Yuga Labs Now Worth 57.3 Trillion Thanks To Investment And Exploding NFT Trading
JAKARTA – Yuga Labs, the company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club's NFT collection, said Tuesday that they are now worth USD 4 billion (IDR 57.3 trillion) after a USD 450 million (IDR 6.4 trillion) funding round. led by crypto a16z, crypto fund Andreessen Horowitz.
Game company Metaverse, Animoca, and its subsidiary, The Sandbox, and crypto exchange FTX were also among the investors participating in the latest round.
The hype surrounding digital assets that propelled cryptocurrencies like bitcoin to record highs last year, has also extended to nonfungible tokens, or NFTs.
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NFTs are digital assets that use blockchain technology to record who owns digital objects such as images, videos or in-game items. NFT Bore Apes is often used as a profile photo on social media.
According to data from market tracker DappRadar, NFT sales will now reach USD 25 billion (IDR 358 trillion) in 2021. This is a rapid jump compared to only USD 94.9 million (IDR 1.3 trillion) the previous year.
However, as the NFT attracts fans including former US first lady Melania Trump and Jamaican great runner Usain Bolt, some are still questioning why so much money is being spent on things that don't physically exist.