Yuga Labs announced that it has acquired the CryptoPunks and Meebits collections from Larva Labs, according to a series of Tweets from the company, adding that they plan to give full commercial rights to the NFT holders.
Yuga Labs and LarvaLabs are arguable the biggest names in the NFT space as the creative forces behind Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks, respectively.
A statement from Yuga Labs said that Larva Labs and CryptoPunks served as an inspiration for their team.
According to the statement: “When we set out to create within the NFT space, we did so with a deep admiration for CryptoPunks and the visionary work of the project’s founders, Matt and John. Their work moved NFTs, the Ethereum blockchain, and the entire crypto space forward, and influenced how we built BAYC. We’re honored to shepherd the CryptoPunks and Meebits brands into the future as part of the broader ecosystem we’re building.”
Matt and John, referred to above, are Matt Hall and John Watkinson, co-founders of Larva Labs, CryptoPunks and Meebits.
Hall and Watkinson respond with love of their own: “Yuga Labs are the innovators of the modern profile picture project, and the best in the world at operating these projects. They are the ideal stewards of the CrytoPunks and Meebits. In their hands, we are confident that they will continue to be vital, thriving projects in the emerging decentralized web.”
The two are not joining Yuga, however.
According to the statement: “This acquisition does not mean that Matt and John are joining Yuga. They’re going to continue running Larva Labs and will keep doing what they do best: creating awesome projects that help shape the future of web3.”
“For us, NFTs have always been about culture.”
Culture Counts
Yuga Labs recognizes that its not dollars or cents — or even Ether — that drives collaborations in the NFT space. It’s culture.
“For us, NFTs have always been about culture. We’re deeply engaged with the community that’s formed around BAYC, and it’s inspiring to watch them build, collaborate, and continuously up the ante. CryptoPunks and Meebits have their own unique communities, and we’re excited to see what they do with IP rights. Our vision has always been to build a community-owned brand that extends far beyond NFTs, and now we get to bring CryptoPunks and Meebits along for the ride.”
Next Steps
The first step will be to give CryptoPunks and Meebits holders the same commercial rights that BAYC and MAYC owners enjoy. Legal teams are working on drafting the agreement.
“By handing over these rights, we’re further aligning CryptoPunks and Meebits with the web3 ethos, and we expect a wide-range of third party developers and community creators to incorporate CryptoPunks and Meebits into their web3 projects. We’ll be building the overall brand right alongside them,” the companies stated.
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