Yuga Labs, known for its NFT collections Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and ApeCoin, has announced an expansion of its capabilities by incorporating the tech team from Tokenproof, a company specializing in Web3 tokenization services. According to Tokenproof’s founder, part of the team will join Yuga Labs’ research and development division, The Workshop.
Yuga Labs’ Goals
The Workshop, where the Tokenproof team will integrate, was launched in August 2024 amid mass layoffs and company restructuring. Yuga Labs is now focused on developing the Otherside metaverse, which combines gaming and cross-platform interactions.
Greg Solano, co-founder of Yuga Labs, stated that the partnership with Tokenproof has already resolved several technical challenges, including secure NFT usage. He emphasized that the company’s goal is to make crypto tokens and NFTs more accessible and engaging.
The acquisition was well-received by the crypto community. Many developers praised Tokenproof’s contributions to creating practical use cases for NFTs within the BAYC ecosystem.
The State of the Market
The deal was announced amidst renewed interest in NFTs. In November, NFT sales volumes reached $562 million, the highest in the past six months. However, these figures still fall short of the record $1.6 billion reported in March 2024.
Meanwhile, other market players face challenges. The exchange Kraken announced the closure of its NFT platform a year after its launch, citing the need to reallocate resources for developing new products. Users were advised to transfer their collections to Kraken Wallet or external wallets.