Over 25k subscribers
Bored Ape Yacht Club’s floor price is down horrendously.
With the floor price hovering around 30 ETH – down from an ATH of 144 ETH just over a year ago – many are wondering if this is the end of Yuga Labs’ reputable monkey PFPs. 💀
While the price performance suggests a nasty picture, we must acknowledge that Yuga Labs has been working relentlessly in the background.
Since their inception in 2021 they’ve shipped A LOT. Floor price aside, Yuga are DOers. 💪
Today, we aim to provide you with a comprehensive picture of the Yuga Labs’ progress so far and their future plans.
But before we do, please help us hack the email algorithm.
Since we recently moved to Paragraph, some of our emails could potentially end up in your spam! To ensure that never happens, please reply to this email with a gm.
Now that you said your GMs, let's get back to the Apes... 👇
Paragraph powers modern newsletters, enabling readers to own their content and creators to share revenue with fans.
Web3 Academy has already transitioned to Paragraph because it’s the future of newsletters.
If you're a creator, writer, or keen reader, explore Paragraph's early opportunities!
The reason BAYC floor price is down is because the entire NFT market is down.
The NFT Blue Chip Index (reflecting the price of the biggest NFT projects) is also down 70%+ during the same time period.
Furthermore, the volume and market cap of the NFT market is looking brutal too. The market cap of all NFTs was cut in half in the span of a year. 🤯
So yeah, this isn’t a BAYC thing, it’s a normal bear market thing.
Unfortunately, in times like these, the investors are the ones suffering the most. Take this one as an example (down 80%):
This is the first cycle for NFTs. So it’s difficult to predict what happens during the next bull run.
If you’ve been listening to our podcast you know we believe we’re in the early phases of a crypto bull run. Time to pack your bags with BTC and ETH.
Notice how we said we’re in the early phases of a CRYPTO bull run. This doesn’t mean we’re anywhere close to a bull run for NFTs.
During a bull run, money flows down from the most stable crypto investments to the least stable.
Our prediction is that 99% of NFT projects won’t make it to the next bull run for NFTs.
Those that do will be well positioned to pick up new crypto entrants so long as they have product market fit and a marketing strategy attracts the masses towards their brand.
Yuga Labs is unique.
In terms of a marketing strategy Yuga Labs is the best in the business because of their abilities in 3 pillars:
Community
Have you ever met a Bored Ape holder? No other hodlr is more excited to tell you about their project and bring you in. Community in web3 is like marketing on steroids.
Storytelling & content creation
The creativity of BAYC storytelling takes us from a swamp to a sewer game where we have to avoid poop to an alien creature that travels through space-time rift.
Partnerships
In 2 short years, Yuga Labs has established partnerships with numerous major global brands including Adidas, Gucci, and Tiffany & Co.
In terms of product market fit they are the only NFT collection that has established this by airdropping more collections.
Literally no other project has succeeded with this playbook, even though they’ve tried.
For example, in June, Azuki’s floor plummeted over 50% when they dropped a new collection.
Airdropping new collections is not a sustainable business model for anyone. Even Yuga Labs.
So the team has quietly been taking steps towards establishing product market fit in sustainable ways (licensing, gaming and events).
Let's take a look at what Yuga’s been shipping recently.
Spoiler: We think it is pretty cool. 👀
But first…
The NFT space is going through a brutal bear market.
Jay bought a Moonbird a year ago for 8.5 ETH (~$25K) which dropped to 1.59 ETH (~$2900) today.
So, should Jay sell his Moonbird NFT? And does the NFT market have any chances of making a comeback in the future?
Listen to the conversation between Kyle & Jay to find out. 👇
If you own a BAYC or MAYC then you own the rights to license your ape from Yuga Labs for commercial use.
In other words you can put your ape on a product and sell it.
Made by Apes 🦍 is an onchain platform that grants Ape holders a blockchain verified license. This enables holders to establish a history of commercial use and assures others of authenticity.
Ape holders are also given permission to use the “Made by Apes” logo for projects that incorporate their Apes, which provides an offchain and visual way to confirm authenticity.
Made by Apes is also a business community as it includes a directory that will showcase the projects and products crafted by Ape holders.
