As CryptoPunks NFT Owners Get Commercial Rights, Yuga Hopes to Secure Their ‘Legacy as Artwork’

CryptoPunks are iconic in the crypto world, and the project spurred countless imitators as it popularized tokenized NFT profile pictures. But with a new owner in the form of Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs, we’re starting to get a sense of how the new steward plans to expand the utility of the Ethereum NFTs and push the brand forward.

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Yuga Labs acquired the CryptoPunks and Meebits properties from original creator Larva Labs in March, along with a sizable stash of NFTs from both collections. In June, the firm hired Noah Davis, who previously headed digital sales at auction house Christie’s and sold Beeple’s $69 million NFT, to oversee the future of CryptoPunks as its brand lead.

Davis told Decrypt that the opportunity was initially floated to him by Guy Oseary, the veteran music industry manager and former label executive who represents Yuga Labs. Oseary was vague about the position at first, but assured Davis that it would be a job worth taking. Once Davis heard the full details, he agreed.

“This is an opportunity that I could not refuse,” said Davis. “It’s my dream job.”

He’s spent the last several weeks meeting with CryptoPunks owners to discuss their feelings on the collection, which has yielded dozens of NFT sales of at least $1 million apiece—and over $2.3 billion worth of trading to date, despite being free to mint at launch in 2017.

Alongside the acquisition in March, Yuga Labs also announced that the Web3 startup will grant full commercialization rights to CryptoPunks holders, enabling them to create projects and derivative products based on their owned artwork. That’s what Yuga Labs already offers Bored Ape Yacht Club owners, and it will extend the rights to Meebits holders, as well.

CryptoPunks owners will be granted those rights on August 15 when the IP licensing agreement is released. The end result is ultimately the same as the Bored Apes, said Davis, but there’s a key difference: while the Bored Apes’ commercial…