You have to know the past, to understand the present.
How four crypto degens created a billion-dollar ecosystem of cartoon apes and how they have turned @yugalabs in a $4b crypto startup.
A long 🧵
How four crypto degens created a billion-dollar ecosystem of cartoon apes and how they have turned @yugalabs in a $4b crypto startup.
A long 🧵
February, 21
All started when @GordonGoner texted @CryptoGarga.
They, both in their mid-thirties, had been friends for a decade before deciding to start something together last year. Both was early in Crypto and also after the 2018 crash they remained believers.
All started when @GordonGoner texted @CryptoGarga.
They, both in their mid-thirties, had been friends for a decade before deciding to start something together last year. Both was early in Crypto and also after the 2018 crash they remained believers.
They always admired the CryptoPunks and dreamed from a project with the appeal of the punks but also add value to it. They enlisted two friends, @SassBAYC and @TomatoBAYC, both software engineers, to help build before they really had any idea what they were building 🤓.
Garga texted Tomato, at this time he thought JavaScript was important to make an NFT, which it super isn't. ❌
Second thing which was wrong in his text message was the launch a SMALL crypto project. 🤑
Second thing which was wrong in his text message was the launch a SMALL crypto project. 🤑
They learned more about NFTs, and became excited about the possibilities opened up by the technology. The artwork as a key to access locked content, experiences, apparel...anything.
There’s a long history of crypto traders affectionately referring to themselves as ‘Apes’.
There’s a long history of crypto traders affectionately referring to themselves as ‘Apes’.
It’s one of the reasons why some of the most valuable NFTs in the Cryptopunks collection are Apes. They imagined a future where crypto changed the world,where everybody in crypto ‘made it’. Everyone who ‘aped’ or went hard into crypto became rich beyond their wildest imagination.
But then what? What’s a Bored Ape to do?
Their answer: Hang out in a secret club in the swamp, for Apes only. And write graffiti on a collaborative pixel board on the club’s Bathroom wall.
Now it was time to bring the idea of a club, a digital swampland Soho House to life.
Their answer: Hang out in a secret club in the swamp, for Apes only. And write graffiti on a collaborative pixel board on the club’s Bathroom wall.
Now it was time to bring the idea of a club, a digital swampland Soho House to life.
The main connection to the tech world was Gordon’s old friend Nicole Muniz @VStrangeYUGA. She had spent the last decade working on strategies for the likes of FB, Google, and startups. “I’m not the person with a creative idea, but I can help you execute it, make it make money.”
“I introduced them to a ton of people so they could actually start building it out,” Nicole said. Illustrating the Bored Apes was the result of a combined effort from a team of talented freelancers. Base character and some of its signature expressions was done by @allseeingseneca
https://twitter.com/allseeingseneca/status/1422917423884341253
After that @migwasher, @thomasdagley and two other artists who prefer to remain anonymous created the design of the club itself as well all kinds of expressions, clothing, and accessories which were then scrambled at random into 10,000 distinct, computer-generated avatars.
It became real! ✅
Gordon said:
“Even when there was no hope in the world, I was like, ‘This is gonna work.’"
This was the first Twitter post from the official account @BoredApeYC
Gordon said:
“Even when there was no hope in the world, I was like, ‘This is gonna work.’"
This was the first Twitter post from the official account @BoredApeYC
https://twitter.com/BoredApeYC/status/1383466067419299840
April 23, 2021
The Bored Ape Yacht Club launched with a week-long pre-sale. The cost to mint a Bored Ape NFT was .08 ETH, or around $220 in USD at the time. The Bored Apes did not arrive with a bunch of hype. sales were slow, only 500 apes were minted during the pre-sale.
