Yuga Labs hasnât confirmed or denied rumors that it is selling the IP rights to CryptoPunks, the worldâs most valuable NFT collection.
The floor price of the CryptoPunks non-fungible token collectibles increased 13% in three hours on rumors that its owner, Yuga Labs, might be âin the processâ of selling CryptoPunks intellectual property rights.
The rumorcamefrom âWale.moca,â a researcher at NFT firm Azuki who cited âseveral sources close to the matterâ in a Jan. 14 X post.
He didnât disclose who the buyer could be. However, he said it isnât aWeb2 brand,nor is it an existing NFT company such as Pudgy Penguins, Azuki or Doodles.
Source:Wale.moca
Cointelegraph reached out to Yuga Labs but didnât receive an immediate response.
The CryptoPunks floor price increased from 36.6 EtherETH $3,262.21to 41 ETH â worth over $130,000 â in three hours after Wale.mocaâs X post, NFT Floor Price data shows.
Change in CryptoPunks NFT floor price over the last month. Source:NFT Price Floor
Selling the intellectual property rights would represent a significant shift in the NFT industry, as Yugaâs CryptoPunks are themost valuable NFTson the market.
TheCryptoPunks NFTsboast a market cap of 414,700 ETH ($1.3 billion) â almost twice the size of second-place Pudgy Penguins NFTs at 213,080 ETH, according to NFT Price Floor.
CryptoPunks listed on NFT marketplace OpenSea. Source:OpenSea
Yugabought IP rightsto 423 CryptoPunks NFTs from fellow NFT firm Larva Labs for an undisclosed amount in March 2022.
The CryptoPunksNFT floor pricewas around 65 ETH at that time â a near-37% fall from the current floor price.
However, ETH has increased over 24% since then, when it was trading at around $2,590, CoinGeckodatashows.
Yuga is also the owner of Bored Ape Yacht Clubs, the third most valuable collectible in the NFT market.
Yugaâs co-founder, Greg Solano,stepped back in as CEOto replace Daniel Alegre last February. He made a âtoughâ call to make aseries of layoffs two months later, citing a new for the company to return to its âcreative-first spirit.â
https://cointelegraph.com/news/yuga-labs-cryptopunks-rise-13-percent-ip-transfer-rumors