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☆ Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs sold for millions in 2021—prices have dropped 90% since then
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A person walks by Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT characters inside Radio City Music Hall during the 4th annual NFT.NYC conference on June 21, 2022 in New York City. Yuga Labs, the creator of the viral Bored Ape Yacht Club non-fungible tokens, announced a new round of layoffs on Friday as the NFT frenzy appears to cool. But despite Bored Ape Yacht Club's substantially lower floor price, the NFT market is still showing some signs of life. How YugaLabs got startedYugaLabs' Bored Ape Yacht Club collection launched in April 2021 with 10,000 NFTs depicting the cartoon apes with various colors, clothing and facial expressions. The startup went on to release several other NFT collections, including Mutant Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks.

Persons: Greg Solano, Justin Bieber, Paris Hilton, Sotheby's, YugaLabs Organizations: Radio City Music Hall, Yuga Labs, ETH, Yacht, CryptoPunks Locations: New York City

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBored Ape NFT creator Yuga Labs responds to eye injury claims from ApeFest event: CNBC Crypto WorldCNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what's ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today's show, David Wachsman, CEO of global blockchain consulting firm Wachsman, explains what's next for the crypto industry following Sam Bankman-Fried's guilty verdict. Wachsman also weighs in on bitcoin's recent rally.

Persons: explainers, David Wachsman, Wachsman, what's, Sam Bankman Organizations: CNBC Crypto, CNBC

☆ More Than 20 Report Burning Eyes After NFT Festival in Hong Kong
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Callie Holtermann | More About Callie Holtermann | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

More than 20 people have reported burning eye pain and vision problems after attending a party for NFT owners in Hong Kong last weekend, the organizers said on Tuesday. The gathering was part of ApeFest, a three-day event hosted by Bored Ape Yacht Club, a group of cryptocurrency enthusiasts who own unique digital images of primates that cost tens of thousands of dollars apiece. Yuga Labs, the parent company of Bored Ape Yacht Club, is in contact with 22 people who had eye problems after the event, said Louise Conroy, a spokeswoman for the company. “We are very distressed by these reports,” Ms. Conroy said in an interview, adding that Yuga Labs was working with an independent firm to investigate the claims. “Regardless of the outcome of the investigation, we intend to do the right thing by our community members.”

Persons: Louise Conroy, ” Ms, Conroy, ” Organizations: Yuga Labs Locations: Hong Kong, ApeFest

☆ Bored Ape creator investigates claims that guests at its NFT event suffered agonizing eye problems because of UV lights on the stage
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Yuga Labs said it's investigating reports of eye problems by people who attended a recent NFT event. It said it was reaching out to attendees of the ApeFest event in Hong Kong to learn more. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementAdvertisementBored Ape creator Yuga Labs said it was aware that some visitors to its ApeFest NFT event last week have reported suffering from painful and burning eye problems. AdvertisementAdvertisementA video shared on X from the ApeFest event showed bright pink lights fitted around the stage and aimed towards the crowd.

Persons: Bloomberg, —, Evan Luthra, Hajime Sorayama, Hypebeast Organizations: Service, Yuga, Bloomberg, photokeratitis, Hong Kong Free Press Locations: Hong Kong, Hong

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's lieutenant Nishad Singh said he was embarrassed by 'flashy' FTX spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Singh testified at Bankman-Fried's trial that his concerns were almost always rebuffed. In Manhattan federal court Monday, Singh testified about how he frequently questioned and pushed back against Bankman-Fried's spending sprees and investment decisions — and was almost always rebuffed. "I would hear that my opinions were already factored in, and I didn't need to continue sharing them," Singh testified. Singh testified that he came to know Bankman-Fried through a friendship with the FTX founder's younger brother, Gabe Bankman-Fried. Infighting over expensesThe pair often disagreed on money, Singh testified.

