Yuga Labs’ new CEO buys Bored Ape NFT for $90,000
The Alpha:
- Yuga Lab’s new CEO, Daniel Alegre, bought a BAYC NFT for 50 ETH (about $90,000).
- The purchase was slightly above the minimum price at the time, and the move helps demonstrate Alegre’s belief in the project and his understanding of the importance of community.
Dive Deeper:
Daniel Alegre, CEO of Yuga Labs, has just made a splash in the NFT world. On May 10, 2023, he bought a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT for 50 ETH on Blur. At the time, the purchase equaled around $90,000. Why is this so remarkable? When Alegre made the purchase, the floor price for Bored Ape NFTs was around 44 ETH (around $78,000), according to CoinGecko.
In short, Alegre used his own money to buy an NFT from his own company – and he bought it for quite a bit more than he needed.
Through the purchase, Alegre likely hoped to demonstrate his faith in the BAYC NFT project and, more generally, Yuga Labs’ portfolio of intellectual properties. At the moment, this portfolio includes almost all the most famous and valuable projects in the NFT space – Bored Ape Yacht Club, Otherside, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Bored Ape Kennel Club, CryptoPunks and Meebits.
The move also helps to show Alegre’s understanding of how much they in the NFT space values community and community interactions. Those committed to an NFT project are expected to follow others in the space connected to the community, interact regularly, and have a photo from the community as their avatar.
Finally, Alegre bought Bored Ape #3575, which shows a chimpanzee wearing sunglasses and a sea captain’s hat. Shortly after the purchase, he made it his Twitter avatar. “To my children: meet a new family member. Proud to bring in BAYC #3575,” he wrote on Twitter.
What’s next:
Yuga Labs closed a $450 million funding round from Andreessen Horowitz at a $4 billion valuation last year. Their goal is to ultimately create a media empire entirely centered around NFTs, starting with games and their own metaverse project (aka Otherside). In late 2022, Yuga Labs announced that Alegre would join as CEO to help the company fulfill its mission.
Alegre is a suitable candidate for the role. Previously, he was Chief Operating Officer at Activision Blizzard. There he helped create an impressive portfolio of internationally recognized game brands, including World of Warcraft, Duty calls, Diablo, Overwatchand Candy crush.
Bored Ape Yacht Club is the largest blockchain aggregator by market cap, approaching $800 million, according to CoinGecko, and Alegre’s latest move shows the company is still going strong.