The Bored Ape Yacht Club launched with a week-long pre-sale. The cost to mint a Bored Ape NFT was .08 ETH, or around $220 in USD at the time. The Bored Apes did not arrive with a bunch of hype. sales were slow, only 500 apes were minted during the pre-sale.
https://twitter.com/BoredApeYC/status/1385750407268417536
May 1, 2021
The remaining Bored Apes (9,500 or so) were minted in one insane night. The collection sold out in the early morning of May 1st 2021. That night, BAYC was the most-used smart contract on the Ethereum network, flipping UniSwap. 🥳
The remaining Bored Apes (9,500 or so) were minted in one insane night. The collection sold out in the early morning of May 1st 2021. That night, BAYC was the most-used smart contract on the Ethereum network, flipping UniSwap. 🥳
@SassBAYC said: “I’ll never forget the night, it was like two or three in the morning, and I hear my phone ring. I see that it’s Tomato and think something has gone terribly wrong. ‘Dude, you need to wake up right now. We just made a million dollars.’”
The initial sale of 10,000 apes had netted them $2 million, which was also needed for paying their moms back for fronting them the money for BAYC.
While many crypto founders would’ve taken the money and run they have decided to build 💪 and work.
While many crypto founders would’ve taken the money and run they have decided to build 💪 and work.
“We hadn’t seen any collections that had a roadmap. There was just, okay, you buy the thing.” said Gordon. “The main thing was that it was a club. But the second thing was that road map. What utility can we design for them?” At this point, they thought of Yuga as “Web3 Supreme.
https://twitter.com/BoredApeYC/status/1383467162044571648
A core part of the Bored Ape Yacht Club #NFT was THE BATHROOM, a collaborative art board for token holders. Think of it as the bathroom wall at a member's-only dive bar, ready to be scrawled on.
https://twitter.com/corporatetrash1/status/1566618929132363781
Ape holders are given commercial rights to their specific ape. You can sell its likeness or make derivatives of it. You can give others permission to use it. It’s yours. You own the underlying Bored Ape, the Art, completely,” the contract declared. More to IP today, later 👇
May 29, 2021
The first merch drop only for holders sold out in 6 minutes.
Of course, they knew nothing about fulfillment at this time, they foolishly decided to handle the shipping themselves. 😅
The first merch drop only for holders sold out in 6 minutes.
Of course, they knew nothing about fulfillment at this time, they foolishly decided to handle the shipping themselves. 😅
https://twitter.com/BoredApeYC/status/1398762791587229698
June 18, 2021
Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC) joined the family. Each owner of a BAYC was able to claim a companion dog NFT. All proceeds generated from royalty fees in the first 6 weeks went to several animal charities, after which the secondary sale commission was set to zero.
Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC) joined the family. Each owner of a BAYC was able to claim a companion dog NFT. All proceeds generated from royalty fees in the first 6 weeks went to several animal charities, after which the secondary sale commission was set to zero.
https://twitter.com/BoredApeYC/status/1406008682006069248
July 27, 2021
Basketball NFT airdrop and later IRL claim.
Basketball NFT airdrop and later IRL claim.
https://twitter.com/BoredApeYC/status/1420097939888910346
August 24, 2021
The BAYC concept got weirder: Ape holders could now “breed” their ape using a “Mutant Serum,” which would morph the avatar into what Gordon describes as a “Thrasher magazine version of the apes,”
First and legendary fuck it tweet, as a teaser of the Mutants:
The BAYC concept got weirder: Ape holders could now “breed” their ape using a “Mutant Serum,” which would morph the avatar into what Gordon describes as a “Thrasher magazine version of the apes,”
First and legendary fuck it tweet, as a teaser of the Mutants:
https://twitter.com/BoredApeYC/status/1430224271712862208
August 28, 2021
Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) launched. Each owner of a Bored Ape received a serum that could be used to mutate their Bored Ape into a Mutant Ape with corresponding traits. An additional 10,000 Mutant Ape NFTs were also made available in a public mint.
Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) launched. Each owner of a Bored Ape received a serum that could be used to mutate their Bored Ape into a Mutant Ape with corresponding traits. An additional 10,000 Mutant Ape NFTs were also made available in a public mint.
https://twitter.com/BoredApeYC/status/1431778965740564482
@VStrangeYUGA worked closely with the founders on the drop strategy/pricing, and how they could use mutants to expand the club without feeling any less special. “MAYC could have gone terribly wrong. It was really important that it didn’t feel like a cash grab, because it wasn’t.”