Persons: Nishad Singh, Sam Bankman, Singh, —, Fried, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, spender, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Gabe Bankman, FTX, SBF, I've, Sam, Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen, Steph Curry, Kevin O'Leary, Larry David, Jon Kopaloff, Fatih Aktas, Getty Images Singh, Michael Kives, Hillary Clinton, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Ted Sarandos, Jeff Bezos, Kate Hudson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Corey Gamble, Kendall Jenner, Singh wasn't, Kris Organizations: Service, Bankman, Alameda, US Securities and Exchange Commission, University of California, Facebook, Engineering, Sequoia Capital, Yuga, Miami, Major League Baseball, of Legends, Getty Images, Anadolu Agency, K5 Global Locations: Bankman, FTX, Manhattan, Berkeley, Alameda, Bahamas, Kazakhstan, Albany

☆ ‘Bored Apes’ investors sue Sotheby’s, Paris Hilton and others as NFT prices collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Christy Choi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A group of investors is suing Sotheby’s Holdings Inc. and others over a 2021 auction and promotion of Bored Ape Yacht Club non-fungible tokens (NFTs) following a collapse in prices for the celebrity-endorsed collectibles. Sotheby’s is among 30 defendants named in the lawsuit, with celebrities like Justin Bieber and Paris Hilton also accused of promoting the NFT collection without disclosing their financial links to it. A spokesperson for Yuga Labs meanwhile said, via email: “We believe that these new allegations, like those in the previous iteration of this opportunistic complaint, are completely without merit or factual basis. “As a media and technology company, Yuga Labs has empowered strong communities of enthusiasts and entrepreneurs to innovate, connect, and build. The Bored Ape Yacht Club, a collection of 10,000 NFTs hosted on the Ethereum blockchain, launched in April 2021.

Persons: Yuga, Justin Bieber, Paris Hilton, Sotheby’s, NFTs, “, Jack Dorsey’s, LeBron James, “ Beeple, ”, ” —, MoonPay Organizations: CNN, Sotheby’s Holdings Inc, Paris Hilton, Labs, Yuga Labs, Twitter, Adidas, Securities and Exchange Commission Locations: California, freefall

☆ Justin Bieber's Bored Ape NFT was valued at $1.3 million in 2022—now it's only worth around $60,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

But today, prices for Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, one of the most popular collections, has crashed to a two-year low. Take one Bored Ape NFT owned by Justin Bieber, for example: It has declined in value by about 95% over the past year and a half. In January 2022, the Grammy award-winning music artist entered the world of NFTs by allegedly dropping 500 ETH (around $1.3 million at the time) on Bored Ape #3001, an NFT belonging to Yuga Labs' Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection. But as of July 2023, Bieber's Bored Ape is only worth around $59,000, according to Bitcoinist. Basketball star Stephen Curry purchased Bored Ape #7990 for 55 ETH (nearly $180,000 at the time) on Aug. 28, 2021.

Persons: Justin Bieber, Stephen Curry, Madonna, It's, Bieber, Curry, DappRadar's, Warren Buffett Organizations: Labs, ETH, Los Angeles Times Locations: That's

☆ SoftBank-backed startup Improbable outlines plan for metaverse to rival Microsoft, Meta
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

MSquared, which is a separate business entity from Improbable, raised $150 million from investors last year. "The purpose of the metaverse is to enable new interactive entertainment experiences," Herman Narula, Improbable's co-founder and CEO, told CNBC. Entities will be able to build metaverse experiences using Improbable's Morpheus technology, which is designed to host mass-scale multiplayer online games, Improbable said. What Improbable is buildingImprobable said there will be four categories of participants that take part in MSquared: metaverse owners, content creators, service providers and users. WATCH: SoftBank-backed startup Improbable launches MSquared metaverse

Persons: Herman Narula, Improbable's, Narula Organizations: Meta, Microsoft, Google, Nvidia, Netflix, Developers, CNBC, Yuga Locations: Lisbon, British, MSquared

☆ Bored Ape NFT creators win case against copycat artist
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Elle Reeve | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Crypto company Yuga Labs has won its claims of trademark infringement against artist Ryder Ripps who copied their NFTs in what he called a protest of their racially offensive imagery. Ripps told CNN he would appeal. But critics commented on social media that some of the Bored Apes contained what looked like references to posts on the website 4chan, which has become a hub of extremism, and pointed out that apes are an old trope in racist imagery. “Once the court adopted the plaintiff’s framing of the case, it was clear what was going to happen: the plaintiff wins everything basically,” he said. “There was an underlying really important point that the defendants are trying to make about the possibility that there was some kind of Nazi glorification in the overall collection NFT collection for the Bored Ape Yacht Club,” Goldman said.

