Non-fungible tokens are back in the headlines. They have been appreciated for allowing artists to sell their digital art without any middleman. They have also been criticized for harming the natural environment through carbon emissions.
This time, NFTs are in the news because PHAYC and PAYC are fighting over which is the best fake, or rather the most authentic imitation, of the original Bored Ape Yacht Club.
Background
Early arrivals at PAYC were allowed to mint the apes for free, while others had to pay a basic fee of 0.042 ETH. This comes to approximately $157. Released in early December 2021, the NFT collection cited the actions of CryptoPhunks to justify its release.
CryptoPhunks sounds similar to CryptoPunks, and their collections are pretty similar too.
PAYC declared a vague mission statement highlighting that its goal is to promote decentralization in the NFT market. He added that he wanted to denigrate the rich jerks who had taken over the market.
PHAYC is the other side of the coin that looks similar to the previous one. He has also ripped the original Bored Ape Yacht Club collection to sell on the market. It was released after a few days when PAYC announced its entry into the market.
He put up a banner saying a limited collection of NFTs to attract a large number of art collectors. He further stressed that his token does not offer membership or loyalty.
Many members of the PHAYC community have called the PHAYC collections a satirical take on the prevailing condition of the NFT market. They have also said that many people might be taking NFTs more seriously than they should.
Apart from selling a fake NFT collection, they both share one more thing in common. They have been banned by OpenSea, an NFT marketplace, for copyright infringement.
The Fight To Be The Best Fake
Plagiarism is a serious crime. Takes away the original owner’s portion of the artwork’s income. PAYC and PHAYC seem to be crossing the line through their collection of left-facing Bored Ape Yacht Club scams.
Bored Ape Yacht Club recently surpassed CryptoPunks to become the best-selling NFT on the market. The best figure for the cheapest piece of art in the Bored Ape Yacht Collection is $217,000.
What PAYC and PHAYC have done is flip the Bored Ape Yacht Club artwork upside down, associate it with cryptocurrency tokens, and sell it to interested buyers.
Their fight now is over who is the most authentic copy of the original version, and many members say that their NFTs are fake.
CoinDesk recently stated that while PHAYC collected 500 ETH from members to mint their apes, PAYC collected only 60 ETH from sales.
PAYC and PHAYC are currently battling it out on Twitter to claim the crown of being the best. In the meantime, OpenSea has banned them from the platform, and Yugo Labs is considering filing a legal case against them.
NFTs exist to help artists earn money, but NFTs are not subject to any legal framework. This may make it difficult for Yugo Labs to fight the legal battle.
