# Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)

**Type:** NFT Collection / Web3 IP
**Parent Company:** Yuga Labs
**Status:** Active but significantly declined
**Domain:** Entertainment (Web3)

## Overview

Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) is an NFT collection that became one of the most prominent Web3 IP projects during the 2021-2022 NFT boom. The project attempted to transition from a Path 1 blank canvas identity NFT to a Path 3 hybrid entertainment empire through the Otherside metaverse.

## Timeline

- **2021** — BAYC launches and achieves rapid price appreciation, becoming flagship Web3 IP project
- **2022** — Peak floor prices reached before broader NFT market decline begins
- **2025** — Federal court rules Bored Apes are not securities
- **2025-12** — Floor price at ~$40,000, down 90% from recent highs and 88% from peak. Discord server "surprisingly silent." Otherside metaverse remains unfinished despite $500M+ investment

## Strategic Approach

- Built brand on exclusivity, ApeCoin integration, and metaverse promises
- Limited success in mass merchandising compared to accessibility-focused competitors
- Spent over $500M on Otherside metaverse development with limited execution
- Community experienced repeated OpSec failures including Ponzi schemes and malicious airdrops

## Market Position

BAYC's collapse has been attributed to:
- Value proposition centered on price appreciation rather than utility
- Overpromised and underdelivered on roadmap commitments
- Inability to adapt to shifting market environment
- Expenditure opacity despite massive capital deployment

## Analysis

The project represents a key case study in NFT community failure modes, demonstrating that financial speculation as the primary alignment mechanism creates structural fragility when market conditions change. As one analysis stated: "the price was the product, and when the price dropped, nothing was left."