Bored Ape: Rise of NFT
By Radhika Agrawal
December 17, 2022
UPDATED 12:00 PM EST
[Photo credit: Binance Academy]
What are NFTs?
NFTs are non-fungible tokens generally stored on the Ethereum blockchain. They are used to signify ownership and authenticity with the owner holding the power to make transactions on them.
Initially introduced in 2014,by digital artist Kevin McCoy on the Namecoin blockchain,they rose to fame in the mainstream media only in the recent pandemic.
Surge in demand in 2021-
After prestigious auction houses; Christie’s and Sotheby’s, sold the Beeple’s Everydays: the First 5000 Days NFT for over $68 million, other blockchains such as Cardano, Solano, Tezos and Flow flocked around the growing industry.
Rebranding of Facebook as Meta also provided a platform for collections to make significant transactions over the Metaverse.
Bored Ape Yacht Club-
Bored Ape is a rapidly growing,popular NFT collection of procedurally generated,unique images of apes on the Ethereum Blockchain that has sold for millions. BAYC has become a bellwether for NFTs, just like bitcoin is for the crypto market at large.
When NFTs were at their peak, in April of 2021, the entry price for Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs was $400,000. Following the crypto crash, caused by the Federal Reserve's hiking of inflation rates to tackle inflation, it has plummeted to $150,000. Far from the all-time-high, but considering these NFTs sold for about $200 apiece last April, they are phenomenal. Popular celebrities such as Eminem and Justin Bieber are also collectors of the same and have paid millions for it.
Ever since NFTs gained popularity, debate has centered around their purpose and authenticity, with the public contending that there is nothing preventing the downloading of media, owners are paying millions for. However, by downloading the media, users can only gain access to a copy of it while NFTs provide ownership to it.
What does the future hold for NFT’s?
While initially there had been intense conflict about the future of Nfts with many experts indicating a bright future for them, recent events suggest otherwise. The skyrocketing Bored Ape collection has suffered crashes of over 98 percent with popular owners and celebrities such as Justin Bieber losing millions.
References
Hamilton, A. “The Beginning of NFTs - a Brief History of NFT Art.” Zeno Fine Art, 3 Mar. 2022, www.zenofineart.com/blogs/news/the-beginning-of-nfts-a-brief-history-of-nft-art.
Clark, Mitchell. “NFTs, Explained: What They Are and Why They’re Suddenly Worth Millions.” The Verge, 6 June 2022, www.theverge.com/22310188/nft-explainer-what-is-blockchain-crypto-art-faq.
Boom, Daniel van. “Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs Explained.” CNET, 12 Aug. 2022,
www.cnet.com/culture/internet/bored-ape-yacht-club-nfts-explained.