Why Bored Ape Avatars Are Taking Over Twitter

In part, it’s this possibility that makes buying into N.F.T. clubs so desirable: purchasing the hot new avatar might be like acquiring a small fraction of the rights to the next Mickey Mouse.

“When everyone’s got skin in the game, it creates a new dynamic, as opposed to everyone being able to say what they want and critique everything without consequence,” Drew Austin, a technology investor who owns three Bored Apes and co-owns two others, told me. That sense of community has been missing from the Internet, according to Bored Ape Yacht ... See more

Each avatar club is a strange combination of gated online community, stock-shareholding group, and art-appreciation society. When one ape (or cat or pill or alien) is bought for a high price, the perceived value of all ten thousand authentic N.F.T.s in the set rises, the same way a painting fetching a record price at auction might increase the valu... See more