BAYC Founders Revealed & Nike Sues StockX
We now know who's making those Apes, and the NFT project behind Nike's lawsuit against StockX
Cultured is a newsletter by Otis that gets readers up to speed on the most interesting things going on at the intersection of finance, art, collectibles, NFTs, and more.
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🗞 STORIES OF THE DAY
We now know who’s behind BAYC — and how much they’re set to make on the project
Buzzfeed has found the true identities of the Bored Ape Yacht Club founders. They’re Greg Solano and Wylie Arnow, two thirty-something writers from Florida.
The news comes on the heels of the revelation that a16z, the powerful Silicon Valley VC firm, is in talks to buy a “multimillion-dollar” stake in Yuga Labs, the company that makes the Apes. The deal would value the company at between $4 billion and $5 billion.
While Web3 is known for its secrecy, Yuga Labs has taken an increasingly public approach over the past few months. The otherwise secretive company recently hired a public-facing CEO and has been defending itself in the media against accusations of racism.
Our Take: Big NFT projects like BAYC are attracting attention from mainstream investors and they want transparency.
Investors need information — it’s crucial to how they make their decisions. Before a16z invests in a company, they likely want to know who’s behind it and what their goals are. News of major investments will attract media attention, making more information public. At the same time, some die-hard Web3 enthusiasts may be wondering if this added transparency undermines some of the goals of their project.
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Nike sues StockX for selling NFTs of its limited-edition sneakers
Nike has sued the popular sneaker marketplace StockX for allegedly violating its trademark. The dispute stems from StockX’s decision to sell NFTs tied to limited-edition sneakers.
StockX mints NFTs in quantities of between 1 and 250 for sneakers in its warehouses. Customers can either opt into receiving the physical product, which knocks the NFT out of circulation, or keep the NFT and resell it on the blockchain.
Nike says StockX’s NFTs “are likely to confuse consumers, create a false association between those products and Nike,” and infringe on its trademarks. It’s seeking financial recourse and a court order blocking StockX from selling the tokens.
Our Take: Nike is known for vigorously defending its trademarks, in the real world and in the metaverse.
Nike wants to dominate the metaverse sneaker market — that’s why it bought RTFKT back in December. But projects by rival platforms like StockX stand in its way. So Nike is following the same playbook it’s used for decades to protect its intellectual property rights: sue, sue, sue. If this lawsuit is successful (which some experts predict), it could have broader implications for the legal status of NFTs.
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✨ AROUND THE INTERNET
Sotheby’s and the artist Kevin McCoy are being sued over the sale of the first NFT ever minted. The ownership dispute is rooted in issues with the NFT’s minting process.
RIP: Drake’s much-hyped “Certified Lover Boy” AF1 collab with Nike is rumored to be canceled due to production issues.
Big fan of Honest Abe? Ring in his birthday next week by buying an original copy of the 13th amendment or an ultra-rare, PSA-authenticated Abe Lincoln trading card (yes, actually).
Gwyneth Paltrow is in deep…goop? The actor was outed for owning a fake Ruth Asawa sculpture after a recent AD story featured her next to the work.
A 555 carat black diamond that is *literally* out of this world is going up for auction. The Enigma was created by a meteor collision (or maybe carried on the meteor, nobody knows). Oh, and you can use crypto to buy it.