Still, the mutants generated a ton of money, close to $100 million after selling out in an hour, having gone on sale at a starting price of nearly $10,000 each. The timing was perfect. Bored Apes had started to proliferate as Twitter PFPs. Current BAYC members loved MAYC.
September 13, 2021
Interactive treasure hunt just for BAYC members, who explored the inside and outside the clubhouse and solved puzzles left by a trouble-making monkey named Jimmy.
Interactive treasure hunt just for BAYC members, who explored the inside and outside the clubhouse and solved puzzles left by a trouble-making monkey named Jimmy.
https://twitter.com/BoredApeYC/status/1437580836099006465
September 21, 2021
Roadmap 2.0 ☠️🦍⛵️ was announced and this roadmap is still valid, even wen not all from this roadmap was launched until now.
Roadmap 2.0 ☠️🦍⛵️ was announced and this roadmap is still valid, even wen not all from this roadmap was launched until now.
https://twitter.com/BoredApeYC/status/1440392967437488134
October 10, 2021
First $APE token information
First $APE token information
https://twitter.com/BoredApeYC/status/1446569318540615681
October 12, 2021
After the first phone call back in July22 (introduced by @beeple) @guyoseary joined the club. “Initially, I came on as a manager.”
He helped to expand into music, TV and film.
“At some point, it went beyond management,” Oseary said.
After the first phone call back in July22 (introduced by @beeple) @guyoseary joined the club. “Initially, I came on as a manager.”
He helped to expand into music, TV and film.
“At some point, it went beyond management,” Oseary said.
https://twitter.com/BoredApeYC/status/1447922609266601990
October 31-November 6, 2021
ApeFest #1 in New York. Members had access to an exclusive Halloween yacht party, art gallery and limited-edition merch pop up, among other perks.
ApeFest #1 in New York. Members had access to an exclusive Halloween yacht party, art gallery and limited-edition merch pop up, among other perks.
After Apefest Gordon and Garga asked @VStrangeYUGA: ‘Why don’t you just come in as CEO?’” first a recall but then she started in January and upgraded the original ambition:
“People were still talking about us as monkey JPEGs. We were never gonna get to the place that we wanted
“People were still talking about us as monkey JPEGs. We were never gonna get to the place that we wanted
to be if we were just an NFT collection.” Out went Web3 Supreme, and in came “Web3 Disney,” as Muniz describes her vision. The goal now is to build a company with iconic IP assets that it monetizes across a sprawling, interrelated network of games, books, movies, and shows.
January 21, 2021
Holders competed in the week-long BAYC x MAYC Mobile Game Competition. The top 1,000 scorers for each NFT collection were eligible for physical prizes, including a toy plushie, a bong, a sewer-grate sculpture, a pinball machine, and a converted 02 Honda Accord.
Holders competed in the week-long BAYC x MAYC Mobile Game Competition. The top 1,000 scorers for each NFT collection were eligible for physical prizes, including a toy plushie, a bong, a sewer-grate sculpture, a pinball machine, and a converted 02 Honda Accord.
https://twitter.com/BoredApeYC/status/1460441263694655493
With the help of @guyoseary a lot of celebrities entered the swamp over the past couple of months. “I thought these four dudes were like a rock band. You want to make sure your music [NFTs] is heard by the right audience.” he said.
https://twitter.com/AltcoinDailyio/status/1508175248490782722
Feb 5, 2022
Bored Ape Yacht Club's Founders were doxxed by BuzzFeed @katienotopoulos.
decrypt.co/92223/bayc-bor…
Bored Ape Yacht Club's Founders were doxxed by BuzzFeed @katienotopoulos.
decrypt.co/92223/bayc-bor…
March 11, 2022
First cryptic announcement of the Otherside with a second legendary "fuck it" tweet.
