The New Most Valuable NFT Collection: BAYC

Utility now outweighs historical value.

If you told anyone in the NFT space eight months ago that BAYC was going to be more valuable than CryptoPunks, they would have laughed at you. They probably would have laughed at you less than four months ago even!

Yesterday, the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs flipped the CryptoPunks in terms of floor price for the first time.#Cryptopunks 52ETH#BAYC 52.84ETH

Do you think the BAYC will stay in top spot? pic.twitter.com/BrAFx7TqIb

— Trust – Crypto Wallet (@TrustWallet) December 23, 2021

At the time of writing, Bored Ape Yacht Club sits at a floor price of Ξ52.2. Just Ξ0.2 behind sits the CryptoPunks’ floor at Ξ52. I write “just” very lightly; Ξ0.2 is no small amount of money. That’s how insane the stats and floors are around these collections. While many traders are scrounging together Ξ0.20, the lucky few who got in on BAYC early are reaping what they sowed. Those that sold early on the other hand, hopefully, find solace in the fact that they still made insane amounts of money selling pictures of cartoon apes online.

This has been a slow climb for the Apes. First minting for Ξ0.08 in late April, the project took nearly 12 hours to mint out. From there, the floor price went on a steady climb. It broke the Ξ1 price floor on May 31st of this year. The creators, Yuga Labs, continued to add utility, airdrops, and added benefits for the holders of the collection. Things like:

• Members-only graffiti boards
• MAYC airdrops
• Merchandise
• IRL parties

Such items have catapulted this collection to the moon. Look for a deeper dive into the individual events that brought BAYC to prominence and into countless celebrities’ wallet in the new year.

What Happened to CryptoPunks?

CryptoPunks, by Larva Labs, has been the most valued NFT collection for some time now. The first pfp collection, tradable on the ETH chain, this collection has historical significance. The most recognizable influencers in the space are punk holders. That’s the way to tell who has been around the longest, for the most part. It was almost impossible for the average trader to get their hands on these, so the only collectors seemed to be long-term holders, whales, and companies.

But Larva Labs hasn’t really done much to continue to bring value to holders. Aside from the Meebits airdrop, CryptoPunks holders have been left high and dry by Larva Labs. The average floor price for the collection has begun to come back to earth. Sitting at 52 ETH at the time of writing, the average price was 104 ETH only 30 days ago. On the other hand, the average price for the BAYC collection has climbed from 51 ETH to nearly 69 ETH the last month.

The Flippening Was Inevitable

Signs started when Punk4156 unloaded Punk #4156 earlier this month, among others within their collection. Questions surround the CCO of the Punks project. CCO, short for Creative Commons, surrounds the public domain and copyright related to the project. If a project presents itself under CCO designation, they waive all copyright surrounding the project. Owners of the NFT can do whatever they want with it. They can create derivatives and more, without fear of legal recourse from the original creators. CrypToadz by Gremplin is a prime example of a CCO project.

it’s not about copyright vs no copyright, it’s about making the pixels as censorship resistant as the token they’re attached to. if you don’t assign the token and the image the same rights, what’s the point of binding them together eternally on a blockchain?

— 4156 (@punk4156) December 5, 2021

Larva Labs has not granted CCO with their project. They also have given essentially nothing to holders of their project in months. This is not a small investment, and holders want to be rewarded. They want things to look forward to; things that bring further value to their investments.

Expect this to be a floor battle for quite some time. They alternated the highest floor value multiple times writing this article alone. This will be something to monitor over the next couple of months and could be the sign of an impending NFT bull run.

Also, something to consider: Remember always to do your research, make your own decisions, and invest in projects that interest you!

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