What do Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Curry, Eminem, Post Malone, Omar Sy, or Shaquille O’Neal have in common?
They are all the happy owners of a unique NFT representing a bored ape. They are members of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC).
What the….is BAYC?
The Bored Ape Yact Club was created in April 2021 by American startup Yuga Labs and consists of a collection of 10,000 creations to be sold as NFTs minted on the Ethereum blockchain, whose native cryptocurrency is ETH or Ether.
In the case of BAYC, each creation is a graphic representation of a disinterested-looking monkey. All creations are unique, each monkey has its own properties (fur types, facial expressions, clothing, etc.), no two primates look alike.
Once you’ve acquired digital ownership of your bored monkey, you can use it as you wish in the fictional virtual world, the metaverse. Thus, several owners, like Eminem or Stephen Curry, have decided to replace their profile picture on their Twitter account with their monkey avatar. Buzz guaranteed every time!
The icing on the banana is that when you buy one of these avatars, you get a membership card that opens the doors to a member-only messaging system. Once your digital check is debited, you can challenge Jimmy Fallon to a face-off contest.
And does it sell?
These monkeys are yawning all the way to the bank!
On the day of the official launch, it only took 12 hours to sell out of the 10,000 NFT monkeys. Sold at an initial price of 0,05 ether, that is to say approximately 170 euros, the cheapest monkey is now traded at more than 53 ETH (18, 000 euros). As for Eminem, he had to pay 400,000 euros (119 ETH) to get his. Still far from the record held by a bored primate sold at more than 3 million euros (888 Ethers). No monkeying around here!
As further proof of success, in September 2021 the famous auction house Sotheby’s declared that it had sold a collection of 101 monkeys for a whopping 21 million euros (6211 ETH).
The Planet of the Apes
You may be thinking that this is not for you, that you will not be sucked in by this new fashion.
Well, think again!
Bored monkeys are taking over the world. Several consumer brands have already seized on the phenomenon. And there is something for everyone.
Sports and fashion fans will be delighted to learn that Adidas has decided to join Nike in the metaverse by signing a collaboration with the monkey club. The primates will be able to wear sneakers, jogging suits, t-shirts with the brand’s colours.
For music fans, Universal Music Group has announced that it has invested in the metaverse by signing a musical group consisting of Bored Apes. And one of the biggest hit record producers has already created an entertainment company that will use BAYC’s NFT.
They are unstoppable! A monkey was even featured on the cover of a limited edition of Rolling Stone Magazine, making public an agreement between the famous magazine and BAYC.
And for 2022, a game, a series, a collaboration with Apple and a cinema deal are already announced!
Monkey business
The start-up Yuga Labs is not as disinterested as its monkeys. It also offers advanced versions, bored but mutant monkeys (Mutant Ape Yacht Club) or dogs (Kennel) that mimic the mood of monkeys (Bored Ape Kennel Club).
Questions are being asked about how long the monkeys will manage to entertain the masses? Others wonder if the primate NFTs are not already trapped in a speculative bubble that will burst one day or another? And some critics raise their voices against this digital jungle, a simple hobby for the rich.
The fact remains that the NFTs allow human communities to come together. Events and meetings have been organised in New York, Hong Kong or London.
NFTs may be the beginnings of digital property, but they have the merit of proposing a breakthrough in the certification of virtual goods. It wouldn’t be the first time humans sent a monkey on a scouting mission. Similarly, cryptocurrencies are working to limit their transaction costs as well as their impact on the environment.
Enfin, le prochain afflux de nouveaux consommateurs sur ce nouveau business du NFT entraînera une diversification des produits et de leur prix. Demain, changer de profil sur les réseaux sociaux consistera peut-être à acheter son NFT unique à 20 ou 50 euros (à 0,005 ETH ou 0,01 ETH).
Finally, the next influx of new consumers into this new NFT business will lead to a diversification of products and their prices. Tomorrow, changing your profile on social networks may mean buying your unique NFT at 20 or 50 euros (at 0.005 ETH or 0.01 ETH).
For the moment, the success story of the monkeys continues… Recognition reserved for the greatest, the start-up Yuga Labs has just put two competing companies on notice for plagiarism. The trial, if it takes place, will be in the real world, and there is no doubt that it will be worth the money.
