With the rise in the popularity of cartoon ape NFTs, the boss of one of the leading crypto companies took to the stage on Thursday.
Nicole Muniz, the CEO of Yugas Labs, had a tough job at the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon, to explain what the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) offers to the world.
BAYC is a collection of 10,000 images of cartoon apes with various traits and a back story of the apes living in the swamp.
Cryptocurrency enthusiasts have spent millions of dollars to buy cartoon apes in the form of digital assets known as NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). Some of the celebrities who own the Bored Ape NFTs are Justin Bieber, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Madonna.
Muniz was able to outline a wider concept of Yuga Labs, tying it to web3, which is seen by many as the future of the crypto-centric internet.
“We need to think about how we can help the next 100 million people join web3,” Muniz told the audience.
“It’s a real mission for us in this company.”
Although the trading volume of NFTs has fallen during the crypto crash, the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs have continued to sell, with one attracting a price of $450,000 last week.
Muniz talked of a world where NFTs will be the key to a magical online world.
“We have a vision of a future where everyone can own these assets – whether they’re NFTs or digital collectibles, what you want to call them,” she said.
“You can take them where you want them, you can build on them and make money.”
Muniz claims that BAYC is unique in that it gives the Bored Ape NFT holders full intellectual property rights, meaning that they can use their Bored Apes for what they desire. Most Bored Ape holders use them as profile pictures on social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. Muniz cited the example of a restaurant chain Bored & Hungry, which has an ape on the chart as its statue.
The Bored Ape Yacht Club is not the only NFT project owned or developed by Yuga Labs. The company is the one behind other top projects such as the Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC). The MAYC comprises 20,000 Mutant Apes generated from the Bored Apes. They inherit the characteristics of the original Bored Apes but with varied mutations. Their supply is double that of the bored Apes, and their price has always been lower than that of the Bored Apes. Other NFT projects owned by the Yuga Labs are the CryptoPunks and Meebits.
