Within months of its inception in April 2021, the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) has become one of the top reasons Wall Street is serious about the emerging non-fungible token (NFT) market thanks to its recent sales of over $ 1 billion should take.
Prominent monkeys in BAYC
For the uninitiated, BAYC is a collection of 10,000 cartoons of anthropomorphic monkeys with stylish clothes and disreputable facial expressions. Each monkey is practically an image file that should be worthless in a healthy world. Even so, they have managed to raise staggering amounts of money, sometimes from some of the most famous celebrities in the world.
For example, Jimmy Fallon, a popular American television presenter, bought the picture of a bored monkey wearing a striped T-shirt and heart-shaped sunglasses for nearly $ 220,000 last November. And recently, Oscar-winning rapper Eminem paid nearly $ 462,000 for a monkey that looked a little like him.
Eminem’s bored monkey, called BAYC # 9055. Source: The Guardian
Meanwhile, one of the rarest bored monkeys with a golden fur feature fetched $ 3.4 million in an online Sotheby’s auction in October, breaking the record for another rare monkey with laser eyes that sold for $ 2.9 million. Dollar a. was sold to the sandbox a month ago.
But what’s the selling point?
The BAYC collection derives its value from NFTs, digital proof of ownership that is logged on a public blockchain. Think bitcoin (BTC), but each “coin” is in some ways indivisible and unique.
Meanwhile, most of the NFT projects, including BAYC, are run on the Ethereum blockchain, which is calculated in its native token Ether (ETH).
But rarity isn’t the only reason people pay millions of dollars for bored apes. In addition to owning a unique avatar, people also get access to an exclusive member club that is imposed with tokens. This gives them access to an inner circle of elites, which gives them status and more profitable opportunities.
Details about APE FEST 2021 published in the BAYC Discord: https://t.co/KjYGPhYWCP
☠️⛵️ pic.twitter.com/jvY38qf6NK
– Bored Ape Yacht Club (@BoredApeYC) October 1, 2021
Evan Luthra, CEO and founder of EL Group International and exclusive club member of BAYC, discussed the attraction associated with the elite association. The 26-year-old angel investor described membership as something “very strong for the Wall Street people”.
“I think a new celebrity comes into the club every day.”
Bored Ape collectibles also allow their owners to step onto private messaging boards on Discord and get privileged access to other NFTs.
Bored Ape Yacht Club “Ground Prize”
Bored Ape collectibles also allow their owners to step onto private messaging boards on Discord and get privileged access to other NFTs. And then these NFTs have some resale value which is reflected in their rising “land price” which reflects the lowest bid that can be made on the collectibles.
On Jan. 7, the BAYC minimum price was around 68 ETH, or around $ 217,800, up 380% from its mid-August low.
BAYC land price chart. Source: CoinGecko
Noelle Acheson, Head of Market Insights at Genesis Trading, praised BAYC for its more flexible collaboration than CryptoPunks, one of the few high-profile NFT collector series that existed before.
These collaborations include a BAYC-inspired Adidas gear, a talent agency signing, a potential Bored Ape music group, and other related assets created around the lazy monkey figures.
“So the concept of floor prices – which is driving institutional investment in NFTs and their increasing use as collateral for loans – no longer just depends on how much investors think someone else will pay later,” said Acheson, adding:
“Land prices and the upside potential of an asset now also depend on what other NFTs can be used for, other than just for display.”
Luthra agreed, adding that continued celebrity involvement in BAYC would further increase its awareness among both private and institutional investors. This could lead to higher demand for his NFT collection, which in turn would drive up the reserve price.
The “meta” factor
Jelmer Rotteveel, the co-founder of NFT’s MoonwalkerFM collection, added another bullish backstop to the BAYC core rating: the ongoing meta hype, renamed by Facebook to support the social media giant’s metaverse ambitions.
“With the advent of Meta, we will be entering a new way of communication and business,” he told Cointelegraph, adding that NFTs would become an integral part of the Metaverse sector, with users supporting unique digital avatars like Bored Apes, to interact with each other digitally.
He added:
“I think people will take a closer look at the development of NFT projects like BAYC and, just like you saw with cryptocurrency, step into it.”
Acheson noted that Facebook / Meta has pledged to spend approximately $ 10 billion on Metaverse development, and cited the statement by its CEO Mark Zuckerberg that they would look into Metaverse decentralized applications.
“Believe him or not, investors will likely consider getting ahead of these currents,” she added.
Will Wall Street ape in NFTs?
As mentioned earlier, BAYC’s net sales recently passed the $ 1 billion mark, nearly 10% of what Apple made in 2021. Meanwhile, the NFT sector processed total sales of $ 41 billion, nearly the same as global art sales for the year, data from Chainalysis showed
Matt Hougan, Bitwise Asset Management’s chief investment officer, admitted that many of their clients had sought exposure in the NFT space without having to cross through its intimidating technology.
In response, Bitwise launched a special fund last month that tracks its own Bitwise blue-chip NFT Collections Index – a basket of the ten largest NFT collections, weighted by market capitalization – and purchases and works on artwork from BAYC, CryptoPunks and other NFT projects holds.
Similarly, the NFT world is gradually bridging the gap between niche and mainstream
The Blue-Chip NFT Index Fund is only available to institutional investors who invest at least $ 25,000 in the product.
Bitwise NFT fund returns since inception. Source: Bitwise Asset Management
Rebekah Keida, director of marketing at New York investment management firm XBTO, endorsed the prospect of adding blue-chip NFT projects like BAYC or CryptoPunks to funds on Wall Street.
Keida says it would open the floodgates for accredited investors to pour thousands, even millions of dollars into these digital projects.
“The opportunities offered by the increased flow of capital increase the legitimacy of top NFT projects while also allowing investors to wager a variety of cryptocurrencies,” she told Cointelegraph.
Showing confidence in the asset managers’ ability to follow Meta’s advance into the Metaverse sector, Luthra said:
“If Meta believes that the future lies in the Metaverse and they invest their time and energy there, it makes sense for money managers to invest money in the industry. As the space matures and more opportunities become available, I am “We are confident that many more Metaverse-related funds will emerge to take advantage of this opportunity.”
Meanwhile, Sami Chlagou, CEO of Cross the Ages Metaverse Game, likened Meta’s potential involvement in the NFT space to “lighting a lamp in the minds of investors who are far more backward about this concept”.
“Whether you think Meta’s decision is good or bad, the fact remains that when one of the largest social networking groups opens up to innovation and is known for shaking up the world, speaks about an issue, it opens doors and opens up desire to get involved. “
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