☆ Snoop Dogg, his ape and a question of celebrity hype
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Elle Reeve | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The Bored Apes became some of the most famous NFTs after a series of celebrities said they got one. The Bored Ape crazeSnoop Dogg performs with his Bored Ape character, Dr. Bombay, in February 2023. He sold his versions as RR/BAYC with an accompanying website that detailed claims the Bored Apes contained references to racist memes on 4chan, a troll website. In March 2022, Snoop invested in Yuga Labs, and the month after, he invested in MoonPay. In the VMAs video, Eminem turns into a white ape wearing “hip hop clothes,” while Snoop becomes a cheetah-fur ape wearing a “pimp coat,” according to Yuga Labs’ description.

Just when you thought crypto couldn't get any stranger, bitcoin accidentally births a new breed of NFTs. "I think this is really the start of a fundamental shift in what you can do with bitcoin," said Alex Miller, CEO at bitcoin developer network Hiro. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/Nonetheless, bitcoin NFTs have built up a head of steam in a short space of time. Satoshis inscribed with NFTs are involved in about 7% of the total number of bitcoin blockchain transactions, according to Glassnode data. "But NFTs on bitcoin are a distraction from the network's core purpose, which is to serve as a permissionless network that is globally available, 24/7, and uncensorable."

March 14 (Reuters) - Imagine digitally inscribing 3D images of objects such as multi-colored spheres onto a tiny fragment of bitcoin. Just when you thought crypto couldn't get any stranger, bitcoin accidentally births a new breed of NFTs. "I think this is really the start of a fundamental shift in what you can do with bitcoin," said Alex Miller, CEO at bitcoin developer network Hiro. Nonetheless, bitcoin NFTs have built up a head of steam in a short space of time. Satoshis inscribed with NFTs are involved in about 7% of the total number of bitcoin blockchain transactions, according to Glassnode data.

☆ As NFT trading surges, a 'golden key' prize from Yuga Labs' limited-time game sold for $1.6 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A non-fungible token (NFT) collector just dropped more than $1 million on a virtual "golden key." Adam Weitsman, CEO of Upstate Shredding – Weitsman Recycling, purchased Yuga Labs' "Golden Key Sewer Pass" for 1,000 ETH, which was valued at about $1.6 million at the time of sale on Feb. 27, 2023. Jackson won the one-of-one, digital "golden key" after receiving the highest score on "Dookey Dash," Yuga Labs' web-based NFT game. Jackson also said that royalties would be paid in full to Yuga Labs. This seven-figure sale comes amid a surge in NFT trading and sales in early 2023, according to DappRadar's latest industry report.

☆ 2 former Barclays bankers just netted a 700% profit selling Bored Ape NFTs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mike Anderson and Ovie Faruq offloaded their collection of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs this week. The 72 NFTs sold for $9.25 million, according to OpenSea data cited by Bloomberg. The former Barclays junk bond traders reportedly netted a 700% profit for the deal. The two traders' 700% profit still pales in comparison to what they could have made at the height of the crypto boom, according to Bloomberg. The publication estimated that Anderson and Faruq's Bored Ape collection was worth $30 million at the start of May 2022 – which would have netted them profits of just under 3,000%.

Bored Ape Yacht Club was not the biggest crypto phenomenon, but it was one of the top beneficiaries of celebrity hype. The Bored Apes — a computer-generated collection of 10,000 cartoons — were being presented as a status symbol, membership in an exclusive club. Yuga sued Ripps for trademark infringement, and argues that his maligning of the Yuga apes is nothing more than a profiteering tactic. Hickman, who is Black, thought the Bored Apes looked like stereotypical portrayals of Black people as stupid or lazy. He said he thought this would be obvious to most people the second they saw an image of a Bored Ape.

☆ From TerraUSD's meltdown to the collapse of a $32 billion crypto empire, here is a full timeline of the crypto market's year in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Insider spoke with several crypto experts and charted the most influential events for the industry in 2022. The firm filed for insolvency in June, leading to widespread contagion. A month later, the firm filed for bankruptcy, listing $4.31 billion in assets and $5.5 billion in liabilities. The world's largest asset manager agreed to offer clients access to Coinbase's crypto trading and custody services. Radix's Epstein warned the industry must brace for more FTX contagion, but predicted crypto markets will rebound eventually.

