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Harmony Launches Bored Ape Yacht Club Passport

Harmony, the blockchain platform based on the Ethereum chain, announced the launch of its Bored Ape Yacht Club Passport and support for cross-chain activities, including interoperability between Harmony, Ethereum, BNB chain, and three other blockchains.

Harmony said that the launch of the passport this time is proof that the holders “have ownership of assets across multiple blockchains, and will not transfer property for this purpose, ensuring authenticity”.

The passport enables users to import proof of ownership of Bored Ape Yacht Club’s NFTs into a game called DeFi Kingdoms on the Harmony blockchain.

The game currently has 120,000 monthly active users. When Ape owners connect their MetaMask wallet to DeFi Kingdoms, the passport can verify and display their assets in-game on multiple blockchains.

Team member Leo Chen from Harmony explained that:

“We wanted to give all NFT holders more utility and options to display their NFTs and participate in the Metaverse. Bored Ape Yacht Club holders are the first choices. The cross-chain identity creates a secure and easy way to do so without putting their assets at risk.”

Following in the footsteps of Twitter, Reddit is eyeing to permit users to have NFT-based profile pictures through a feature that is being tested on January 27. On January 20, Twitter announced that it was presenting an official verification mechanism for NFT avatars, allowing some users to set the NFTs they own as their profile picture.

Yuga Labs Acquires IP Rights to CryptoPunks and Meebits

Yuga Labs, the startup behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) Non-Fungible Token (NFT) collection, has acquired the Intellectual Property (IP) rights to the CryptoPunks and Meebits collections from LarvaLabs.

As announced by the startup, the unveiled acquisition implies that Yuga Labs now own the CryptoPunks and Meebits brands, copyright in the art, and other IP rights for both collections, along with 423 CryptoPunks and 1711 Meebits.

The emergence of LarvaLabs back in 2017 changed the capabilities of the Ethereum blockchain and re-aligned what potentials are inherent in the network, one that has been showcased with increased trading volumes in recent times. The acquisition has been tagged as a fusion of CryptoPunks, which represents the history of NFTs, and Bored Apes, arguably, the collection that pushed the world of digital collectables into the future.

As detailed in the announcement, the deal was brokered organically between Yuga Labs’ Partner Guy Oseary and the LarvaLabs founder Matt Hall and John Watkinson. Despite the acquisition, the CryptoPunks creators will not be joining Yuga Labs; instead, they will continue developing the ecosystem around the two iconic collections.

“Yuga Labs are the innovators of the modern profile picture project and the best in the world at operating these projects. They are the ideal stewards of the CrytoPunks and Meebits. In their hands, we are confident that they will continue to be vital, thriving projects in the emerging decentralized web,” the LarvaLabs founders said in a statement.

As part of its plans for acquiring the LarvaLabs’ collections, Yuga Labs said it will be “granting CryptoPunks and Meebits holders the same commercial rights that BAYC and MAYC owners enjoy.”

Drawing on its industry network, Yuga Labs will also be pushing forward the brand image of the LarvaLabs collections such that they will be incorporated in various Web3.0 projects moving forward. While it outlined its plans to continually go forth the utility of all the collections under its brand, Yuga Labs said it will be doing so by heading to the needs of its diverse communities.

BAYC tied ApeCoin Makes Debut

Crypto token ApeCoin ($APE) was unveiled in the official Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) Twitter account, which detailed initiatives planned by creator Yuga Labs.

The initiative also included a planned token tied to gaming and virtual experiences.

The underlying key feature of the token is a dedicated decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) and a supporting foundation.

On its website, the token announced that the APE Improvement Proposal Process would allow ApeCoin DAO members to make decisions regarding Ecosystem Fund allocations, governance rules, projects, partnerships, and beyond.

ApeCoin DAO membership is open to all ApeCoin holders.

The token also has a “special counsel” comprised of Sound Ventures Maaria Bajwa, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Animoca brands co-founder Yat Siu, FTX head of ventures and gaming Amy Wu, and Horizen Labs president and general counsel Dean Steinbeck.

The website said that the council would provide oversight of the Foundation administrators at the behest of the ApeCoin DAO members. Their purpose is to administer DAO proposals and serve the community’s vision.

In its Twitter thread, BAYC said, “ApeCoin DAO is supported by Ape Foundation, and will empower the community to build blockchain games and services, host events (in the metaverse or IRL), and create digital and physical products…along with anything else you can dream up.”

