BAYC (the Bored Ape Yacht Club) is a collection of 10,000 cartoon-ape NFTs on Ethereum, released on 30 April 2021 by Yuga Labs at 0.08 ETH each. Holding an Ape works as a membership pass to the club's online and in-person perks, and the BAYC terms give the holder a licence to use that Ape's art commercially. The collection now sits inside a wider set of projects: the ApeCoin (APE) token, the ApeChain network and Otherside, Yuga Labs' online world, whose Koda Nexus hub opened to the public on 12 November 2025. The latest company news is a leadership change. On 16 April 2026 Michael Figge became CEO and co-founder Greg Solano moved to chairman.
The latest: new leadership and a settled lawsuit (April 2026)
- New CEO, 16 April 2026. Yuga Labs named Michael Figge, previously chief product officer, as CEO. Greg Solano, CEO since February 2024, became chairman of the board. Figge described the task ahead plainly: "To win, we're going to need to grow our user base a lot."
- Trademark case settled, April 2026. Yuga settled its 2022 lawsuit against Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen over the RR/BAYC lookalike collection. A district court had awarded Yuga close to $9 million in 2023, and an appeals court overturned that in July 2025, saying a jury should decide whether buyers were misled. Under the proposed court orders, Ripps and Cahen would be permanently barred from using Yuga's trademarks and imagery. Financial terms were not disclosed (CoinDesk, 8 April 2026).
How BAYC works
The collection
- Supply and chain: 10,000 ERC-721 tokens on Ethereum, generated from 172 unique assets.
- Launch: 30 April 2021 at 0.08 ETH each. The collection sold out in about 12 hours.
- Founders: Greg Solano and Wylie Aronow, with Zeshan Ali and Kerem Atalay. By July 2023, three of the four founders had left.
What owning an Ape gives you
- The token and the art. The BAYC terms say "you own the underlying Bored Ape, the Art, completely". The copyright stays with Yuga Labs.
- A commercial licence. Holders may use their own Ape's image commercially, with some restrictions. Holders have used it for merchandise, restaurants and music projects. Legal analysis notes that the licence covers the artwork but not the Bored Ape Yacht Club name and logos. Yuga keeps those.
- Access. Holders get members-only events and early access to later Yuga drops. Past examples include the Mutant Ape Yacht Club and the Otherdeed land sale.
Price history
In May 2022 the cheapest Ape (the floor price) peaked at about 128 ETH. By May 2024 it had fallen to about 13.4 ETH, a drop of roughly 90%. In early 2026, two Apes once bought by celebrities for hundreds of thousands to over a million dollars had top bids of about $2,800. That example shows how far individual Apes can fall from their purchase price. Prices of single Apes vary widely with trait rarity.
ApeCoin and ApeChain
- ApeCoin (APE) launched on 16 March 2022. It was issued under the ApeCoin DAO, which was set up separately from Yuga Labs.
- The DAO's future: In June 2025, the AIP-596 proposal to wind down ApeCoin DAO token-holder governance passed with about 99.66% of votes in favour, according to Snapshot data reported by Odaily. Under the proposal, control moves to ApeCo, an entity created by Yuga Labs. One outlet called the vote a sentiment check, not a binding decision.
- ApeChain went live in October 2024. It is built with Arbitrum Orbit and uses APE as its gas token, according to Arbitrum's own blog. It is aimed at NFTs, games and other consumer apps.
BAYC in dated steps, from mint to new CEO
Step through the dated events in the Bored Ape Yacht Club story, from the 2021 mint to the April 2026 leadership change.
- 30 April 2021BAYC mints on Ethereumpast
Yuga Labs released 10,000 ERC-721 Ape NFTs at 0.08 ETH each. The collection sold out in about 12 hours.
- 16 March 2022ApeCoin (APE) launchespast
APE was issued under the ApeCoin DAO, which was set up separately from Yuga Labs. In March 2022 Yuga Labs also raised $450 million at a $4 billion valuation, mostly for Otherside.
- 30 April 2022Otherdeed land salepast
55,000 Otherdeed land NFTs sold for APE. Decrypt reported more than $560 million in sales in under 24 hours and about $157 million in ETH burned in network fees.