First cryptic announcement of the Otherside with a second legendary "fuck it" tweet.
https://twitter.com/BoredApeYC/status/1502056861624946688
March 12, 2022
@yugalabs has acquired the CryptoPunks and Meebits collections from @LarvaLabs, and the first thing they have done is giving full commercial rights to the NFT holders. Just like they did for BAYC and MAYC owners.
@yugalabs has acquired the CryptoPunks and Meebits collections from @LarvaLabs, and the first thing they have done is giving full commercial rights to the NFT holders. Just like they did for BAYC and MAYC owners.
https://twitter.com/BoredApeYC/status/1502421061387882503
“I think the original idea [for the acquisition] came from Guy, our partner,” Gordon said, “and he was the one who helped facilitate that deal.” Yuga did not disclose the value of the deal, but the rumor mill put the price at anywhere between $100 million and $500 million. 👀
With the purchase of the Punks and Meebs YUGA controls the majority of the NFT marketshare. A few months ago i have written a 🧵 why this is very important and was a very smart move from YUGA.
https://twitter.com/0xBonzo/status/1554962280848269314
A few days after the news of the purchase, what appeared to be Yuga’s pitch deck bestpitchdeck.com/yuga-labs for investors leaked online, revealing the startup’s success in startling detail.
Gordon was not happy.
Gordon was not happy.
https://twitter.com/GordonGoner/status/1503824994475950080
March 16, 2022
Yuga introduced @apecoin, a cryptocurrency for all transactions within Otherside. Yuga insisted that it would not control ApeCoin: Technically it was launched and run by a DAO, and the tokens are used to vote for proposals. Bored Ape holders received 15%.
Yuga introduced @apecoin, a cryptocurrency for all transactions within Otherside. Yuga insisted that it would not control ApeCoin: Technically it was launched and run by a DAO, and the tokens are used to vote for proposals. Bored Ape holders received 15%.
https://twitter.com/apecoin/status/1504201556165644298
March 19, 2022
First @OthersideMeta teaser video.
@VStrangeYUGA: “Otherside is a game, but it’s really a platform,” and when articulating Yuga’s business model, she reiterates, “We’ll also be introducing more platform thinking into the ecosystem and how we run the company.”
First @OthersideMeta teaser video.
@VStrangeYUGA: “Otherside is a game, but it’s really a platform,” and when articulating Yuga’s business model, she reiterates, “We’ll also be introducing more platform thinking into the ecosystem and how we run the company.”
https://twitter.com/yugalabs/status/1505014986556551172
March 22, 2022
Yuga closed $450 million in a seed funding round that gives it a post-money valuation of $4 billion. Yuga decided to raise money because both Gordon and Muniz sensed that a bear market was coming, and they wanted significant reserves.
Yuga closed $450 million in a seed funding round that gives it a post-money valuation of $4 billion. Yuga decided to raise money because both Gordon and Muniz sensed that a bear market was coming, and they wanted significant reserves.
https://twitter.com/Ape2047/status/1506376306308571148
April 30, 2022
The Otherside mint. The KYC on somethingisbrewing xyz was to participate in the mint — only those who KYCed was able to participate. Gas was ridiculous 🙈 and not everybody was happy about the KYC.
decrypt.co/99219/othersid…
The Otherside mint. The KYC on somethingisbrewing xyz was to participate in the mint — only those who KYCed was able to participate. Gas was ridiculous 🙈 and not everybody was happy about the KYC.
decrypt.co/99219/othersid…
June 20-23, 2022
Apefest 2022 on @Pier17NY in NYC was stunning over all expectations incl. live performances from @Eminem x @SnoopDogg.
Apefest 2022 on @Pier17NY in NYC was stunning over all expectations incl. live performances from @Eminem x @SnoopDogg.
https://twitter.com/BoredApeYC/status/1541526892863492096
July 16, 2022
First and until today only trip on the @OthersideMeta was a tech trip. As the name implies, this demo was designed to show off the technical capabilities of the Otherside platform and it was stunning 🤩.