BAYC has also planned to airdrop the tokens. It said that “62% of the total supply of ApeCoin is allocated to the ApeCoin community, a portion of which (15% of total supply) will be available to claim to start tomorrow at 8:30 am ET. The airdrop claim consisting of 15% of the total supply of ApeCoin will be made available to @BoredApeYC NFT holders (Bored Apes and Mutant Apes, as well as (Bored Ape Kennel Club) dogs paired with either #BAYC or #MAYC).”

Per the website, the total number of APE is 1 billion tokens, and 150 million of them will be available for the airdrop.

It also said that 8% or 80 million tokens would be allocated to the four founders of Yuga Labs.

Yuga Labs is also planning to sell virtual plots of land to raise millions of dollars.

Although Yuga made $127 million in net revenue last year, it is looking to raise fresh funds at a valuation of $5 billion.

Yuga projects that its net revenue will reach $455 million in 2022 — chiefly through proceeds from the virtual land sales.

Universal Music Label Acquires Ape NFT to Build Virtual Music Group

Universal Music Group has bought one of the popular non-fungible tokens (NFT) to build a virtual music group, according to Reuters.

Universal’s 10:22 pm label purchased Bored Ape #5537 for $360,817 – a female character, now known as Manager Noët All. The NFT will lead a group that was founded in November called Kingship.

Kingship only exists in digital form and it will also have a website and presence on messaging platform Discord. Future plans for Kingship include producing new music and hosting virtual performances in the metaverse.

On Kingship, similar to Manager Noët All, all the band members are NFTs – three Bored Apes and a Mutant Ape, on loan from collector Jim McNelis.

However, Universal’s idea of creating virtual bands is not new. Gorillaz, a virtual band formed in 1998, released seven albums on Warner Music Group’s Parlophone label. While popular Japanese pop star Hatsune Miku is a hologram.

Bored Ape #5537 is part of the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection, one of the best-known collections on the blockchain. It is comprised of 10,000 anthropomorphic apes, each with distinct clothing, fur and expressions.

Bored Apes’ popularity has turned them into a status symbol for celebrities, with investors, including “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon, pop star Justin Bieber, NBA superstar Steph Curry and billionaire investor Mark Cuban.

Kingship will serve as a platform for people to learn how to create characters and stories that generate excitement in the metaverse.

10:22pm founder Celine Joshua said, “it’s about understanding the ethos of the space.”

BAYC’s ApeCoin

On March 17, Crypto token ApeCoin ($APE) was unveiled in the official Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) Twitter account, which detailed initiatives planned by creator Yuga Labs, Blockchain.News reported.

The initiative also included a planned token tied to gaming and virtual experiences.

The underlying key feature of the token is a dedicated decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) and a supporting foundation.

BAYC says Discord Server was "Compromised"

Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) announced through Twitter that its Discord server was hacked.

However, BAYC said that the hack was immediately detected and asked users not to mint and NFT using a link posted on its Discord.

“STAY SAFE. Do not mint anything from any Discord right now. A webhook in our Discord was briefly compromised. We caught it immediately but please know: we are not doing any April Fools stealth mints/airdrops etc. Other Discords are also being attacked right now,” BAYC, the largest non-fungible token (NFT) collection, tweeted.

Further details have yet to be released but it is known that a hacker was able to gain access to the official Discord server that hosts members of Bored Ape Yacht Club, Mutant Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Kennel Club – the three NFT collections from Yuga Labs.

According to security firm PeckShield, the hacker was able to steal Mutant Ape Yacht Club #8662 after posting a phishing link in the Mutant Ape Kennel Club channel, disguised as a ‘stealth NFT mint’.

According to The Block, reports suggest the hacker may have carried out the attack via Ticket Tool – a Discord bot that generates support tickets automatically.

Discord server of NFT platform Doodles has faced a similar crisis, Twitter users have warned. The Block said that Doodles has yet to release a statement about it.

Phishing attacks on NFT collectors via exploiting Discord accounts have become a customary route for hackers. In a recent phishing attack, assets worth $790,000 were hacked from members of a freshly launched NFT collection Rare Bears.

In BAYC’s recent developments, it announced the release of the crypto token ApeCoin ($APE).

According to a report from Blockchain.News, ApeCoin was unveiled in the official BAYC Twitter account, which detailed initiatives planned by creator Yuga Labs.

The initiative also included a planned token tied to gaming and virtual experiences.

The underlying key feature of the token is a dedicated decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) and a supporting foundation, the report added.

