BAYC : Racist Nazi-Inspired NFTs ?

GM. Gather round, y'all, 'cause CoinBasics is back with Another Banger’ with hot takes on BAYC creator Yuga Labs, & it's not because of their cute and trendy monkey faces.

Here’s what we’re covering today:

• All Apes are Racist? - Whistler Blower Reveals.

• Ryder Ripps Rippin Through !

• Yuga Labs Accused of Stealing.

• 1000 ETH Loss.

Let’s Dive Right In; Yeehaw!

YUGA’s RACIST NAZI INSPIRED NFTs : BAYC ?

A YouTuber Philion, aka Philip Rusnack has blown the lid off Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), "The biggest troll in internet history" and called for “every celebrity actor, athlete, and influencer” to burn their ‘Nazi’ Apes.Philion claims that BAYC uses racist imagery and obvious far-right symbolism. He suggests that the very nature of BAYC is to be esoteric and only understood by "a select number of people with specialized knowledge."

Now, these allegations aren't new.

Back in January, conceptual artist and programmer Ryder Ripps compiled a laundry list of 'issues' with BAYC and its designs, including the fact that the project officially launched on Hitler's death day.

Yikes.

But Philion's video takes things a step further, delving into a murky world of Nazi symbolism, 4Chan forums, and internet meme culture.

Although some of the points he raises could be coincidences, his argument rests on the fact that the sheer weight of his evidence proves that something more sinister is going on.

While some have dismissed the accusations as baseless, others argue that there are still some "dodgy" Apes in the collection.

Yuga Labs responded to these theories back in January this year, calling Ripps’ accusations “deeply painful” and “disturbing.”

But those who believe the links to far-right imagery have weight were backed up in part by the Anti-Defamation League.

The organization called out the "hip hop" trait, which gives apes a gold chain and gold teeth, and the "sushi chef headband" as both problematic.

Philion has called on Bored Ape holders to burn their tokens, but with a floor price of nearly $98,000, convincing anyone to part with their precious simian tokens might be harder than teaching a monkey to fly a plane.

It's not just BAYC that's under fire, either.

RR/BAYC RIPPIN THROUGH ?

Ryder Ripps himself has faced criticism for launching his own collection of derivative NFTs called RR/BAYC, which comprises over 6,000 NFTs based on the original Apes.

Some have questioned why he would create a collection that appears to exhibit close ties to Nazi and far-right ideas and imagery.

In his defense, Ripps claims that the collection was intended as satire and to raise awareness.

But that’s not all.

YUGA LABS CAUGHT STEALING !

In Another Incident, Yuga Labs, also the creators of Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC), have been accused of stealing the logo from an online drawing tutorial.

After the revelation that Yuga Labs had plagiarized an image from an Easy Drawing Tutorial, the company nixed its BAKC logo.

Despite the logo looking identical to the drawing in the guide by Rauno Tolonen, Yuga Labs co-founder, Greg Solano, dismissed the allegations as "claims."

Many BAYC holders appear to be indifferent to the apparent plagiarism, responding with comments such as "haters gonna hate" and "Bro wtf this sounds like it came right out of your ass."

The Bored Ape Yacht Club members are known to be fiercely protective of Yuga Labs' collection, specifically when allegations of plagiarism are made.

This is not the first time Yuga Labs has faced accusations of theft.

The project was previously accused of stealing the BAYC logo from the Waffen-SS, a Nazi paramilitary group.

The project's founders, however, have gone to great lengths to deny these claims of far-right links and sympathies.

NFTs have also never fully understood the concepts and laws of intellectual property.

Yuga Labs has recently sued an artist for using the BAYC artwork in derivatives and profiting from it.

However, owning or buying an NFT does not necessarily mean that you own its rights.

The concepts and laws of IP have been widely misunderstood in the NFT space, and just because an artwork is stored on the blockchain does not make it fundamentally different in the eyes of the law from other works in terms of its IP rights.

The World of NFTs is coming in hot!

But we hope you're all doing great, except for one unidentified NFT Trader who,

Lost More than 1,000 ETH on Moonbirds!

Ouch!

Launched in April last year by Kevin Rose's Proof Collective, Moonbirds was one of the most hyped NFT collections in history, making its debut at a sale price of 2.5 ETH.

For those of you who may not be familiar, Moonbirds was supposed to connect NFT collectors and host an NFT conference.

Unfortunately, the conference was canceled due to lack of interest. Even Moonbird holders were only able to purchase their tickets at a discounted price.

Moonbirds started off hot, with sales reaching over 11 ETH on the first day and an average sale price of 25 ETH within two weeks.

The highest sale even reached 350 ETH, which was over one million dollars at the time! However, the hype couldn’t last forever, and now the average sale price is just 6.6 ETH.

Kevin Rose’s Proof Collective raised an impressive $58 million in just five days during Moonbirds’ launch. Rose promised to create one of the top-five NFTs and even had an initiative called ‘Nesting’ planned to create value for holders.

But it seems that not even staking and rewards like a black hoodie could save Moonbirds from its flop.

So, a lesson for all you NFT traders out there: always do your research before investing your ETH. Don’t get caught up in the hype, or you might end up like our unlucky friend who lost over 1,000 ETH on Moonbirds.

There you have it, folks! Subscribe, If you still haven’t yet!

Stay Savvy!

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell assets or make financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.