BAYC 🤝 CryptoPunks & Riding the NFT Dip
Yuga Labs buys CryptoPunks, and the NFT enthusiasts who love the market's uncertainty
Cultured is a newsletter that gets readers up to speed on the most interesting things going on at the intersection of finance, art, collectibles, NFTs, and more. Cultured is produced by Otis, an alternative investment platform that was recently acquired by Public.com.
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🗞 STORIES OF THE DAY
BAYC creator YugaLabs has acquired the CryptoPunks NFT collection
YugaLabs, the creator of Bored Apes Yacht Club, has bought the CryptoPunks and Meebits projects from owner LarvaLabs. The terms weren’t disclosed, but the collections are worth a combined $3.6 billion.
The acquisition comes amid rumors that YugaLabs is seeking funding from big names like Andreessen Horowitz. Before the CryptoPunks announcement, YugaLabs was hoping to be valued at around $5 billion. The new acquisition could bump up that figure.
YugaLabs also benefits from CryptoPunks’s cultural status as one of the OG NFT projects. The 10,000 Punks were first released for free in 2017. Today, owning one means that you’re either really well-off or an early adopter of NFTs.
Our Take: The biggest news for CryptoPunks holders is that Yuga Labs plans to give owners full commercial rights.
Rights have been at the center of NFT collection debates. Yuga has been on the more liberal side, granting owners of Apes full commercial rights, while Larva limited Punks owners to $100,000 per year in profits. Now that CryptoPunks is owned by Yuga Labs, it seems that owners will get their wish and receive full commercial rights. It’s a smart move by Yuga, as it’ll likely endear Punks owners who are skeptical of the deal.
A huge dip in the NFT market is weirdly getting collectors excited
The NFT market is incredibly unpredictable, as the current decline reveals. But for a lot of collectors, that’s part of the appeal.
A recent study found that NFTs have a higher return than traditional financial asset classes, but the market is much more volatile. That’s because value is closely tied to artificial scarcity and collectors’ taste, not regular financial indicators.
As the market develops and older NFT collections gain historic status (by internet standards), most experts think some of the instability will dissipate. But hardcore collectors say they’re in it for the wild ride, not the stability.
Our Take: We still don’t know which NFT projects will be hits and which will be duds. For some collectors, that’s part of the fun.
In many ways, NFTs are a market mirroring that of the early career artist. Unlike established artists, early career artists (including NFT artists) don’t have a long track record of high auction prices. This means that collectors are investing in something that could shoot up in value, or come crashing down. For risk takers, that uncertainty is why they’re in the market.
✨ AROUND THE INTERNET
A huge collection of vintage Chanel products from the 1990s are up for sale in New York. The auction closes next week.
A super rare Stradivarius violin previously owned by Russian violin virtuoso Toscha Seidel is going up for auction. It’s expected to fetch up to $20 million.
English footballer John Terry’s NFT collection has plummeted 90% in value. That may be because FC clubs are cracking down on collections that use images of trophies.
The huge amount of evidence linking the art and antiquities industries to money laundering is “false,” according to the industry’s trade body. Wonder why they’d say that…
For the musically talented among us: Fender has created a series of guitars inspired by Hot Wheels cars. The one of a kind guitars are going for between $10K and $16K.
Are you still buzzed about the new Batman movie? Check out this eBay buyer’s guide to finding the best vintage Batman collectibles.
