The revival of scrappedâV1â CryptoPunks NFTsfrom Larva Labsâ originalbug-ridden 2017 rollouthas added a wrinkle to the debate over provenance, ownership, and artistsâ intent in theWeb3world. And it doesnât appear that V1NFTowners are part of new owner Yuga Labsâ increasing plans for theCryptoPunksbrand.
On Monday, Yuga Labsâwhichpurchased the CryptoPunks IPfrom Larva in Marchâreleased thelong-anticipated commercial rights licensefor theEthereumNFT project, letting the owners of the 10,000 unique profile pictures turn them into all manner of derivative creations like art and products. It mirrors the approach of Yugaâs own popularBored Ape Yacht Club.
But theIP licensing agreementspecifies that it only applies to the CryptoPunks minted with the secondsmart contract(self-executing computer code that is stored on a blockchain)âin other words, the âV2â or âofficialâ CryptoPunks that have traded for millions of dollars apiece. Owners of V1 Punks have no legal clearance from Yuga to turn their NFT avatars into commercial creations.
Asked for clarity on Yugaâs stance on V1 Punks and future plans regarding the project, a company spokesperson toldDecryptthis week, âThere are no current plans for V1 Punks.â
An NFT is a blockchaintokenthat can represent ownership in an item, including artwork, collectibles, and profile pictures like CryptoPunks. The project features 10,000 total pixel avatars, and collectively theyâve generated more than $2.3 billion worth of trading volume to date while influencing countless other projects (like Yugaâs own Bored Apes).
In an interview withDecrypt,CryptoPunks Brand Lead Noah Davisâwho previously oversaw NFT sales at auction house Christieâsâshared his take on the V1 Punks, referencing original Larva co-creators Matt Hall and John Watkinson. But Davis said he would ânot take a definitive stanceâ about the NFTs.
âPersonally, I think that the V1 Punks are a very cool relic of Matt and John's creative process,â said Davis. âThese are evidence of how Matt and John created the CryptoPunks.â
âWhether or not they aretheCryptoPunks, I think that's been very clearly addressed by Matt and Johnâwho are the artists and whose opinions matter, and are probably most important in this instance,â he added. âIt's like a misprinted Jordan rookie cardâbut it's not the Jordan rookie card.â
Larva Labsâ stated stance on the V1 Punks was clear, but its actions muddled the message. V1 Punks really re-entered the CryptoPunks conversation late last year, when community members created a âwrapperâ program that effectively rescued the abandoned avatars from Larvaâs buggy, original smart contract, turning them into functional Ethereum NFTs.
Quickly, collectors began buying and sellingWrapped V1 CryptoPunks, trading them for increasing sums while calling them the âoriginalâ CryptoPunks. The V1 versions are identical to the âofficialâ Punks NFTs, save for a new background color added via the wrapper. It clearly agitated Hall and Watkinson in the process.
Larvaâs foundersclaimed that the V1 NFTswere ânot official CryptoPunksâ and said they âdonât like themââbut they confused the message by also wrapping and selling some of the V1 Punks that were in their ownwallets. Ultimately, Larva Labs apologized in February and donated the funds to charity, calling its actions âstupidâ and a âbad decision.â
However, Larva Labs then filed a DMCA copyright claim to get the V1 Punks delisted from OpenSea. Although the V1 community was ostensibly under attack by the CryptoPunks creators, some reveled in the chaos that ensued and celebrated Larvaâs missteps.
âIt was a big clusterfuck, right? We really put them under a lot of pressure,â V1 Punks community member hembatoldDecryptin May. âThey were just tripping over themselves.â
In March, the situation changed dramatically when Larva Labssold the CryptoPunks IP to Yuga Labs, Yuga opted not to pursue the DMCA claim, and Wrapped V1 CryptoPunks returned to OpenSea before the community launched its own Rarible-powered marketplace. The battle was over, plus Yuga apparentlyacquired more than 1,000 wrappable V1 Punksin the Larva deal, along with a Wrapped V1 NFT.
But what does that mean going forward for the V1 Punks? Yuga Labs may not be actively pushing back against the V1 community, as Larva Labs did, but holders are also not being invited to the âofficialâ party and provided benefits as the CryptoPunks brand moves ahead.
When the V1 Punksâ ownRarible-powered marketplacelaunched in May, community members toldDecryptthat they hoped to create an independent DAOâor decentralized autonomous organizationâto unite all of Larvaâs Punks: V1 Punks and the official (V2) CryptoPunks alike.
Some owners held out hope that Yuga Labsâ IP licensing agreement would acknowledge the V1 Punks in some way or grant them rights. But that wasnât the case, and the topic remainsat times contentiouson social media, with collectors prodding Davis for answers and some Punk owners (like hemba)tweeting that they donât acceptYugaâs licensing terms.
V1 Punks owners continue asking questions, and Yuga's initial response might not be what they were looking for. At least for now, any further V1 movementâincluding efforts to unite the communitiesamid animosityfrom some Punks holdersâwill have to come from the community, as ever.
https://decrypt.co/107740/no-current-plans-for-v1-cryptopunks-nfts-yuga-labs