A set of 107 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) representing images of cartoon apes sold for $24.4 million in an online sale at Sotheby's auction house on Thursday, as the market for the niche crypto asset continues to heat up.
The images were part of the 'Bored Ape Yacht Club' collection of NFTs - a set of 10,000 computer-generated cartoon apes, made by the U.S.-based company Yuga Labs. Owners of the ape NFTs become members of an online club.
An NFT, also pronounced 'nifties', is a digital asset that uses blockchain technology to record who owns a digital object such as an image, video or in-game item. While anyone can view the asset in question, only the buyer can say they are the 'official' owner.
The tokens are similar to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum in that they live on blockchain networks - a decentralized, distributed ledger that records transactions of digital assets.
The frenzy for NFTs shows no signs of slowing. Sales volume on the largest NFT marketplace, OpenSea, hit $3.4 billion in August, up tenfold from July. Some speculators 'flip' their NFTs for eye-watering profits within days or even hours.
PICTURED: One image that's part of the set of 'Bored Ape Yacht Club' collection was sold for $24million when it's estimated was ranging between $12-18million
A set of 107 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) representing images of cartoon apes sold for $24.4 million in an online sale at Sotheby's auction house on Thursday
But unlike traditional cryptocurrencies, NFTs are non-fungible, meaning that one cannot be exchanged for another. The digital assets have collectors value, and can represent items including still images, GIFs, videos, music and more.
Unusually for NFTs, the buyers of Bored Apes also receive the intellectual property rights for the images. They are often used as profile pictures on social media.
The lot contained 107 of these anthropomorphic apes, with different combinations of features such as clothing, accessories and facial expressions, plus the option to generate six new 'mutant' ones.
The lot contained 101 of the anthropomorphic apes, with different combinations of features such as clothing, accessories and facial expressions
The sale also included a lot of 101 'Bored Ape Kennel Club' NFTs - a set of dogs, marketed as pets for the apes. This fetched $1,835,000 and the set of apes fetched $24,393,000, bringing the total for the sale to $26,228,000.
Sotheby's allowed payments in the cryptocurrencies bitcoin, ether and USDC, and fiat currency.
The average weekly secondary market price for a Bored Ape has surged from around $1,500 when they were launched in April to $71,942 last week, according to NonFungible.com, a website that tracks the NFT market.
On Monday, a single Bored Ape sold for 740 ether (around $2.9 million).
Sothebys auctioned NFTs for Bored Ape Yacht Club and Bored ape Kennel Club (pictured) by Yuba Labs
Sotheby's auction for NFTs Bored ape Kennel Club (pictured) sold for nearly $2million compared to the $24million worth of the 'Bored Ape Yacht Club' collection
Michael Bouhanna, contemporary art specialist at Sotheby's, said that although there is financial speculation on NFTs, he sees the Bored Apes as works of art. He said the NFT market is not a bubble.
'People were talking about a bubble in March, in June, etc., and then we see that the market is even stronger today so I think they've been proven wrong… I