- May 2022Floor price peakspast
The cheapest Ape peaked at about 128 ETH.
- May 2024Floor price down roughly 90%past
The floor had fallen to about 13.4 ETH, roughly 90% below the 2022 peak.
- October 2024ApeChain goes livepast
A network that uses APE as its gas token, aimed at NFTs, games and other consumer apps.
- February–May 2025Yuga sells its other collectionspast
Meebits, the CryptoPunks IP, and Moonbirds, Mythics and Oddities were sold so Yuga could focus on BAYC and Otherside. Terms were not disclosed.
- June 2025AIP-596 vote to wind down DAO governancepast
The proposal passed with about 99.66% of votes in favour. Control would move to ApeCo, an entity Yuga Labs created. One outlet called the vote a sentiment check, not a binding decision.
- 12 November 2025Koda Nexus opens in the browserpast
Otherside's social hub opened to the public, and no wallet or NFT is needed to enter.
- April 2026RR/BAYC trademark case settledlatest
Under the proposed court orders, Ripps and Cahen would be permanently barred from using Yuga's trademarks and imagery. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- 16 April 2026Michael Figge becomes CEOlatest
Figge, previously chief product officer, became CEO. Greg Solano moved to chairman of the board.
This shows only the dated events in the article. It gives no current floor price, Otherside user numbers or confirmation that AIP-596 has been implemented, and past prices do not predict future ones.
Otherside: where the metaverse stands
Timeline
- March 2022: Yuga Labs raised $450 million in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), at a $4 billion valuation. The money was earmarked largely for Otherside.
- 30 April 2022: 55,000 Otherdeed land NFTs were sold, paid in APE. Decrypt reported that the launch brought in more than $560 million in sales in under 24 hours and burned about $157 million in ETH in network fees.
- 2022–2025: Multiplayer test events ("Trips") and community games built with the Otherside Development Kit (ODK) ran, including the 8v8 shooter Bathroom Blitz and the infection game Outbreak.
- 12 November 2025: The Koda Nexus social hub opened in the browser. BlockchainGamer.biz reported that "neither wallets or NFTs will be required to access Koda Nexus."
What you can do in it
- Without NFTs: Enter Koda Nexus in a browser, socialise and play hub content.
- As an Otherdeed holder: Connect the land NFT, activate Koda characters tied to the land, and take part in the resource system. Yuga says that system will be extended in later seasons.
- For builders: The ODK lets outside developers publish experiences in the world.
Yuga's announced plan has three layers: the Nexus hub, then a gameplay layer of quests and battles built by developers and creators, then the ODK.
Yuga's narrowed focus
In 2025 Yuga sold most of its other collections to focus on BAYC and Otherside:
- Meebits went to The Meebit Company in February 2025. Yuga kept a minority stake.
- CryptoPunks IP went to the nonprofit Infinite Node Foundation.
- Moonbirds, Mythics and Oddities went to Orange Cap Games in May 2025.
Terms of these deals were not disclosed.
Legal status
- Securities claims: A class action filed in December 2022 alleged that celebrity promotions sold BAYC NFTs and ApeCoin as unregistered securities. A US federal judge dismissed it in 2025, finding the plaintiffs had not shown these assets were securities under the Howey test.
- Trademark: The RR/BAYC dispute was settled in April 2026 (see above).
Risks to weigh
- Price risk: NFT prices can be thin and fall sharply. BAYC's floor price fell roughly 90% from its 2022 peak to 2024.
- Unproven product: The company's own leadership says Otherside still needs a much bigger user base. Yuga has not published user figures.
- Governance change: Moving from ApeCoin DAO governance to ApeCo shifts decisions from token holders to a company-linked entity.
- Security: The BAYC community has been a phishing target. In April 2022, a hacked BAYC Instagram account posted a phishing link that led to about $3 million in stolen NFTs. Self-custody means no one can reverse a signed malicious transaction. Check official domains and contract addresses before you connect a wallet.
- Licence limits: The commercial licence covers your Ape's art, not the BAYC brand.
This article is not investment advice.