Here’s a few example of what the community has built so far:
Applied Primate – A metaverse and game based on a deep story of a world battle for Apekind. 🐒
Ape Beverages – a company selling spring water called Ape Water. 💦
The Bored Brewing Company – a beer brewery with a lineup of 5 beers including Bored Becky Blonde Lager. 🍺
Made by Apes is a brilliant initiative 🌟 designed to unite the community and encourage the creation of products that bolster the Bored Apes brand.
As time goes by, any awesome project born from this will spotlight the Bored Apes' core collection 🖼️.
While it's an excellent step, it's just a part of Yuga Labs' journey. They've set their sights on developing the Otherside Metaverse 🌐 and that remains their prime focus.
Let's delve into their activities on that front 👀.
We've prepped an exciting Eyes On Chain session for all W3A DOers! 🤩
When: Tuesday, 8th of August, 12PM EST 👀
Where: Events & Calls Discord Channel 📞
The event is FREE for EVERYONE to join & we'll look onchain to help you build & invest in web3. 🫡💜
Recently, Yuga Labs gave an exclusive live demo of the Otherside Metaverse in sunny LA 🌞, inviting 40 lucky community members to witness it first-hand.
The primary aim was to gather immediate feedback from the community. 🗣️
This underlines Yuga Labs' approach of building their metaverse in tandem with their community, ensuring the product aligns with users' needs while fostering a sense of collective ownership.
This community-centered development approach is key for creating successful digital spaces. 🌐
It's likely a contributing factor to the impressive track record of the Otherside metaverse.
Case in point: Otherdeed, the NFTs conferring ownership of land within Otherside, drummed up a cool $53.3 million in royalties from April 23, 2021, to July 12, 2023.
That's nipping at the heels of BAYC's $59.1 million!
Sure, this trading activity may have been boosted by Yuga's knack for hyping up their projects on social media – their teased Gucci collaboration springs to mind:
Nevertheless, initiatives like Made By Apes and the IRL Demo underscore Yuga Labs' unwavering commitment to their community 🤝.
But will BAYC succeed in their ultimate goal to create a metaverse and globally recognized game?
Will the NFT floor get back to its days of 100+ ETH?
Or should we consider them dead? 💀
Here’s what we think. 👇
Investing in NFTs is risky AF!
Every NFT project dreams about creating a metaverse. But even though everyone wants it, no one has truly succeeded yet.
Even Meta, with all its money, has had trouble with their Horizon Worlds project.
This makes us wonder: Can Yuga Labs (worth $4 billion) make it work?
I can't say for sure, but what I know is that Yuga Labs isn't going down without a fight 🥊.
Even with the value of Bored Ape NFTs dropping by 80%, the community hasn't given up. That kind of support is something special.
Can this fanbase help Yuga Labs achieve their big plans? Time will reveal all 🕰️.
Now… If you're a believer in Yuga's vision, you might want to own a Bored Ape NFT. After all, everything Yuga Labs does is all about their Bored Apes.
If Yuga Labs becomes a big success, having a Bored Ape could be like having a winning lottery ticket 🎟️.
But just like buying a lottery ticket is a gamble, so is investing in NFTs.
That’s why we recommend only putting 1-10% of your portfolio in NFTs. These are high risk assets. The portion of your portfolio that you are willing to lose.
So unless you have over 300 ETH, buying an Ape isn’t necessarily smart.
Also even if Yuga builds a successful metaverse. There's no promise that will make its NFTs intrinsically valuable.
If you don't want to risk losing your ETH, it might be best to sit this one out. Remember, investing should not feel like gambling 🎲
P.S.- $APE could potentially be a good play for capturing the growth of the Yuga ecosystem.
However, we don’t know enough about its tokenomics so we can’t say if that’s the case.
Should we do a PRO report on that? Let us know by replying to this email.
That's it from us for today, frens! Hope to see you in our Eyes On Chain event in Discord tomorrow.
We look onchain to discover the latest investment & building opportunities.
Thanks for reading. And remember, you're strong, you’re powerful, you’re alpha! ❤️
See you soon. ✌️
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not financial advice. Conduct your own research and consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions or taking any action based on the content.
Kyle Reidhead
303
