The BAYC acquisition case establishes a model for the integration of the NFT industry?

On March 12, Yuga Labs, the parent company of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), announced the completion of the acquisition of CryptoPunks and Meebits. The brand, art copyright and other intellectual property rights of these two NFT series will be mastered by Yuga Labs in the future.

According to the data of NFTGO, CryptoPunks, BAYC and Meebits currently rank first, second and sixth in the NFT market value rankings. What kind of effect will the linkage of the three major NFT giants bring will whet the appetite of onlookers.

Yuga Labs revealed that the first thing after the acquisition was completed was to give CryptoPunks and Meebits holders more commercial rights. Previously, the two major NFT series had many restrictions on the commercial realization of holders, which affected the value growth of NFT to a certain extent.

Some technology media predicts that this blockbuster acquisition event will also lead the trend of professionalization and integration in the NFT industry. "Yuga Labs is starting to act like a real company, and it is seeking integration in a growing market."

NFT acquisition highlights the value of commercial rights

On March 12, a major acquisition event that shocked the entire NFT industry was exposed. Yuga Labs, the parent company of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), announced the acquisition of two NFT series, CryptoPunks and Meebits, from Larva Labs, including brands, art rights and other intellectual property rights, as well as 423 CryptoPunks and 1,711 Meebits NFTs.

Among all the dazzling NFT projects, BAYC (also known as "Boring Ape") and CryptoPunks are undoubtedly the two most recognizable IPs. Today, these two most valuable NFT series are included in the same family.

Yuga Labs said that after owning the IPs of CryptoPunks and Meebits, the first plan is to grant the two NFT series holders the same commercial rights as BAYC holders. “We are working with the legal team to draft new terms and conditions for these two NFT collections and hope to share these with the community soon.”

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Yuga Labs acquires CryptoPunks and Meebits

For holders of CryptoPunks and Meebits, the change in NFT “commercial rights” brought about by this acquisition is the focus of the most attention. Although CryptoPunks, Meebits and BAYC are as well known in the NFT field, there are significant differences in the commercial rights granted to NFT holders by project creators.

Yuga Labs expressly grants BAYC holders a full license in the terms of the sale of BAYC NFTs, including the use of NFTs for any commercial purpose, and holders have full commercial use rights to use, reproduce and display the purchased collectibles. This means that users who buy BAYC's avatar NFT can use the influence and popularity of the NFT for commercial realization.

A typical example is that NFT collector Jimmy McNelis cooperated with Universal Music Group to build the 4 BAYC NFTs he held into the "Metaverse Band" KingShip; another collector, 0xb1, cooperated with the Hollywood agency Creative Artists Agency to make Commercialization of personal NFT collections including BAYC.

In contrast, the commercial rights enjoyed by holders of CryptoPunks and Meebits are particularly limited. On the official website of CryptoPunks, there has always been no provision to give buyers the right to license and use the content. In the case of unauthorized use, the holder will face legal risks when using the NFT for commercial realization.

Meebits clarified the copyright license restrictions in the terms, indicating that under the Meebits content license, holding Meebits NFT can obtain "limited, global, non-exclusive, non-transferable rights of use and reproduction". In short, holding Some people can use the physical goods composed of purchased Meebit for commercial purposes, but no third-party brands can participate in the commercial realization, and the realized amount cannot exceed 100,000 US dollars per year.

The limitations of the two major NFT series on the commercial rights of NFT holders have been controversial. After selling CryptoPunk #4156 last December, the anonymous collector made it clear that the IP controversy was the main reason he didn’t want to hold it.

Now, after Yuga Labs completes the acquisition of CryptoPunks and Meebits, it is very likely to change the long-term limited "commercial rights" of holders. Once the IP is fully released to holders, the value of the two NFT series is also expected to increase. .

The market reaction showed optimism about the acquisition. On the day of the acquisition exposure, the trading volume of Cryptopunks increased by 2211.27% compared to the previous day to 8852.64 ETH; the trading volume of Meebits surged by 1439% to 7799.78 ETH; the trading volume of BAYC increased by 666.14% to 7103.67 ETH. At the same time, the floor prices of CryptoPunks and Meebits rose by more than 10% and 60% at one point, reaching 74.70 ETH and 6.5 ETH.

The "commercialization" gimmick acquisition took the lead in showing a driving effect on the transaction volume of the three major NFTs.

Opportunities for NFT professional integration emerge

According to the NFT data statistics platform NFTGO, in the current NFT market value rankings, CryptoPunks, BAYC and Meebits rank first, second and sixth respectively, with a market value of $1.65 billion, $862 million and $473 million. .