# Bored Ape4

By [metacrypton.eth](https://paragraph.com/@metacrypton) · 2023-04-13

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Legal issues
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### SEC investigation

In October 2022, it was reported that the [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Securities_and_Exchange_Commission) were investigating Yuga Labs amid concerns that their NFTs were unregistered security offerings.[\[36\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-36) Since the fall of Yuga's investor, [FTX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTX), there is a wider concern to regulate cryptocurrencies and NFTs.[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-observer.com-5)

### Class action lawsuit

On December 8, 2022 a [class action](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_action) lawsuit was filed against the Bored Ape Yacht Club parent company, Yuga Labs, alleging their product is an unregistered security that was promoted through fraudulent undisclosed celebrity endorsements.[\[37\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-37) The class action names many celebrities who promoted the NFTs such as [Diplo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplo), [Snoop Dogg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snoop_Dogg), [Post Malone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_Malone), [Kevin Hart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Hart) as well as Yuga Labs' business partners, Moonpay and [Guy Oseary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Oseary) in being part of the 'scheme'.[\[38\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-38)[\[39\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Elle_Reeve_and_Samantha_Guff-39)

Reception
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### Popularity and celebrity collectors

Bored Apes have been documented by the media as one of the more prominent NFTs. In December 2021, the Bored Ape Yacht Club overtook [CryptoPunks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CryptoPunks) as the highest-priced NFTs.[\[40\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Robertson2021-40) Bored Apes, along with other character-based NFTs, would become "a status symbol for owners who regularly use their animated creatures as avatars on social media."[\[20\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Ifeanyi2022-20) Senior Writer, Kate Knibbs from [Wired (magazine)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wired_\(magazine\)) called the popularity of Bored Apes _"a gimmick, plain and simple."_ [\[41\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-41) Many Bored Ape NFT owners admitted to purchasing their Apes due to the potential marketing and branding projects that can be launched through owning the intellectual property of a Bored Ape NFT.[\[42\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Sato2022-42) In November 2021, [_Rolling Stone_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_Stone) released Bored Ape magazine covers as an NFT magazine.[\[10\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-:1-10) [Universal Music Group](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Music_Group) has signed a band composed of three Bored Apes and one Mutant Ape.[\[10\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-:1-10)

On January 4, 2022, [_Markets Insider_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insider_\(news_website\)#Divisions) wrote that "since its inception, the collection has amassed around 11,000 unique owners, according to CryptoSlam. On average, an ape has sold for 84 ether or roughly $344,000 as of publishing."[\[12\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Lee2022-12) Companies were also noted to purchase Bored Ape NFTs; [Adidas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adidas) bought one in September 2021.[\[43\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-43) Many online media publications wrote about celebrities collecting Bored Apes in late 2021 and early 2022; [Eminem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminem), [Gwyneth Paltrow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwyneth_Paltrow), [Shaquille O'Neal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaquille_O%27Neal), [Neymar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neymar), [Snoop Dogg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snoop_Dogg), [Mark Cuban](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Cuban), [Post Malone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_Malone), [Stephen Curry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Curry), [Paris Hilton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Hilton), [Jimmy Fallon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Fallon), and [Serena Williams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serena_Williams) are among various celebrities noted to have purchased Bored Apes.[\[21\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Knibbs2022-21)[\[44\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Lee2021-44)[\[45\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Chalk2022-45)[\[46\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Lampen2022-46) In some cases of celebrities owning Bored Ape NFTs, such as with [Justin Bieber](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Bieber), it has been reported that the actual purchase of the NFT may not have been made by the celebrity themselves.[\[47\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Lopatto2022-47)

