BAYC NFTs in the abyss. In April 2021, the studio Yuga Labs had launched the cult collection of NFT Bored Ape Yacht Club. Subsequently, this one experienced a massive craze, leading some NFTs to trade for several hundred ETH. Unfortunately for investors, thecrypto winter brutally impacted the ecosystem of NFT. Consequently, the prices of most collections, including that of BAYC, have continued to fall… so much so that a group of investors have decided to turn against Yuga Labs by appealing to justice.
BAYC sold at a discount
On Sunday August 20, the Bored Ape Yacht Club #8585 was sold for 153ETH on the OpenSea trading platform. This sale, which might seem trivial, is in fact symptomatic of the degradation of the ecosystem of NFT.
This BAYC is part of rarest coins of the collection, in particular thanks to its extremely rare multicolored coat. And yet, that did not prevent its holder from resell at a loss. As a reminder, this one had obtained the NFT in October 2022 for the modest sum of 777ETHa deadweight loss of 624 ETH.
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An unsustainable situation for NFT investors
Faced with this situation, four investors have decided to take collective action against Yuga Labs and 29 other companies. The latter accuse the companies of having made a misleading promotion regarding BAYC NFTs.
On the bench of the accused, we find many entities and personalities who have allowed the development of the BAYC. We can among others mention the art auction company Sotheby’s Holding, Adidasthe crypto payment provider MoonPay or even celebrities, such as justin bieber Or Paris Hilton.
First of all, Sotheby’s Holding is accused of helping Yuga Labs to artificially inflate the price of BAYC via a sale of 100 NFTs in 2021 for $24 million.
Secondly, Adidas is also accused of having conspired to swell the price of BAYC NFTs.
MoonPaymeanwhile, is singled out for having, according to the accusations, carried out market manipulation. In more detail, the plaintiffs accuse the platform of having been used by Yuga Labs to settle celebrities who bought BAYC. The aim would have been to give the impression of organic interest in the collection and to gloss over paid promotions.
Finally, celebrities, like bieber Or hiltonare accused of having done the promotion of the project without revealing the financial benefits from this promotion.
Ultimately, the plaintiffs seek a trial as well as more than $5 million in damages.
On his side, Yuga Labs consider that these accusations are “without factual basis”. The same goes for Sotheby’s, which has declared itself ready to defend itself in court.
Unfortunately for NFT holders, the phenomenon of falling prices is not restricted to BAYC. Indeed, the almost all collections of NFT, so far headlights, saw their share price drop drastically.
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