Why Is The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT Collection So Expensive?

Ever since non-fungible tokens (NFTs) entered the mainstream in 2021, some popular collections, like the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), have risen into blue chip status.

Some of these renowned Bored Ape NFTs have sold for enormous sums of money on NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea. The rarest Apes have managed to rake in $1 million or more in profits, which seems excessive even for a collection that offers exclusive club access.

BAYC: rise to fame

BAYC is one of the most famous NFT collections dominating the crypto sphere, driven by mounting demand from brands, celebrities, investors, and collectors. The assortment consists of 10,000 NFTs featuring cool but bored-looking apes with varying characteristics and rarity that determine their value.

BAYC is a collection of NFTs that has emerged as an influential brand owned by celebrity figures and high-wealth individuals. These fascinating Ape avatars have varying traits and outfits, such as laser eyes, biker jackets, and gold fur. Some of the apes with the rarest characteristics have fetched exorbitant prices in the market, with total sales now eclipsing 1080 ETH.

The collection features 10,000 NFTs of bored-looking ape avatars that offer an exciting development in the fast-growing NFTs world. The artwork is backed by Yuga Labs, a leading Web3 startup.

Celebrities on the BAYC bandwagon

Influential figures in the worlds of sport, entertainment, fashion, etc., all own some of the most sacred Bored Ape NFTs. The list of all-star BAYC NFT owners includes Justin Bieber, Kevin Hart, Post Malone, Snoop Dogg, and Paris Hilton, to name a few.

Some celebs such as Jimmy Falon have paid over $200,000 to grab a piece of digital art that transcends internet curiosity to establish itself as a status symbol. The collection's heavy celebrity backing is part of the reasons why these NFTs are so desirable and expensive.

All BAYC NFTs debuted on the market at 0.8 ETH last year, but quickly shot up as crypto enthusiasts rushed to grab a slice of the artwork masterpiece. According to leading NFT marketplace OpenSea, the collection currently has a price floor of 152 ETH, with over 520 ETH in total volume traded to date.

What’s behind the BAYC collection’s price tag?

The BAYC NFT collection exploded onto the crypto scene in 2021, creating a massively successful movement that has reshaped how the world views digital artwork.

Some of the tokens from the collection have been resold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. For instance, 101 first-edition BAYC NFTs were resold for $24.4 million in a Sotheby's auction held in 2021.

The costliest and rarest BAYC NFTs like Bored Ape #1837 sparked a media frenzy and shredded wallets with their hefty price tags. Ape pictures with highly sought-after trait combinations have at times made their holders a fortune by generating nearly 10,000% ROI.

The highest purchase of a single BAYC NFT is of a "Solid Gold" fur Bored Ape that sold for a whopping 1080.69 ETH on the marketplace LooksRare. The sale took place in January 2022, making the owner approximately $2.75m and beating the previous record of $2.2M set last September.

Here are some reasons why these NFTs can generate unfathomable profits for their holders and why the collection enjoys growing demand in the crypto community.

Rarity and commercial rights

One of the main selling points driving the price and popularity of the BAYC artwork is their rarity and uniqueness. The collection has a limited supply of distinctive NFTs featuring just 10,000 digital aviators, with each collectible ranked in terms of rarity. The artwork curators intentionally minted a limited supply of Apes to make each rare and unique collectible highly valuable over time.

Each Ape is distinct, offering a unique combination of 170 traits. The rarest art pieces in the collection with characteristics such as laser eyes or golden fur make up a tiny percentage of the total assortment. Holders of the rarest pieces can resell their NFTs for a fortune to other NFT enthusiasts seeking out these iconic digital art pieces.

Bored Ape NFT also grants full commercial rights to owners, which they can use to generate income in some creative ways. For instance, one APE holder created a backstory for his NFT, which will serve as the basis for the first community-generative NFT book.

Exclusive content and perks

BAYC offers special perks that can only be unlocked by owners of Bored Ape NFTs. These benefits include access to exclusive members-only events such as parties on a yacht where participants can socialize and have fun. Bored Ape NFTs also grant holders access to exclusive content benefits such as “Caged Apes” and the ability to mint a canine companion NFT to their digital Ape at no extra cost.

In March 2022, the platform launched ApeCoin ($APE) to serve as the governance and utility token. The digital coin has since climbed up the crypto-ranking charts, riding on the popularity of Bored Ape NFTs and its many utilities in The Otherside — BAYC's upcoming Metaverse.

ApeCoin has also seen massive success due to its promise to grant users access to the prestigious Yacht Club. Newcomers to the project must purchase $APE from reputable exchanges like Coinbase and Binance. However, all BAYC and MAYC NFT holders can claim free tokens amounting to 15% of the total supply by June 15, 2022.

The Bored Ape Yacht Club expensive frenzy continues

The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs have emerged as some of the most popular and expensive digital art pieces in the crypto and blockchain industry. The collection has achieved its high valuation due to its promise of delivering ownership of rare, unique, and culturally relevant NFTs with real utility in the BAYC ecosystem.

The diverse collection is well poised to appreciate in 2022 and beyond with its capacity to offer utility in the BAYC Metaverse and multiple P2E games. The artwork also derives its value from its proposition to become a Web3 defining NFT collection that can make inroads into the mainstream.

Bored Apes have achieved meme status on social media by offering unique headwear, expressions, outfits, and other iconic traits. They have also helped raise awareness for digital art and onboarded thousands of new investors into the NFT revolution.