BAYC Creator Yuga Labs Draws Flak for WEF Partnership

• Yuga Labs has become a partner of the World Economic Forum.
• Yuga Labs’ WEF partnership has drawn criticism from members of the crypto community.
• Yuga Labs CEO Greg Solano has trolled critics.

Yuga Labs, the creators of the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, are rarely ever far from controversy.

In 2022, the firm was accused of integrating Nazi symbolism, racist representations, and anti-semitic ideas into its popular NFT collection, claims the firm dismissed as “ridiculous conspiracy theories.” Now, Yuga Labs is in the limelight again, this time being demonized for entering a partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF).

A “Strange and Unsettling” Union?

While Yuga Labs has yet to issue an official statement, as of Monday, April 22, the firm has been listed as a partner on the official WEF website.

The discovery, which has made the rounds on crypto X, has attracted significant backlash from several members of the crypto community. Crypto Tips Host Toby Cunningham bashed Yuga Labs as “sellouts.”

Look who joined the most disgusting group of people who hate everything that is good and beautiful. @yugalabs

Bunch of sellouts pic.twitter.com/D5N3NoARja

— Toby Cunningham (@sircryptotips) April 23, 2024

Chiming in, tubby cats contributor “Palis” described the partnership as “strange and unsettling.”

Strange and unsettling – think I saw this some time ago but why is Yuga Labs an official partner of the WEF who openly advocates active policies for depopulating humanity, centralizing control over global food and energy, and techno-enslaving the working class? pic.twitter.com/5IBT5RVyTG

— ⟠Palis⟠🐍 (@palis) April 22, 2024

The harsh sentiments result from many within the crypto space believing that the WEF stands for everything the crypto industry opposes: increased government control.

Despite the prevailing sentiment, not all see the Yuga Labs partnership with the WEF as a bad move.

Crypto Community Overreacting?

Jumping to Yuga Labs’ defense, DEGENERADOS co-host Gabriel “pevidex” Pevide suggested that criticism of Yuga Labs’ WEF partnership was small-minded. 

“It's [Yuga Labs] a Blockchain company that can talk about this globally to the mainstream, why couldn't it be part of that? Some people are childish, they can't do anything outside the bubble, they keep whining. Open your vision Apes,” he wrote.

It amazes me to read people prejudging Yuga Labs from being a partner of the World Economic Forum, what's the problem with that?

It's a Blockchain company that can talk about this globally to the mainstream, why couldn't it be part of that?

Some people are childish, they can't… pic.twitter.com/cEnM956x2H

— pevidex (@pevidex) April 23, 2024

Amid the ongoing back and forth, Yuga Labs CEO Greg Solano has opted to troll critics.

seriously though I did not even know this was a thing. I have not taken a real vacation in three years, there is so much to do and to fix and yet they joined the wef when I wasn’t looking.

— Garga.eth (Greg Solano) 🍌 (@CryptoGarga) April 22, 2024

Despite the recent criticism, BAYC’s floor price is up 16.7% in the past 24 hours at 12.21 ETH, per CoinGecko data at the time of writing.

On the Flipside 

• Despite the uproar surrounding Yuga Labs’ WEF partnership, several other crypto firms have partnered with the WEF. These firms include Grayscale, LayerZero, Ripple, and Stellar.

Why This Matters

The reactions trailing the Yuga Labs partnership with the WEF suggest that despite recent crypto mainstream strides, most crypto natives remain wary of the government.

Read this for more on Yuga Labs:
Yuga Labs Sparks NFT Royalty Enforcement Trend, De Labs Joins

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