The Rise and Fall of the Bored Ape NFTs

A few years ago if someone had told you to invest your $100 into a digital image of a monkey, you probably would have laughed it off. However, when the NFTs hit the crypto world, things took a U-turn, changing how we experience and invest in art. The NFT revolution started with a unique NFT project gaining the market spotlight. 

Bored Ape Yacht Club or BAYC NFTs became an instant hit when global celebrities started talking about it. The image of a monkey in which you did not invest (unluckily), hit a valuation of $400,000 USD and became the most valuable non-fungible token that the world has ever seen. However, the spring did not last long for Project BAYC as the crypto market had undergone a terrible market crash, sinking hundreds of creative projects with them. BAYC faced a major fall in its market valuation but the community is holding up strongly with the project. 

In this article, we will try to understand the reasons behind the rise and fall of the biggest NFT project of our time while also deliberating over the future of NFTs altogether. 

What are Bored Ape NFTs?

Bored Ape might sound like the pronoun of a monkey that is bored out of something, however, the Bored Ape Yacht Club is not an animal club or anywhere related. Bored Ape Yacht Club or BAYC is a collection of 10,000 unique NFTs based on the Ethereum blockchain. All the bored Apes are unique in their characteristics, which makes them valuable for those who want to own the art. 

Owning a BAYC NFT also makes you eligible for membership in the BAYC, which offers multiple members-only benefits. Each of the Ape NFT is programmatically generated to become unique using over 170 different apparel traits. Some of the Bored Apes combinations make them extremely rare and thus more valuable than others. 

What Made BAYC So Valuable?

Even if you do not know much about the Bored Apes, you must be aware of the fact that they are crazy expensive. But what makes them so costly? The answer lies in their sheer demand. The supply of Bored Apes is limited but not their demand and that makes them extremely rare. Some of the Bored Ape NFTs are costlier than others due to a rarity in their features. 

Crypto users have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy their favorite NFTs but none come close to the rarest of the Bored Apes. They are unique, rare, and most importantly trendy which sums up as a solid combination for the crypto ecosystem. 

Reasons Behind the Fall of BAYC NFTs

The Ape game lasted long enough to create sustainable market dominance, however, it could not dodge the impacts of major global catastrophes. Here is a list of reasons that resulted in more than 47% of the market slip for the Project Bored Ape Yacht Club. 

The Great LUNA Crash

The whole crypto world witnessed their worst dream translating into reality when a strong and stable crypto project such as LUNA crashed into dust within days. The shockwaves of sudden UST debug followed by the LUNA crash could be felt all around the financial world. In the times when investors were exiting the markets and seeking safer investment options, the NFT index crashed by a whopping 23%. BAYC, like any other NFT project, faced the backlash of this market crash, resulting in sudden market demand for NFTs. 

Weaker Crypto Markets

The impact of the LUNA crash affected the entire cryptocurrency market, creating a domino effect for many weaker projects. Even the strongest of the coins such as Bitcoin and ETH got affected by the crash causing a downward slope in the crypto indexes. 

Some major market liquidations such as Celcius also became the reason for further weakening the market trust. These market complications affected the NFTs and eventually, fire came for the Bored Ape NFTs as well. The overall BAYC prices fell dramatically affecting the entire NFT index. 

Inflation at its Peak

Speculations are made all around the world that the USA is on the verge of undergoing a recession. From the financial experts to the global news agencies, all are busy comparing the present inflation rates to that of the Great Recession of 2008. The increased interest rates in the United States are also causing money to exit the market at a higher rate.

The market situations are not ideal for the NFTs to prosper and the global inflation is indirectly affecting the chances of BAYC regaining its value. 

The Russia - Ukraine War

The Russia - Ukraine war has been disastrous not only for the people involved and affected in the war directly but also for the entire globe. This war became the reason for clogged supply chains, severe import sanctions, and increasing financial distress. This financial distress is causing the money to leave the unpredictable investment options and move towards safer bets such as gold. Amidst this crisis, Ukraine had used crypto tech and NFTs to accept global donations. 

The war has become a major roadblock for the crypto projects to gain back their market trust. However, with things getting better with time, the sunshine awaits the rise of crypto markets again. 

Is BAYC Dead?

We understand that the present market sentiments are not in the favour of Bored Apes but calling it anything more than a market low would be an exaggeration. The market demand for the NFTs has surely reduced with markets hitting the bay but things are getting better with time. 

Once traditional finance will recover its stable position back, we will again witness a revival of NFT demands. BAYC is a genuinely unique NFT collection that has its own intrinsic value and limited supply to support the project. And that is why Bored Apes are not dead, not any time soon. 

What Lies in the Future?

After going through the destructive description of present NFT markets, it is natural for you to wonder about its future. However, we must assure you that NFTs are only facing an unavoidable market low and waiting for the right time to regain their true value. With different reasons behind the market crash being sorted out with time, the NFTs would be able to steer clear of its short-term winter.

NFTs are core to the foundation of the metaverse and the scope of its growth is only going to increase in the upcoming future. With AR and VR taking the central stage in mass media, the demand for newer and better NFT projects is only going to increase.