Today we’re excited to announce that Yuga has acquired the IP of the CryptoPunks and Meebits NFT collections from Larva Labs. This means that we now own the brands, copyright in the art, and other IP rights for both collections, along with 423 CryptoPunks and 1711 Meebits.

When we set out to create within the NFT space, we did so with a deep admiration for CryptoPunks and the visionary work of the project’s founders, Matt and John. Their work moved NFTs, the Ethereum blockchain, and the entire crypto space forward, and influenced how we built BAYC. We’re honored to shepherd the CryptoPunks and Meebits brands into the future as part of the broader ecosystem we’re building.

“Yuga Labs are the innovators of the modern profile picture project, and the best in the world at operating these projects. They are the ideal stewards of the CrytoPunks and Meebits. In their hands, we are confident that they will continue to be vital, thriving projects in the emerging decentralized web.”

— Matt Hall and John Watkinson, co-founders of Larva Labs, CryptoPunks and Meebits

This deal came about in a very organic way from conversations between our partner Guy Oseary and the Larva Labs founders. One call led to another and here we are at this historic moment. This acquisition does not mean that Matt and John are joining Yuga. They’re going to continue running Larva Labs and will keep doing what they do best: creating awesome projects that help shape the future of web3.

What comes next

Now that we own the IP for CryptoPunks and Meebits, here’s what we’re planning to do with it. As a first step, we will soon be granting CryptoPunks and Meebits holders the same commercial rights that BAYC and MAYC owners enjoy. We’re working with our legal teams to draft the new terms and conditions for both collections, and expect to share these with the community soon. By handing over these rights, we’re further aligning CryptoPunks and Meebits with the web3 ethos, and we expect a wide-range of third party developers and community creators to incorporate CryptoPunks and Meebits into their web3 projects. We’ll be building the overall brand right alongside them.

What we don’t plan to do is shoehorn these NFT collections into the ‘club’ model we’ve developed for BAYC. We view BAYC as the center of the universe we are building at Yuga, and CryptoPunks as a historic collection. While we will work to bring additional utility to both the CryptoPunks and Meebits collections, we intend to do so as thoughtful stewards. We’re not in a rush here. We’ll be listening to the community before we decide what comes next.

For us, NFTs have always been about culture. We’re deeply engaged with the community that’s formed around BAYC, and it’s inspiring to watch them build, collaborate, and continuously up the ante. CryptoPunks and Meebits have their own unique communities, and we’re excited to see what they do with IP rights. Our vision has always been to build a community-owned brand that extends far beyond NFTs, and now we get to bring CryptoPunks and Meebits along for the ride.