Bathing Ape (BAPE) NFT collection can be best understood as an attempt to ape the Bored Apes Yacht Club (BAYC). However, the twist is that the Japanese fashion company behind it, A Bathing Ape, was launched before even Bitcoin saw the light of day, all the way back in 1993.
The BAPE brand became popular in Japan for its streetwear clothing lineup, notable for its colorful exuberance and greatly influenced by the American rap scene. However, the primary source of inspiration is Tomoaki Nagao, going by the artist name Nigo.
With the company’s ape logo already in place, it was a perfect setup for an eventual NFT collection, having been announced at the end of January 2022. Fast forward to March 23rd, and (B)APETAVERSE NFTs have finally entered the OpenSea waters as another corporate entry into non-fungible digital assets, following Adidas and Nike.
Enter the (B)APETAVERSE
As is tradition with most NFT collections, (B)APETAVERSE consists of 10,000 algorithmically generated BAPE NFTs, initially set at Ξ0.3 each. The buyers were limited to minting only two BAPES per person. Unlike BAYC, these generative apes are leaning on the more realistic 3D side of artistry, with the focus on head portraits instead of upper bodies.
From the initial Ξ0.3, BAPE floor price more than doubled, at Ξ0.73 (~$2,500). However, the floating head style choice, alongside the default variation of frowny-face, received mixed reactions. The typical user feedback is that it should’ve been a more cartoony 2D design, similar to the company’s own 2D logo.
However, this puts A Bathing Ape in an awkward position, as 2D cartoony apes have already found their home in Yuga Labs’ BAYC. On the other hand, the recently released HAPE Prime NFTs are also 3D but with full upper bodies, eliciting a more natural look.
Perhaps, this is one of the major reasons why HAPE Prime’s floor price is Ξ1.24 vs. BAPE’s Ξ0.73. Whatever the case may be, currently there are 4.8k (B)APETAVERSE owners. However, having generated an $8.64 million trading volume on the day of the launch, March 23rd, the activity pretty much flatlined.
Nonetheless, this may change in the future if the BAPE team follows through on its roadmap. Thus far, the upper price limit seems to hover around Ξ7 (~$24k), with the highest one sold for Ξ7.4, featuring a BAPE with closed eyes with an iconic Japanese head bandana (hachimaki).
The other two have green bolts of energy shooting out of their eyes, signifying their rarity status.
The Team and Their Roadmap
Going by pseudonyms JC, EDCODE, and DXOB, the trio released a (B)APETAVERSE roadmap. It hints at exclusive airdrops and IRL events that are supposed to be “adrenaline filled once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Perhaps A Bathing Ape will use attendance NFTs for even more exclusive airdrops?
There is also the suggestion of BAPE evolutions, hinting at serum-like drops to mutate existing BAPES, much like it happened with Mutant Apes Yacht Club. It bears remembering that BAYC, too, didn’t receive much traction in the beginning, only to really take off once the celebrities got wind of it.
Lastly, (B)APETAVERSE may receive a boost from its collaboration with MADworld under the Animoca Brands umbrella. Animoca is a Hong Kong-based software and venture capital (VC) company, spreading into blockchain gaming and web3 platforms.
As a project backed by Animoca, MADworld and BAPE will co-develop a wide range of multi-metaverse and IRL experiences: streetwear, virtual merch, tokens, and gaming assets. Furthermore, MADworld has its own NFT Origination Platform.
Is the NFT Market Too Saturated for More Apes?
In other words, it is still too early to tell whether (B)APETAVERSE will repeat the success of BAYC, especially now after its ApeCoin launch. With that said, there are already so many ape NFTs around, that we may be looking at a situation where the market is becoming too saturated with the same variation on the theme.
This may be the double-edged sword of corporate NFT entries, as big businesses tend to look at markets on a quantitative level, not a creative one. From a purely financial perspective, (B)APETAVERSE has done better than the comparative Pepsi Mic Drop, with its current floor price of Ξ0.35. This is 108% lower than BAPE’s Ξ0.73 floor price, having launched less than two weeks ago.
In the end, it all depends on the growth of the ecosystem around the NFTs themselves. Will that take place with (B)APETAVERSE is yet to be seen with their upcoming events and exclusive airdrops.
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