April, 2023. Top five of the most expensive BAYC NFTs are considered to be BAYC #8817, BAYC #232, BAYC #2087, BAYC #8585, and BAYC #3749. BAYC NFTs have also been correlated with the profitability factor for companies. For example, Yuga Labs, a blockchain company, managed to secure two million dollars through BAYC NFT-based sales. 

“Looking ahead, possibilities can arise for the future of BAYC. However, it’s to be acknowledged that future of BAYC is uncertain, and there are risks and uncertainties associated with any new project. The trajectory of BAYC should unfold as time progresses, and we await developments to truly ascertain its path,” Sumit Ghosh, co-founder, Chingari, a Web3.0-based application, concluded.

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