First and until today only trip on the @OthersideMeta was a tech trip. As the name implies, this demo was designed to show off the technical capabilities of the Otherside platform and it was stunning 🤩.
https://twitter.com/OthersideMeta/status/1555271228667076610
Otherside is being built by @Improbableio, a decade-old metaverse engineering company with approximately 1,000 employees that’s backed by A16z.
decrypt.co/111088/bored-a…
decrypt.co/111088/bored-a…
August 15, 2022
The BAYC Twitter account reached 1m followers.
The BAYC Twitter account reached 1m followers.
https://twitter.com/BoredApeYC/status/1559276287621009409
August 29, 2022
Snoop Dogg and Eminem performed on the @vmas stage. They have brought the Yacht Club and @OthersideMeta to life on the VMA stage.
Snoop Dogg and Eminem performed on the @vmas stage. They have brought the Yacht Club and @OthersideMeta to life on the VMA stage.
https://twitter.com/vmas/status/1564074360884822018
October 8, 2022
BAYC x @TheSandboxGame experience was announced.
BAYC x @TheSandboxGame experience was announced.
https://twitter.com/TheSandboxGame/status/1578740687691952128
October 10, 2022
BAYC community council was announced to help the community grow and thrive.
BAYC community council was announced to help the community grow and thrive.
https://twitter.com/BoredApeYC/status/1577691866677510147
Since mint in April 2021, a huge IP Ecosytem developed around the Bored and Mutant Apes. Checkout this 🧵 with the latest updates around IP usage on the Apes from @harry_forj
https://twitter.com/harry_forj/status/1588293289664712704
November 3, 2022
Finally some news from the Meebits. According to rumors @GordonGoner had new ideas for Meebs on his holidays.... 🤔
MB1 was announced, the first chapter of the story with a new webpage as a central hub for upcoming experiences, activations, and opportunities.
Finally some news from the Meebits. According to rumors @GordonGoner had new ideas for Meebs on his holidays.... 🤔
MB1 was announced, the first chapter of the story with a new webpage as a central hub for upcoming experiences, activations, and opportunities.
https://twitter.com/MeebitsNFTs/status/1588159420365783045
As you have seen the last few months have been very quiet because YUGA is building, they are working very hard at the moment to scale the company (>80 employees👇), building the collection teams to launch new things in the end of Q4. 💪
https://twitter.com/0xBonzo/status/1576250869149884416
That's it, thx for reading 🙏. A long and awesome @BoredApeYC journey, proud to be part of it since August, 2021. ❤️
Attached a summary what could happen in the next weeks/months from @VStrangeYUGA CEO of YUGA.
Attached a summary what could happen in the next weeks/months from @VStrangeYUGA CEO of YUGA.
https://twitter.com/0xBonzo/status/1588272914788323328
If you have enjoyed reading please like ❤️ and retweet 🔁 with a comment ✍️.
Tltr:
Trust YUGA 💎✋
We have a great culture. Positive, friendly and helpful. Let's keep it this way!
Yours, ₿onzo🤟
DYOR
twitter.com/0xBonzo
Tltr:
Trust YUGA 💎✋
We have a great culture. Positive, friendly and helpful. Let's keep it this way!
Yours, ₿onzo🤟
DYOR
twitter.com/0xBonzo
References
Yuga Press: news.yuga.com/lets-make-a-nft
@BoredApeYC Discord and Twitter
@FastCompany: fastcompany.com/90796009/bored…
Yuga Press: news.yuga.com/lets-make-a-nft
@BoredApeYC Discord and Twitter
@FastCompany: fastcompany.com/90796009/bored…
Seems like there are a few messages missing for some users in this mega🧶, have unrolled the full tweet here:
typefully.com/0xBonzo/345wB9B
typefully.com/0xBonzo/345wB9B
@TwitterSupport some of the messages in this post are unavailable for public but visible for me. Can you please check.
Here is the full version
typefully.com/0xBonzo/345wB9B
Here is the full version
typefully.com/0xBonzo/345wB9B
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