Bored Ape creator Yuga Labs unleashing huge NFT land grab

Yuga Labs, the startup behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club, will unveil the next piece of its NFT empire on Saturday, when it begins selling virtual land in a metaverse project called Otherside.

Why it matters: The Otherside launch could mark the single largest release of NFTs in the nascent market's history, with the potential to take in around $375 million in the initial sale alone.

Context: According to industry tracker Nonfungible, the highest one-day mark for NFT sales volume this year was $160 million for the entire market.

• The sales volume record was set last August at $418 million, and there are strong signs that Otherside will eclipse that.

Details: The Otherside land supply is comprised of 100,000 NFTs called Otherdeeds, 55,000 of which will be made available for sale starting Saturday at 9pm ET.

• The sale will be conducted using apecoin, the cryptocurrency token Yuga Labs released last month — but buyers will also need to hold some ETH for gas fees.
• Each wallet will be able to mint two Otherdeed NFTs at the start of the sale, but the number available to mint will increase over time based on gas fees and network conditions.
• The other 45,000 Otherdeeds will presumably be made available to Yuga Labs employees, investors, partners, and Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFT holders.

By the numbers: Each Otherdeed will be sold for 305 apecoin (~$6,800). The estimated $375 million total from the initial land sale excludes what Yuga Labs could make in the secondary market.

• Yuga Labs has said that all apecoin earned through the sale will be locked up for one year, which could drive up the token's price by further limiting supply.

Of note: Previous virtual land projects include Decentraland, The Sandbox, and Cryptovoxels, but none launched with the kind of cultural mindshare Yuga Labs has built.

What we're watching: With a minimum of two Otherdeeds available for each wallet, there will be unprecedented secondary sales as new holders flip these NFTs for a quick profit to those unable to participate in the initial sale.