After a hectic week featuring star-studded live events, which culminated in a lawsuit against a vocal critic, Bored Ape Yacht Club holders appear to have come out on top.
The prominent NFT collection’s native Ethereum token, ApeCoin, climbed over 22% overnight, according to data from CoinGecko. As of this writing, the coin was worth $4.92, down slightly from its morning peak of $5.26. In the last week, ApeCoin has risen some 35%.
The price increase signifies a minor rebound from what has otherwise been a disproportionately brutal month for the token, which recently fell some 65% at a pace distinct even for the current bear market.
Just in late April, ApeCoin’s price hit an all-time-high of almost $27 in anticipation of virtual land NFT sales for the BAYC’s metaverse game, Otherside. ApeCoin can be used by holders to vote on ApeCoin DAO governance proposals.
ApeCoin’s recent price spike may have been caused in part by the Friday release of a new music video by Eminem and Snoop Dogg, in which the prominent rappers and noted BAYC ambassadors transform into animated versions of their Bored Ape avatars. The music video, which trended on YouTube throughout the weekend, has garnered over 7.5 million views.
Eminem and Snoop Dogg debuted the new single, “From the D 2 The LBC,” live on Friday at ApeFest, an annual gathering for BAYC and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) holders. The private festival, which took place in New York this past week concurrently with NFT NYC, also saw musical acts LCD Soundsystem, Haim, Lil Wayne, Lil Baby, and Future perform, among others.
That prominent artists such as Eminem and Snoop Dogg showcased the BAYC brand in a dedicated music video points to the growing reach and cultural influence of popular NFT collections.
The BAYC brand, though, also was under attack this week, after an artist debuted a copycat Bored Ape NFT collection that claimed to critique the BAYC brand for allegedly containing racist imagery and hidden, ironic “Nazi dog whistles.” BAYC’s parent company, Yuga Labs, vigorously denied the allegations, and on Friday filed a lawsuit against the artist, Ryder Ripps, alleging his satirical NFT collection was a scam.
Today’s ApeCoin price bump indicates that the controversy, at least for now, has made little economic impact on the BAYC ecosystem, just as ApeFest demonstrated the brand’s continued support from a devoted cadre of celebrity promoters.
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