Sarah Ahmed
21 Mar 2022
What Exactly Is Bored Ape Yacht Club?
In order to understand why so many big names are buying into this specific collection, we should first establish what this collection, or "club" is.
According to the official BAYC website, the club aims to offer "a collection of 10,000 Bored Ape NFTs — unique digital collectibles living on the Ethereum blockchain. Your Bored Ape doubles as your Yacht Club membership card and grants access to members-only benefits.”
This establishes each NFT from Bored Ape Yacht Club as a digital receipt proving the holder's ownership of it. Each NFT has its own specific traits ranging from outfits, accessories, and skin tones to expressions and moods.
Ownership of an NFT then grants the owner exclusive perks and creates a confidential club of ultra-rich folk where only Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT holders are allowed. The Apes are purchased using ETH and the NFTs are hosted on the Interplanetary File System or IPFS, which is a peer-to-peer method of data sharing. Similar to other NFTs, the BAYC NFTs are also stored as ERC-721 tokens on Ethereum.
It must be understood that the owners of the NFTs do not necessarily own the picture or the JPEG, and nor is that JPEG of any value, rather it is the certification of ownership that they pay millions for. That certification is their members-only ticket into exclusive parties and events hosted by fellow BAYC NFT owners.
The BAYC has garnered a cult-like following since its inception, and its popularity can be gauged from its partnerships with PSG megastars and big companies. The Rolling Stones magazine, for example, recently partnered with the BAYC for an exclusive, "limited edition" monthly magazine. A metaverse auction by Sotheby also featured a BAYC NFT that was sold for a whopping $3.4 Million, while the collection of 101 NFTs was sold for $24.4 Million. Similarly, Adidas and Animoca brands have also partnered with the NFT collection, boosting its value.