Bored Ape Yacht Club holds hosted events in New York, California, Hong Kong, and the UK for its owners. In November 2021, the company held a yacht party and a performance featuring [Chris Rock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Rock), [Aziz Ansari](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aziz_Ansari), and [The Strokes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Strokes) as part of an entertainment weekend in New York;[\[10\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-:1-10) an "ApeFest" event in June 2022 at [South Street Seaport](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Street_Seaport) featured [LCD Soundsystem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LCD_Soundsystem) and [Haim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haim_\(band\)) alongside "Doop Snogg", a Snoop Dogg impersonator who several attendees confused for the real Snoop Dogg.[\[48\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-48)

### Artistic merits and criticism

The Bored Ape NFTs have attracted a considerable amount of negative reception, with many detractors of BAYC having opined that the NFTs have had a negative impact on artists.[\[16\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Jones2022-16)[\[21\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Knibbs2022-21) Nevertheless, the Bored Ape design has been positively received; Samantha Hissong of [_Rolling Stone_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_Stone) wrote that "Bored Ape art isn't as valuable as it is because it's visually pleasing, even though it is. It's valuable because it also serves as a digital identity."[\[23\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Hissong2021-23) Emma Roth of [_The Verge_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Verge) wrote that the apes were "very interesting-looking and sometimes fashionable."[\[24\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Roth2022-24) Cited by [_Intelligencer_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_\(magazine\)#Digital_expansion_and_destination_sites) in January 2022, Roman Kräussl, an art-finance professor at the [University of Luxembourg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Luxembourg) and [Stanford University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University)'s [Hoover Institution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Institution), stated that NFT works like Bored Apes (in addition to [CryptoPunks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CryptoPunks) and Cool Cats) had already become iconic.[\[49\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Dugan2022-49)

Writing for [_The Cut_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_\(magazine\)#Digital_expansion_and_destination_sites), Claire Lampen commented, "I find the monkey mostly unremarkable, generically familiar, and not very much to my liking if not wholly offensive," and added that "\[celebrities\] really want us to enjoy this monkey, clap for this monkey, know what this monkey is. They can't make me. I won't let them."[\[46\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Lampen2022-46) Jonathan Jones of [_The Guardian_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guardian) was critical of the Bored Apes NFTs' impact on [digital art](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_art). Jones opined that the NFT "should put an end to any romanticism about NFT art. It puts the consumer experience first and has absolutely nothing to do with empowering artists. It's all about the collector's ego."[\[16\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Jones2022-16) He also wrote that "The attitude says it all. Bored, emptied out, wrecked, and proud of it. That's how the NFT art investors all feel, apparently. And so they should. NFTs are not good for art. They are not liberating for artists."[\[16\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Jones2022-16)

A [_Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonight_Show_with_Jimmy_Fallon) segment featuring Fallon and [Paris Hilton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Hilton) showing off their Bored Apes was mocked by users on [Twitter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter).[\[45\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Chalk2022-45) [_Wired_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wired_\(magazine\)) described the segment as having the "stiff, cheery cadence of a bad infomercial", and wrote that the clip [going viral](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Going_viral) was "fueled by people making fun of how off-putting it was".[\[21\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Knibbs2022-21) Writing for the publication, Kate Knibbs wrote negatively of Bored Apes, and contrasted it to [_Comedian_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedian_\(artwork\)), a 2019 artwork by [Maurizio Cattelan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurizio_Cattelan) of a banana duct taped to a wall, where the buyer received instructions for recreating the artwork rather than an actual banana:

> The Bored Ape Yacht Club, in contrast, is a grimmer kind of gimmick, one that parodies nothing. It uses certificates of authenticity, too, but with a crucial difference in intent. The certificate points back to a commodity, not an idea. It doesn't mock or even question the art world; instead it simply cashes in on it. The project's sense of humor is akin to a decal of Calvin from [_Calvin & Hobbes_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_%26_Hobbes) taking a piss. The crudeness is the point. Each ape is a misprized thing, bought and sold constantly.[\[21\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape#cite_note-Knibbs2022-21)

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*Originally published on [metacrypton.eth](https://paragraph.com/@metacrypton/bored-ape4)*