This is about Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), which isn't just digital art — it's a membership card that gives owners IP rights, community access, and profits. Guest Eric Golden (ex-Fidelity manager, BAYC holder) thinks NFTs are becoming a new asset class, with top-tier ones worth holding long-term. Key picks: BAYC (floor price ~$150K, project has made over $100M); CryptoPunks (seen as the 'gold' of NFTs, but creator retains copyright); Axie Infinity (a 'play-to-earn' game).
Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), as an NFT project and cultural phenomenon, derives its core value not only from rare digital art but also from building a strong membership community. Former Fidelity investment manager Eric Golden shares his motivation for owning a Bored Ape and analyzes the price tiers
Guest Eric Golden (former Fidelity investment manager and Bored Ape holder) deconstructs the BAYC project from a holder's first-person perspective. BAYC's core innovation is not digital art, but rather enabling consumers to truly become "owners"—community members own the IP, participate in governance, and share in economic returns. This bottom-up brand-building model may reshape the relationship between creators and consumers.
Golden describes his motivation for purchasing a Bored Ape: "This isn't just buying a piece of art to hang on the wall; it's a symbol of joining a community." He initially coveted CryptoPunks, but upon entering their Discord, he felt like an "imposter" — those members had been holding Bitcoin since 2010, whereas the BAYC community atmosphere was entirely different.
BAYC's narrative foundation is a fictional scenario: what would everyone do if they got rich from crypto investments? The answer is "build a cool bar and club to hang out with friends." This "blue-collar project" (starting at 0.08 ETH, roughly $200, compared to MeBits at about $8,000) attracted those who "wanted to be punks but weren't punks yet."
> "With my Ape, I could speak in a way that immediately got me into a circle of people I wanted to associate with and I wanted to learn from."
Readers should note: Golden is a BAYC holder, and his narrative reflects a holder's perspective, with descriptions of the community atmosphere potentially skewed positive.
Current price range (at the time of recording):
Rarity distribution:
Community phenomena created by rarity:
| Price Tier | Current Range | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Floor | ~$140,000–$150,000 | Common traits |
| Mid-tier | Hundreds of thousands of dollars | Some rare traits |
| Rare | Millions of dollars | Extremely rare combinations such as golden fur, crown, etc. |
Airdrop Mechanism:
Revenue Sources:
Brand Roadmap 2.0:
Golden emphasizes: "With no venture capital, they have built a balance sheet exceeding $100 million solely through their community."
Model 1: Creator retains copyright (Larva Labs / CryptoPunks)
Model 2: IP belongs to the holder, brand belongs to the creator (BAYC)
Model 3: Fully decentralized
Real-world example: When someone copies an ape, the community spontaneously defends the rights on Twitter ("They are impersonating me"); meanwhile, CryptoPunks once successfully requested OpenSea to delist a mirror-flipped project.
Current valuation methods:
Three investment paths:
| Path | Logic | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Long-term holding of blue chips | Betting on Web3 and NFTs becoming mainstream entry points, holding for 10-20 years | Directional judgment error |
| Market making/arbitrage | Current BAYC bid-ask spread is approximately 5-70 ETH ($20,000-$30,000); low liquidity but large arbitrage opportunities | Insufficient market depth |
| Speculation/lottery | Chasing new projects, similar to daily fantasy sports | High risk; requires funds that can afford losses |
Key judgment: "I believe we are witnessing the formation of a new asset class."
Ethereum's position:
Applicable scenarios for other chains:
Decision framework:
| Position | Guest Stance | Key Data |
|---|---|---|
| Bored Ape Yacht Club | Bullish (holder perspective) | Floor price 35 ETH (~$150K); highest sale $2.7M; project revenue over $100M |
| CryptoPunks | Neutral (as a benchmark) | Viewed as "the gold/Treasury bond of the NFT space"; Larva Labs retains copyright |
| MeBits | Neutral | Issue price ~$8,000; "culture war" with BAYC |
| CyberKongs | Bullish (innovative model) | Pioneered "hold-to-mine" — holding NFTs earns tokens, tokens can be used to mint the next-tier NFT |
| NBA Top Shot (Dapper Labs) | Bullish | Zero transaction fees, supports credit cards; Flow chain, currently a closed environment |
| Axie Infinity | Bullish (trend) | Represents the "Play-to-Earn" gaming model |
| Zed Run | Neutral | 38,000 horses, 10-20 races per day; uses Matic/Polygon |
1. "Your ape is your Amex Black Card" (as Gargamel put it) — one of BAYC's co-founders. A community member later actually produced a physical black card printed with their own ape. This reflects the community's "bottom-up" innovation vitality.
2. NFT valuation cannot rely on traditional DCF; only relative value comparisons are feasible (Golden) — He views CryptoPunks as "gold/treasury bonds," with the price ratio of BAYC to Punk serving as the core reference frame. Currently, there is a lack of accounting tools to measure intangible assets.
3. BAYC's three IP frameworks mark a watershed moment for the NFT industry (Golden) — From Larva Labs retaining copyright, to BAYC granting IP to holders while retaining the brand, to full decentralization. This determines holders' commercial rights and the project's revenue model.
4. The airdrop mechanism allows early holders to "recoup their investment" (Golden) — Each original holder received $15,000–$60,000 in value from the serum airdrop, plus the earlier dog airdrop ($15,000–$20,000), covering the initial investment. However, Golden warns this model is unsustainable and risks devolving into a Ponzi scheme.
5. "Consumers feeling like owners" is the core breakthrough of Web3 (Golden) — Bypassing venture capital and intermediaries, creators connect directly with consumers. He cites Taylor Swift as an example: in theory, she could bypass intermediaries like Ticketmaster and Live Nation to interact directly with fans.
6. NFTs are evolving from pure speculation into three types of investment assets (Golden) — Long-term holding of blue chips, market-making arbitrage, and speculative lottery tickets. Currently, bid-ask spreads reach $20,000–$30,000, with poor liquidity but significant arbitrage opportunities.
7. Blue-chip NFTs will remain on Ethereum forever, while utility NFTs require other chains (Golden) — High-value (six to seven figures) NFTs use Ethereum; one-time event tickets use Solana/Matic to avoid gas fee spikes.
8. BAYC's "bottom-up brand" model could reshape commerce (Golden) — Community comes first, then the brand, with community members spontaneously creating value (black cards, sub-groups, commercial collaborations). This is the complete opposite of the traditional path of "product first, then distribution."