Bored Ape creator Yuga Labs buys CryptoPunks and Meebits

Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs bought a treasure trove of NFT IP late Friday, acquiring thousands of CryptoPunks and Meebits from Larva Labs.

Why it matters: Altogether, Yuga now controls NFTs with around $5.5 billion in market cap, which could spark further consolidation in the market for non-fungible collectibles.

Details: The team behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club is acquiring more than 400 CryptoPunks and 1,700 Meebits from their original creators.

• Under new ownership, Yuga Labs hopes to grant intellectual property and commercialization rights to CryptoPunks and Meebits owners — something many in the community have been asking for.
• The sale price was not disclosed, and Larva Labs says it will continue to operate independently and work on new projects.

Context: Originally launched in 2017 as a digital art project, CryptoPunks are worth about $2 billion in market cap and are the second-most valuable NFT collection in the market, according to CoinMarketCap.

• Bored Apes are first on that list, valued at about $2.2 billion. Yuga Labs' Mutant Apes ($842 million) and Bored Ape Kennel Club ($177 million) also rank prominently.
• Meebits, meanwhile, are valued at around $306.5 million.

Yes, but: The acquisition comes as the buzz around NFTs has started to cool off.

• According to data from sales tracker NonFungible, NFT transaction totals were 10x higher through August and September of last year than they are today.

Of note: Yuga Labs was in talks with Andreessen Horowitz to raise at least $200 million at a $5 billion valuation, Axios' Kia Kokalitcheva and Dan Primack reported last month.