The only way to join this exclusive club is to purchase an ape on secondary. And although enrollment started out low, at the time of writing this, the ape floor is sitting at nearly 20 ETH. Yet, members of the club themselves won’t hesitate to advise you that a floor ape is always worth the money, as the perks of joining outweigh the loss of ETH.
Be fearless in front of them with your ideas as many times as they’ll let you
Beyond the incentives, the BAYC feels exactly like the developers intended. The exclusivity is rewarding to those who supported early, or made the decision to ape in and join the crew. NFTs in general have allowed for those from all walks of life to be a part of a fantastically exciting tech, culture and financial movement; and BAYC is truly indicative of that. From students to engineers, mailmen to millionaires, the environment within the club is one of ape inclusivity. Numerous members have had the opportunity to flip their apes for a profit. And this is potentially life-changing money we’re talking about. So those who hold are in it for the long-haul – with good reason. Apes, similar to Punks, have become a status symbol. With the added utility of being able to identify your fellow apes on social media, being an ape owner shows that you’re part of a 5,000+ member club. And aside from those within the crypto and NFT community, we’ve witnessed quite a few celebrities, including superstar Shawn Yue, Steph Curry, LaMelo Ball and more enter into the non-fungible space through the purchase of an ape.
I think it made me think about it more and really consider why I was choosing to add this to my NFT portfolio
It poses an interesting question for me on the avatar category – will people be willing to buy in, or does eating something change your “sniff” test on the believe-ability of the claims? With the floor continuing to rise and interest reaching beyond the non-fungible community, we may see apes follow along the same path as Punks – that is, as a legacy project that helps define the NFT space. It’s important to make the distinction between the two though, as one mapped out the rules (Punks) and one changed the game entirely (BAYC). There’s also a little pouch to store the rollerballs, and a card with different inspirations as to how to blend them on your skin – but it’s foolproof. You can’t make a mess if you mix them all up. Badger Beard Balm is perfect for the bearded gents in your life (is this everyone? beards are so trending). As Punks continued to moon throughout the first half of the year, and Punk derivative projects started to peter out, BAYC filled a demand for originality and substance within the collectible and art sections of the NFT market.
If you’re looking to get into the club, there is not time to waste!
Further, Punks are surely the gold standard for NFT projects, but what they lack in community, they make up for through ETH value far too high for most collectors to obtain even at floor prices. BAYC undoubtedly set a precedent for community based projects – and we’ve seen countless use its success as a template to follow in its footsteps.