BAYC Owner Scammed for NFTs Worth $567K with Fake PNGs

A Bored Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible token (NFT) owner was scammed for at least $570,000 after the victim was tricked into exchanging their NFTs for worthless PNGs.

The victim – s27 – lost BAYC #1584 and two Mutant Ape derivatives (#13168 and #13169) to the scammer, The Block reported quoting the pseudonymous 0xQuit.

According to Rarity Tools, BAYC #1584 has a rarity score of 111.99 out of 10,000. It is one of the 119 bubble gum apes.

The Block reported that the scammer used swapkiwi, a third-party service, to conduct the direct swap with the victim.

Unlike regular marketplaces like OpenSea, platforms like swapkiwi allow direct NFT swaps between collectors, reducing gas fees- the administration fees for transactions.

Swapkiwi and other similar platforms allow direct NFT swaps between collectors, reducing transaction fees which are unlike marketplaces like OpenSea.

The scammer put up fake knock-off NFTs in exchange for s27’s legitimate Bored Ape and Mutant Ape. The scammer used images of actual Bored Apes to create fake replicas and uploaded the same ones to OpenSea, The Block reported.

The attacker took advantage of the way swapkiwi displays verified NFTs. The appearance of the checkmark within the image makes it easier for scammers to take an image of a Bored Ape and edit it onto it, according to 0xQuit.

0xQuit warned that the checkmark should not appear inside the image to prevent copycat attacks, while also adding that it would be easier to check if the NFTs were real if the collection is linked to the NFT’s contract address.

The Block reported that the scammer has already sold the bubble gum ape for 98 ETH ($337,000) – a price lower than the current BAYC floor price of 111 ETH ($382,000) – and the Mutant Ape derivatives also for a price lower than the original floor price.

Swapkiwi made a statement in response to the incident saying that the firm has started working on making improvements to its platform to stop future occurrences.

Bored Ape Yacht Club Enters the Movie Scene, Pairing with Coinbase

Seen as the face of the non-fungible token (NFT) market, the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) has entered the silver screen based on a series of animated short films called “The Degen Trilogy.”

Bored Apes will serve as characters in the film to be hosted by the new media arm at Coinbase. The crypto exchange is expanding its scope by testing the field of film production.

The first three episodes of the series will be aired at an NFT industry event called NFT.NYC is slated for June.

For consideration in the series, Bored Ape owners have been asked to submit their apes together with character descriptions to be scrutinized by a Hollywood casting director.

William Swann, the marketing director at Coinbase, noted:

“You can think of this as a love letter to the NFT tech that has provided so much creative liberation for artists. We really look at (Bored Apes) as sort of our North Star in the NFT space. They’ve created such a massive and engaging community.”

Upon release, the Coinbase website will serve as the gateway to accessing the films because viewers will be required to create a Coinbase wallet.

The series will also tie in with the launch of Coinbase’s NFT marketplace, according to Swann.

He added that the Bored Apes would not be the only NFTs aired on the big screen because Mutant Apes by Yuga Labs, the blockchain startup behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club, would get similar treatment.

Nicole Muniz, Yuga Labs CEO, stated:

“We’re seeing how NFTs are evolving to be vehicles of access and participation in networks, games, merchandise and now interactive entertainment. This is a breakthrough project and we’re excited to see how this shapes the future of Web 3 for all communities.”

Meanwhile, Yuga Labs raised funds worth $450 million in March. As a result, the funds effectively placed the blockchain startup at a $4 billion valuation. The team aimed to inject the funds into building a media empire that would predominantly feature NFTs.

This fundraising came days after Yuga Labs unveiled a metaverse project dubbed the “Otherside”. The teaser featured an animated Bored Ape NFT smoking Tobacco in what appeared to be a metaverse-themed world.

The Bored Ape made connections with other Yuga Labs-backed NFT collections housed in what looked like a spaceship.

Three Bored Ape Owners Sue OpenSea over Security Loophole of Stolen NFTs

Three Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) Non-Fungible Token (NFT) owners, namely Timmy McKimmy of Texas, Michael Valise of New York, and Robert Armijo of Nevada, are suing legacy NFT trading platform OpenSea for the loss of their NFTs on the exchange.

As reported by ARTNews, the duo of McKimmy and Valise similarly lost their NFTs through a known security vulnerability in OpenSea’s code, while Armijo’s loss was through a social engineering attack which, according to him, was made possible based on OpenSea’s negligence.

