EDITOR'S NOTE

YUGA LABS ESTABLISHES BAYC COMMUNITY COUNCIL

WHAT HAPPENED: Earlier this week, Yuga Labs introduced the Bored Ape Yacht Club Council, a community group “formed with the intention of representing the club at large and providing an avenue for new perspectives.” Seven members with a proven track record of engagement with the club and community have been appointed to the council. They’ll be tasked with spearheading community initiatives and managing feedback from holders — all to put “a more formal, efficient and consistent process in place for Yuga leadership to get community feedback and advice on an ongoing basis.”

WHY IT MATTERS: For the company behind one of the most successful NFT collections in modern memory (and with ambitions besides), it makes sense to install a council to better its community outreach and engagement. Such a formation does demonstrate a recognition of how community forms the backbone of a NFT brand or collection, but alas, remains dotted with pitfalls. For one, while most BAYC holders have welcomed the news, some have expressed frustration at the lack of transparency into how council members were selected. The project of decentralization continues.

MAX STEALTH ON DIGITAL ART AND COLLECTING
Last month, Sotheby’s held its first single-owner NFT auction, which arrayed selections from the collection of Max Stealth. The pseudonymous collector may have only commenced buying digital art in 2020, but in swift order, has amassed a collection encompassing works by XCOPY, Pak, Beeple, 3LAU, and Hackatao. We caught up with Max to learn what’s whetting his investment and collecting impulses in this new era of digital collecting. 

For you, where does the value of digital art lie?
In this space, everything is quite binary: you either hit a massive home run or zero. At this point in time, art probably shouldn’t be sold because the market is still so small and it’s a down market. You take 10 years and if you have two bidders who understand the work, that’s all you need. Art will be valued by the people who want to pay for it. 

As an investor, how do you approach the purchase of a NFT artwork?
I think you need a set of investing principles. But I’ve also realized that in this space, what I buy, 95 percent of it will probably be worthless in time. And that’s okay, because 25 artists got to quit their jobs because of what I did and that changed their lives. That’s what art should be. 

How do you see NFTs changing the relationship between artist and collector?
Art’s been around for 5,000 years, but this is the first time that it’s being governed by a smart contract. Suddenly, the artist and the collector have come together in a way where we are actually partners. That’s allowed us to say, “Well, how do we explore this and take it further?” I think that’s pretty unique in 5,000 years of art — to have a new relationship with artists. 

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DIGITAL ART FAIR XPERIENCE 2022 | OCTOBER 20 - NOVEMBER 6 | HONG KONG
The first Digital Art Fair in Hong Kong will see the city's Central District transformed with digital art showcases, featuring works by contemporary artist Jacky Tsai and from international galleries. Various other zones throughout the venue will spotlight creative technologies such as AR and VR, and host a conference program lined up with Web3 industry leaders. LEARN MORE