☆ 'Bored Ape' NFT startup names Activision operating chief as CEO
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 19 (Reuters) - "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard's (ATVI.O) chief operating officer Daniel Alegre will join "Bored Ape" NFT maker Yuga Labs as its chief executive, the metaverse startup said on Monday. The announcement comes days after the Biden administration sued to block tech giant Microsoft's (MSFT.O) $69 billion takeover of Activision. Alegre, who has served as operating chief at the videogame publisher since April 2020, will succeed Nicole Muniz as Yuga's CEO in the first half of 2023. "Since exploding onto the scene with Bored Ape Yacht Club in 2021, Yuga Labs has quickly made a name for itself through a powerful combination of storytelling and community-building,” Alegre said. Bored Ape NFTs are often used as profile pictures on social media.

☆ The company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs is being sued for using celebrities to promote their products
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The firm behind Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs is being sued for not disclosing celebrities' involvement. The lawsuit alleged that Yuga Labs manufactured celebrity endorsements and misleading promotions. The legal action against blockchain cryptocurrency startup Yuga Labs was filed on Friday in California District Court. The unique selling point of Yuga Labs' NFT collection, called the Bored Ape Yacht Club, is that NFT owners become members of an exclusive "club" that included these celebrities. Yuga Labs didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

☆ Texas regulators have their eyes on one of the most powerful players in the crypto world
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Jon Sarlin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN Business —The big news in crypto this week came via a court filing in Texas. FTX, the crypto giant that is led by arguably the most powerful person in the industry, is under investigation by Texas regulators for selling unregistered securities. FDIC, OCC, SEC, DOL, FBI, US Treasury and IRS have all stepped up their crypto enforcement efforts. The crypto lawyer I spoke with told me that those who prefer the CFTC over the SEC fall into two camps. I interviewed Saylor last year for CNN’s crypto interactive (“The Bitcoin Billionaire” is what we dubbed him).

☆ The 26 most important VCs in Miami, according to other VCs
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( April Joyner | Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Miami's tech-startup scene has heated up in the past two years as VCs have flocked to the city. Early-stage funding to the area has topped $2 billion this year, according to Crunchbase. Insider asked VCs to identify the top investors in the Miami area. Despite the slowdown in venture-capital investments this year, early-stage funding flowing to the Miami area is set to eclipse last year's total, according to Crunchbase, with more than $2 billion already invested. Insider asked venture capitalists and other prominent tech figures which investors Miami-area founders should get to know.

☆ Wall Street is on a knife's edge until Jay Powell speaks
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Analysis Allison Morrow | Cnn Business | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Financial markets are on a knife's edge, and have been for weeks, as they await word from the central bank on how much monetary tightening to expect. On Monday, Wall Street vacillated between slight gains and losses , effectively in a holding pattern while investors awaited word from the Silver Fox himself, Mr. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Hayden Powell. Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference following a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee in July. Of course, emoticons became emoji (style note: the plural of emoji is emoji), and our text conversations added a new layer of meaning. Like, check this out:OK, fine 😂OK, fine 😔OK, fine 🙃OK, fine 🙄...You get the idea.

☆ Wall Street is on a knife’s edge until Jay Powell speaks
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Financial markets are on a knife’s edge, and have been for weeks, as they await word from the central bank on how much monetary tightening to expect. On Monday, Wall Street vacillated between slight gains and losses, effectively in a holding pattern while investors awaited word from the Silver Fox himself, Mr. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Hayden Powell. Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference following a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee in July. Of course, emoticons became emoji (style note: the plural of emoji is emoji), and our text conversations added a new layer of meaning. Like, check this out:OK, fine 😂OK, fine 😔OK, fine 🙃OK, fine 🙄…You get the idea.

☆ The person who claims to have hacked Uber says he's only 18, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A person claiming to be behind Uber's hack on Thursday told The New York Times that he's only 18. He said he had persuaded an Uber worker to send him a password that gave him access to its systems. The Times and Bloomberg both reported on Thursday that Uber employees got a Slack message saying "I am a hacker." The apparent hacker also listed multiple internal databases that they claimed to have accessed, The Times reported. The Times reported that the hacker had also posted an explicit photo on an internal staff page.

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