The trading volume for Bored Apes and their derivatives increased by over 500% in one week. Why this infatuation with these NFTs of “jaded monkeys”?
So far, the record in matter from NFTs concerned the mysterious fort CryptoPunks. As a reminder, it was during the summer of 2017 that Larva Labs launched these 10,000 minimalist-looking avatars (24 x 24 pixels), all unique. However, it was not until the beginning of 2021 that the buzz started around these thumbnails. On January 24, one member of this singular family was sold for 605 ETH or $ 762,000 – while its original price was only $ 645. Subsequently, several CryptoPunks registered in the “gotha” of NFTs having scored a record.
CryptoPunks’ records
Thus, CryptoPunk # 7523, made famous by wearing a mask, was sold for the equivalent of $ 11.75 million at Sotheby’s on June 10, 2021. Previously, CryptoPunk # 3100 had been acquired for 7, $ 58 million as of March 11, 2021. Other CryptoPunks featured in NFT’s major sales also include # 7804, # 5217, and # 7252.
The Bored Apes or “jaded monkeys”
Launched in April 2021 by Yuga Labs, the collection Bored Ape Yacht Club consists of 10,000 portraits of jaded monkeys. Immediately popular with many NFT enthusiasts, the Bored Apes have seduced many artists such as comedian Jimmy Fallon or rapper Snoop Dogg. In November, Universal Musical announced that a band inspired by Gorillaz would be performing a virtual concert featuring the Bored Apes.
In August, Yuga Labs launched a spin-off collection, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, each distinguished by a somewhat sickly appearance. And to celebrate the immediate success of this new series, Yuga Labs gave the owners of NFTs the Bored Ape Yacht Club the possibility of producing 10,000 free specimens of this collection of mutants.
the Mega Mutant Serum NFT, one of the specimens of a collection derived from Bored Apes, has found a buyer for nearly a thousand ETH. © OpenSea
One of these avatars, the Mega Mutant Serum NFT just sold for 999 ETH, equivalent to $ 3.7 million. And the collection itself has grown 500% in one week. It should be noted that the buyer of the Mega Mutant Serum, Taylor Gerring is the co-founder of the Ethereum Foundation – the Bored Apes operate on the Ethereum blockchain.
For the Bored Apes, the future is promising and moreover, during the past week, for the first time, the price floor of these NFTs briefly overtook that of the CryptoPunks, suggesting that a succession may have arrived.
The next generation of CryptoPunks?
And in fact, CryptoPunks have recently been the object of a relative disenchantment, which some collectors of NFTs attribute in particular to the lack of communication on the part of Larva Labs, where Yuga Labs has shown a more open and community spirit – the free distribution of Mutant Apes being an example.
OpenSea, the NFTs sales platform on which the Mega Mutant Serum itself saw a strong increase in activity and seems set to surpass the $ 3 million mark over the month if we stick to the figures of Dune Analytics, a figure already reached in August and September.
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