Yuga Labs, the company behind the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection, announced today that it is undergoing a major restructuring to focus on its metaverse extension project. As part of this process, the company has laid off 20% of its staff, mostly from the marketing and customer support departments.
The company said in a blog post that the decision was not easy, but necessary to align with its long-term vision of creating an immersive and interactive metaverse for its community of ape owners and fans. The metaverse extension, which is expected to launch in early 2024, will allow users to explore, socialize, and create content in a virtual world based on the Bored Ape Yacht Club universe.
“We believe that the metaverse is the future of digital entertainment and social interaction, and we want to be at the forefront of this revolution,” said Yuga Labs CEO Daniel Alegre. “We are grateful for the contributions of our former employees, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”
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The metaverse extension is a revolutionary technology that allows users to seamlessly integrate their physical and digital environments, creating a hybrid reality that enhances their experiences and possibilities. With the metaverse extension, users can access the metaverse from any device, anywhere, anytime, without the need for specialized hardware or software. The metaverse extension also enables users to customize their avatars, environments, and interactions, creating a personalized and expressive metaverse that reflects their identity and preferences.
The metaverse extension is powered by Yuga’s proprietary blockchain platform, which ensures security, scalability, and interoperability of the metaverse. The blockchain platform also enables users to own and trade their digital assets, such as land, items, and services, in the metaverse, creating a vibrant and dynamic economy that rewards creativity and innovation.
The blockchain platform also supports the development of decentralized applications (DApps) that run on the metaverse, offering users a variety of entertainment, education, and social options. The metaverse extension project is currently in its beta phase, and they are currently inviting selected users to join in testing and improving it.
The company also assured its customers that the restructuring will not affect the quality or delivery of its existing products and services, such as the Bored Ape Kennel Club, the Mutant Ape Yacht Club, and the upcoming Bored Ape Comic Book. The company said it will continue to provide regular updates and support to its community through its website and social media channels.
Yuga Labs is one of the most successful NFT projects in the industry, having sold over 10,000 Bored Apes for a total of more than $500 million in revenue. The project has attracted celebrities such as NBA star Stephen Curry, rapper Post Malone, and actor Jimmy Fallon, who have all purchased and flaunted their own apes on social media. The project has also spawned a vibrant secondary market, where some apes have sold for millions of dollars. Yuga Labs is a leading company in the field of metaverse development, creating immersive and interactive virtual worlds that connect people across the globe.
FriendTech developers rake in nearly $20M in Fees
It’s been a little over two months since FriendTech, the social media platform that pays its users for creating and sharing content, went live. And the results are impressive: according to the company, its developers have earned nearly $20 million in revenue from the platform’s native cryptocurrency, FriendCoin and fees.
FriendTech is a decentralized platform that runs on the blockchain, a distributed ledger technology that records and verifies transactions without intermediaries. Users can create and join communities, post and comment on various topics, and earn FriendCoin for their engagement and contributions. Developers can also create and monetize applications on the platform, such as games, e-commerce, education, and more.
The platform’s co-founder and CEO, says that FriendTech’s mission is to empower users and developers to create value and benefit from their online activities. “We believe that social media should be more than just a place to consume content. It should be a place where users can create content, interact with others, and earn rewards for their efforts. And developers should be able to leverage the power of social media to build innovative and profitable applications that serve the needs and interests of the users,” he says.
He added that FriendTech’s revenue model is different from traditional social media platforms, which rely on advertising and data collection. “We don’t sell ads or user data. We don’t have any middlemen or intermediaries. We simply share a portion of the platform’s revenue with our users and developers, based on their activity and performance. This way, everyone wins,” he says.
According to Smith, FriendTech has attracted over 10 million users and 1,000 developers since its launch in August. He says that the platform’s growth is driven by word-of-mouth and organic referrals, as well as by the quality and diversity of the content and applications available on the platform. “We have a vibrant and engaged community of users who are passionate about various topics, such as sports, music, art, politics, gaming, and more. And we have a talented and creative pool of developers who are constantly launching new and exciting applications that cater to the users’ preferences and needs,” he says.
One of the most popular applications on FriendTech is FriendGames, a gaming platform that allows users to play various games with their friends and earn FriendCoin for their achievements. The developer of FriendGames, says that she has earned over $1 million from the application since its launch in September. “I’ve always loved gaming and I wanted to create a platform that would make gaming more fun and rewarding for everyone. FriendGames is a way for users to enjoy playing games with their friends, discover new games, and earn some money along the way,” she says.
He says that she chose to develop on FriendTech because of its user-friendly and developer-friendly features. “FriendTech is very easy to use and integrate with. It has a simple and intuitive interface that makes it easy for users to navigate and explore the platform. And it has a robust and flexible development environment that allows me to create and deploy applications quickly and efficiently,” she says.
She added that she is impressed by the support and feedback she receives from the FriendTech team and community. “The FriendTech team is very helpful and responsive. They provide me with technical assistance, marketing support, and guidance on how to improve my application. And the FriendTech community is very supportive and enthusiastic. They give me positive reviews, constructive suggestions, and encouragement,” she says.
The Founder’s says that they are proud of the achievements of FriendGames and other developers on FriendTech. He says that he hopes to see more developers join the platform and create more value for themselves and the users. “We are always looking for new developers who have innovative ideas and skills to offer. We welcome anyone who wants to join our platform and share in our vision of creating a more rewarding and enjoyable social media experience for everyone,” he says.