“Even though McKimmy didn’t have his NFT listed for sale, OpenSea requires you to connect a wallet, and so people can see what NFTs are in that wallet and can make offers on unlisted NFTs,” Ash Tadghighi, McKimmy’s lawyer, explained. “Exploiting a security vulnerability, the hacker made an offer, hacked the code, and accepted the offer on behalf of Mr. McKimmy. So he basically sold it to himself and within the hour sold it to another user.”

The angry Bored Ape owners are filing for negligence on the part of OpenSea and are demanding all relevant damages, including what they lost as a result of not having their Bored Apes with them when APECOIN was distributed to holders of the NFT.

Bored Ape Building an Enviable Ecosystem

The lawsuit filed by the Bored Ape owners is coming at a time when Yuga Labs, the startup behind the most prestigious NFT collection is rolling out a number of ecosystems value for owners of any of its collections, including the Bored Apes and CryptoPunks, which it just acquired among others.

As reported by Blockchain.News, Bored Ape is entering the movie scene in a collaborative move with Coinbase Global Inc. While the startup recently raised $450 million to fund its visions for the other side metaverse, the three Bored Ape owners may lose more in the long run if the lawsuit is not addressed in their favor speedily.

Crypto Exchange Okcoin Launches a Free Trading NFT Marketplace

To tap into the non-fungible token (NFT) craze, crypto exchange Okcoin has established a marketplace that will attract no transaction fees.

The free trading NFT marketplace is expected to offer creators significant agency when selling their work since royalty rates range from 0-10% in other marketplaces.

Hong Fang, Okcoin’s CEO, acknowledged:

“We’re launching a free market for NFTs where prices and profits will be determined by supply and demand, more so than anywhere else. Web3 is about restoring economic power to the people.”

The San-Francisco-based crypto exchange will offer NFTs from famous collections like Crypto Punks, the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Boss Beauties, and World of Women.

To adhere to the “crypto for all” objective, the marketplace will also showcase collections from previously marginalised creators in the traditional finance and tech innovation fields.

Fang noted:

“In the same way that blockchain technology empowers financial freedom with cryptocurrency, it empowers creators with NFTs.”

Minting of NFTs usually takes place on Binance, OKC, Polygon, and Ethereum blockchains. Therefore, users will have the chance to link external wallets like MetaMask, enabling them to trade NFTs.

Randi Zuckerberg, Okcoin’s brand advisor, sees the marketplace as a stepping stone towards making crypto more accessible. He added:

“Making NFTs more inclusive is something I’ve dedicated myself and my company HUG to because we know there are huge opportunities for both creators and collectors in NFTs waiting to be unlocked.”

Crypto exchanges are gearing up for the NFT marketplace based on announcements from Gemini, Kraken, and Coinbase. For instance, the launch of the Coinbase NFT marketplace is expected to tie with the Bored Apes entering the movie scene in June.

Furthermore, different brands are entering the non-fungible token sector for various reasons. For example, Nestle, a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate, recently released NFTs for a charitable cause in the Middle East & North Africa.

VanEck to Launch Community NFT Collection

VanEck, one of the few American asset managers that have a Bitcoin futures Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) product, has announced the launch of its Community NFT Collection.

The firm said the NFT collection is the first of its kind for any asset manager globally and that it will be resident on the Ethereum blockchain network.

The Community NFT Collection, a collection of 1,000 uniquely built digital currencies, was floated in conjunction with South Korean-based startup NOMOMO and was designed as a membership card for the few lucky individuals who will lay their hands on them.

“We’ve designed the VanEck Community NFT to function as a digital membership card, providing NFT holders with exclusive access to a wide range of events, digital asset research, and the insights of an inclusive community of digital assets enthusiasts and investors,” said Matthew Bartlett, VanEck Community NFT Co-Founder.

The NFT collection is symbolic as it will tell the story of finance, drawing insight from the past, evaluating the present, and projecting an ambitious run for the future. With Hammy, modelled after Alexander Hamilton, as its theme personality, the VanEck Community NFT is divided into three unique categories, including commons (which will total 750), rare (approximately 230), and legendary (approximately 20).

The NFT collection will be airdropped to the first 1,000 individuals that register on the project’s portal page starting this week. The VanEck NFT showcases the growing popularity of digital art and collectables, which has been taken to a whole new level by prestigious collections like the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), and CryptoPunks, amongst others.

Besides VanEck, other major players in the investment and banking world have also waded into the growing NFT world. From KPMG in Canada, which acquired a World of Women (WoW) NFT to identify with the ideology of the entire collection, to Dolce & Gabbana, which has floated its own exclusive NFT collection, the embrace of NFTs by multinational firms is arguably going mainstream today.