Yuga Labs plans to discontinue using the iconic CryptoPunks brand in its new NFT projects following the negative community reaction to the “progressive” Super Punk World collection.
Greg Solano, CEO of Yuga Labs, said the company ceases any activity around CryptoPunks, leaving the collection as a fully decentralized blockchain project. He also noted that the last step in moving the project forward would be to promote the NTF collection to audiences at several museums.
Solano’s announcement comes a day after announcing the new Super Punk World NFT collection, which was heavily criticized by the crypto community. The collection consists of 500 hybrid 3D sculptures created by New York-based artist Nina Abney. According to the author’s intention, the images are described as “blurring the lines of race and gender.” They pay homage to the “irreverent” roots of the CryptoPunks project.
However, the crypto community didn’t appreciate the author’s “progressive” idea, saying that Yuga Labs “killed” CryptoPunks with this move. Some users even threatened to sell their NFTs and suggested boycotting Yuga Labs until the company abandoned further changes.
Yuga Labs’ management decided to distribute tokens from the Super Punk World collection through an airdrop to those who support Abney’s work. Solano emphasized that Yuga Labs “will no longer touch” CryptoPunks.
Yuga Labs acquired the copyright to the CryptoPunks NFT collection in 2022, making their projects account for more than half of the total NFT market capitalization in 2023.
