Bored Ape NFT Raises Around $285M in Crypto in Virtual Land Sale

A representation of the Ethereum cryptocurrency is seen next to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from Yuga Labs’ ‘Bored Ape Yacht Club’ collection displayed on its website, in this illustrative photo taken March 24, 2022. REUTERS /Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo

LONDON, May 1 (Reuters) – The company behind the “Bored Ape” series of NFTs has raised around $285 million in cryptocurrency by selling tokens that represent land in a virtual global game it said to be building.

Last year, US startup Yuga Labs created Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, blockchain-based tokens representing a set of 10,000 computer-generated cartoon monkeys.

As non-fungible tokens (NFTs) – crypto assets that represent digital files such as images, videos or items in an online game – have exploded in popularity, Bored Ape prices have surged to hundreds thousands of dollars each. Read more

They have become one of NFT’s most prominent brands, with monkeys sold at top auction houses and owned by celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Madonna. Read more

Now Yuga Labs – which raised $450 million in March in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz – has set its sights on the so-called “metaverse”. Read more

During an online sale on April 30, Yuga Labs sold NFTs called “Otherdeeds”, which it said could be exchanged for virtual plots of land in a future Bored Ape-themed online environment called ” Otherside”.

“Otherdeeds” could only be purchased using the cryptocurrency associated with the project, called ApeCoin, which was launched in March.

There were 55,000 Otherdeeds for sale, priced at 305 ApeCoin each, and the company wrote on Twitter that they were sold out.

That means the sale netted 16,775,000 ApeCoin, worth around $285 million on Sunday, according to Reuters calculations based on the price of ApeCoin on cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase as of 12:10 GMT.

It was unclear how the funds would be distributed, although the company said ApeCoin would be “locked” for a year.

The selloff indicates continued strong demand for speculative, high-risk crypto assets tied to online virtual worlds. NFTs are largely unregulated and reports of scams, counterfeits and market manipulation are common. Read more

While many are baffled by the idea of ​​paying real money for land that doesn’t physically exist, some virtual land NFTs have already brought in millions of dollars. Read more

The Otherside metaverse will be a multiplayer game environment, according to its website, which says it’s currently under development.

Yuga Labs declined to say how many people were working on building Otherside or when it would launch.

Yuga Labs’ Otherdeeds sale comes shortly after the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s official Instagram account was hacked and a phishing link was posted, allowing crooks to steal victims’ NFTs.

Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by Hugh Lawson

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.