Nfts
community accuses Yuga Labs of killing popular NFT collection
CryptoPunks, backed by the Yuga Labs team, relaunched with a new NFT collection that turned out to be a complete failure.
Yuga Labs has created a new collection of non-fungible tokens (NFT) called Super Punk World, with 500 NFTs in the form of three-dimensional figures that “blur the lines of race and gender.” The idea is to erase the boundaries between race and gender and rethink the essence of virtual and real identity.
Super Punk World is a collection of 500 pieces that is as playful as it is profound. For our Punk in Residence collaboration – @ninachane has created hybrid 3D sculptures that blur the lines between race and gender and reflect virtual and real identities. Read more and… pic.twitter.com/rWMraMW7Km
– CryptoPunks (@cryptopunksnfts) May 20, 2024
This is the first collection created by Yuga Labs under the CryptoPunks brand. The author of the NFT collection is the artist Nina Abney. The digital characters combine his artistic style and pay homage to the first web3 projects, especially CryptoPunks. Furthermore, they also raise pressing social issues, namely racism and sexism.
Project co-founder Greg Solano said the team plans to collaborate with world-class artists to merge web3 with the traditional art world.
An auction was planned to sell tokens from the Super Punk World collection. The highest price would be announced first and, at certain time intervals, the value of the NFT would decrease until the asset is purchased or its price reaches a set minimum. However, after criticism from the community, Yuga Labs chose a different path.
The “Dumbest Idea” and the CryptoPunks Killers
Despite the global goals, the collection has been criticized by members of the crypto community. Some users condemned the art style and concept of an attempt to rethink the cult CryptoPunks project. Others have accused Abney of inciting hatred in the community through her work focused on race and gender.
One of the users noted that Yuga Laboratories literally “killed” the idea of CryptoPunks.
The developer of Ordinary protocol, Leonidas, note that with the release of the new CryptoPunks collection, Yuga Labs is simply looking to replenish its portfolio and follow basic game theory and incentives. In this case, the owners of the original CryptoPunks the collection is responsible for everything.
“Yuga doesn’t own anything. The holders of Punks are the owners of CryptoPunks. So start acting like it and stop pretending that this random collection has any meaning or relationship to CryptoPunks.
Leonidas, developer of the Ordinals protocol
A collector under the nickname quary.sats note that “blurring the line between genders” is “the stupidest idea” that came to the minds of representatives of the CryptoPunks brand. He advised the team to leave Yuga Labs and move on.
Yuga Labs will abandon the CryptoPunks brand
After a barrage of criticism over the new collection, Solano announced that the company would cease all activity around CryptoPunks, leaving the collection as a completely decentralized blockchain project. He also noted that the final step in promoting the project would be to popularize the NTF collection to the public of several museums.
GM,
I wanted to share an update on Punks: When we acquired the collection a few years ago, we did so with the intention of preserving the collection’s legacy.
we consider the punks to be the first cave paintings of this new medium, and we were heavily influenced by them when creating…
– Garga.eth (Greg Solano) 🍌 (@CryptoGarga) May 20, 2024
The Yuga Labs team decided to distribute the Super Punk World NFTs via an airdrop to those who support Abney’s work. At the same time, Solano emphasized that Yuga Labs “will no longer touch” CryptoPunks.
“What about the punks? Yuga will no longer touch punks. They will simply be decentralized and stored on the blockchain. The only thing we intend to do is support a few museums and institutions in their quest to acquire a punk and help raise awareness about them.
Greg Solano, co-founder of Yuga Labs
Abney confirmed Yuga and thanked the project for its support. She also condemned attacks from the crypto community.
“I am absolutely disgusted by some of the racist, sexist, homophobic and transphobic comments that the controversy surrounding this project has brought to light. What is really at the heart of this space? »
Nina Abney, NFT artist
CryptoPunks before Yuga Labs and copyright purchase
The CryptoPunks project became one of the first NFT collections to gain popularity. Its success has inspired many digital artists in their creativity.
The creator of CryptoPunks was the New York company Larva Labs, founded by developers Matt Hall and John Watkinson. They started working on the project in 2017. CryptoPunks is based on the combination of art and power of non-fungible tokens.
The digital art in the CryptoPunks collection was some of the most expensive. The shift from offering free items to selling NFTs for big money comes amid the growing popularity of non-fungible tokens.
In 2022, Yuga Labs announced the acquisition of intellectual property rights to popular NFT collections published by Larva Labs. As with his Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Yuga Labs has assigned the intellectual property and commercial and exclusive licensing rights to the NFT owners.
As part of the acquisition of the CryptoPunks and Meebits collections, Yuga Labs received ownership rights to 423 CryptoPunks and 1,711 Meebits.