Original version was published on April 29, 2022

The Rise of Apes

Yuga Labs, a Web3 marketing company, with BAYC as its brainchild, is an exclusive collection of 10,000 programmatically generated NFTs in different combinations of 170 different traits.

“BAYC” went on sale on April 23, 2021, at 0.08 Ether (ETH) each, which was worth about $190. BAYC didn't get much attention at first, until one day on May 1st, the well-known collector Pranksy paid attention to the project and announced that he had purchased more than 250 apes. From the moment he tweeted, BAYC saw a surge in sales, users, and transactions. After only 117 minutes, BAYC was sold out.

The NFT holding BAYC is also equivalent to holding the membership card of the BAYC ecosystem and obtains exclusive benefits for members. Needless to say, it's so popular that Hollywood A-listers and the best players in the NBA are spending big bucks to own BAYC NFTs.

The price of NFTs has skyrocketed as big-name celebrities like Justin Bieber, Eminem, Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg, and Post Malone get their own Bored Ape avatars. The cheapest Bored Ape currently listed on OpenSea sells for about 145 ETH, which is close to 270W RMB.

Following the successful launch of BAYC and the sale of all 10,000 NFTs, Yuga Labs created "Mutant Ape Yacht Club" and "Bored Ape Kennel Club" and airdropped BAYC holders.

ApeCoin

As BAYC quickly gained traction and evolved into the exclusive membership ecosystem it is today, Yuga Labs turned its attention to creating a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) to serve as the backbone of the burgeoning community.

Ape Foundation, as the base layer of ApeCoin DAO, is responsible for daily management and project management within the ecosystem. The Eco-Fund pays the Ape Foundation fees as directed by the DAO and acts as the infrastructure for ApeCoin holders to participate in the governance process.

ApeCoin (APE) is an ERC-20 token used for governance and transactions within the Ape ecosystem. Holders can participate in the ApeCoin DAO, transact with other participants, and gain access to exclusive ecological services, game activities, and items.

Yuga Labs has capped the supply of ApeCoins at 1 billion, and these tokens are gradually unlocked over a 48-month window. 150 million tokens will be airdropped directly to BAYC and MAYC holders at launch, while a total of 470 million Tokens will serve as the DAO's treasury and ecosystem resources. 117.5 million pieces will be unlocked initially, and 730W pieces will be unlocked every month within four years.

Yuga Labs received a total of 150 million tokens. These tokens have a 12-month lock-up period and unlock 410W per month for three years. Of their total assets, 6% will be donated to the Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation, founded by primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall.

Another 140 million tokens were allocated to initial contributors, and the four Yuga Labs and BAYC founders received a total of 8,000W tokens. These also have a 12-month lock-in period, which will unlock 220W per month for 36 months.

Five days after the release of Ape Coin, Yuga Labs announced that it had completed a $450 million financing at a valuation of 4 billion, which is a great benefit for ApeCoin and the industry.

BAYC’s Business Modle

Bored Apes Yacht Club (BAYC) has successfully created the most iconic and recognizable brand in the NFT community. The team achieves this by combining arts, entertainment and social capital. In addition, the team has adopted the De-Collab (Decentralized Collaboration Model) business model and has been committed to bringing utility to community members and holders.

According to Yuga Labs CEO Nicole Muniz, BAYC is an experiment built on three fundamental ideas: identity, ownership, and utility.

De-Collab vs Ce-Collab

In a centralized collaborative model (Ce-Collab), the intellectual property (IP) owner is the center, and the IP owner owns the rights and strictly controls the use of the intellectual property. This model enables intellectual property owners to better control the quality and consistency of products and to coordinate development against a larger strategic vision. However, this permission-based model limits potential derivative work of IP in terms of flexibility, speed to market, and cost.

Identity

Here we analyze identity from three perspectives—status, belonging, and culture. As the world continues to evolve into a digital space, digital identities are becoming increasingly important. It allows people to express their worldviews, beliefs and connect with communities that share the same values. Online identities provide people with a fairer footing than others. In the online world, individuals have no assigned social status, origin, age, gender, appearance, or other characteristics that do not relate to personal identity. This allows users to get rid of the "burden" and can easily build an atmosphere club full of personal ideas.

Status

NBA player LaMelo ball, NBA chairman Daryl Morey, DJ duo Bassjackers, DJ 3lau and many Chinese stars including Chen Bolin, Wu Jianhao, Shawn Yue have or have owned BAYC, BAYC is already a status. People with BAYC will definitely be called "big guys" on social media. Whether they have or have the ability to own BAYC seems to have become a standard for identifying financial resources in the industry - after all, no one will be impulsive enough to change their entire net worth. To become BAYC, the person who owns it must have other investment allocations.

Like luxury car watches, BAYC has become a status symbol.

Sense of Belonging

The rapid development of BAYC is inseparable from the role of the community. Since the BAYC project was released in April, it has rapidly grown into a huge community in a short period of time. For players who hold BAYC, it's not just a collectible, it's a club.

BYAC represents the internet culture of crypto/blockchain enthusiasts who believe in this space and see many applications of the technology in industries such as art, music, gaming and entertainment. This belief makes people willing to join a community that shares the same values ​​and beliefs.

A sense of belonging has always been an important need for human beings. BAYC members now belong to the most exclusive and valuable NFT brands and are at the forefront of innovation in the NFT field. Plus, it's a great feeling to share the same aesthetic and values ​​as so many celebrities.

The background of BAYC's story stems from the voice of many NFT collectors: investors in the digital field realize the dream of financial freedom in NFTs. BAYC completed the first sale in the form of FL, that is, the price of each ape is 0.08ETH. This provides a lower entry cost, enables all users to stand on the same starting line, and does not have to worry about investment institutions or giant whales having an absolute advantage. This fair and just approach has attracted many investors.