On the morning of September 9th, Yuga Lab’s 101 Bored Ape Yacht Clubs sold for 6933Ξ ($24,393,000 USD) alongside 101 Bored Ape Kennel Clubs that also pulled in 521.6Ξ ($1,835,000 USD). This made the average price per ape in the Sotheby’s lot 68.48Ξ ($241,515 USD), which speaks to the recent high-profile traction Bored Ape Yacht Club has gotten on social media. In early June, the average price of a Bored Ape on Opensea was about 1.6Ξ ($4,000) USD.
The 101 Bored Apes Lot at Sotheby’s included some of the most sought-after traits in the collection, including Solid Gold Furapes, Blue Beam Eyes, Trippy Fur and Bored Pizza. It also included three M1 and M2 mutant serums which allow the holder of the Bore Apes to generate a new Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFT. The Mutant Ape Yacht Club is the most recent—and final—generation of NFTs for the current phase of Yuga Lab’s NFT collectibles.
In the months leading up to the auctions, the community rallied around Bored Apes by donning the artwork as their social media avatars. Several celebrities recently joined the Bored Ape Yacht Club by flexing their new profile pics on Twitter, including Steph Curry and The Chainsmokers. The adoption of NFTs by celebrities, along with the strength of an active community that advocates for the brand, pushed Apes to the forefront of leading NFT projects. Bored Ape Yacht club has the third all-time highest trading volume on Opensea, following projects like Art Blocks Curated and Crypto Punks. In addition to their community, Bored Ape Yacht Club has been leveraging its IP to create brand collaborations with leaders in the streetwear industry including The Hundreds. RTFKT, a leader in AR/VR fashion, has also recently teased a sneaker collab.