Two reports claim that the creators of the popular non-fungible token (NFT) project Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) are in talks of raising funds from investors such as the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The alleged funding round is expected to be around $200 million, but sources further say “the deal is not yet closed.”
Bored Ape Yacht Club’s Yuga Labs in talks to raise $200 million, multiple sources say
According to the Axios media, the creators of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) are in talks to raise funds from investors. Axios contributors Kia Kokalitcheva and Dan Primack write that investment firm Andreessen Horowitz “is in advanced talks to lead a major funding round for Yuga Labs.”
Yuga Labs created the BAYC NFT project alongside the associated NFT collections like Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC). There are 10,000 NFTs, in the case of BAYC, and each ape has different properties.
At the time of writing, 6,296 unique addresses have at least one BAYC out of 10,000, and the current floor price for the cheapest BAYC today is 90 ethereum (ETH) or $272,000.
Out of 11,249 traders and 24,543 sales, the BAYC collection has seen $1.3 billion in all-time sales volume. The collection of 10,000 BAYCs alone, has an overall market capitalization of around $3 billion today, according to dappradar.com’s metrics.
While the floor price on Saturday February 5, 2022 is $272,000 for the lowest BAYC, the average BAYC sale is $337,820 this weekend.
In addition to the Axios report, the Twitter account dubbed “Nftnick.eth” (NFT Nick) told his 80,400 social media followers about BAYC possibly raising funds with a “$5 billion valuation.” Axios said it “has learned from multiple sources,” but the publication also mentioned NFT Nick’s tweet.
Kokalitcheva and Primack further add in their report that “the deal is not yet done, which means it could still fail.” BAYC has also been hugely popular among celebrities, with pop star Justin Bieber, rapper Eminem, Linkin Park’s Steve Aoki, Charlotte Hornets’ LaMelo Ball and NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal all owning a BAYC NFT.
BAYC has also partnered with well known brands like Rolling Stone, Arizona Iced Tea, and Adidas. There’s also been the creation of two BAYC-centric entertainment projects with backing from Universal Music Group and a separate one stemming from the hit record producer Timbaland.
Last year, 107 NFT Bored Ape Yacht Club were also sold at luxury auction house Sotheby’s for $24 million.
