NFTs
CryptoPunks NFT Art Sparks Backlash Amid ‘Woke’ Controversy
Yuga Labs, the company behind the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, has decided to step back from its involvement with Cryptopunks, another prominent NFT collection in the crypto world.
In 2022, Yuga Labs acquired Cryptopunks to preserve its legacy. Over time, Cryptopunks has become one of the most iconic and influential profile picture (PFP) series in the NFT space. Thanks to their popularity among collectors, Cryptopunks have even found their way into museums.
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I wanted to share an update on Punks: When we acquired the collection a few years ago, we did so with the intention of preserving the collection’s legacy.
We see punks as the first cave paintings of this new medium, and we were heavily influenced by them when creating…
– Garga.eth (Greg Solano) 🍌 (@CryptoGarga) May 20, 2024
After managing the project for two years, Yuga Labs decided to move forward. In a detailed post shared by Garga.eth (Greg Solano), co-founder of Yuga Labs, the company announced its decision to end all ties to the NFT collection. Instead, they plan to make it fully decentralized to ensure its preservation on the blockchain.
As part of its efforts to integrate Cryptopunks into the traditional art world, Yuga Labs introduced new NFTs consisting of just 500 works of art. They collaborated with renowned artists to create new works using the Cryptopunks brand, aiming to bridge the gap between the Web3 ecosystem and traditional art.
One of these collaborations was with artist Abney, who created Super Punk World using the official Punks label. However, this move was not well received by some members of the punk community and collectors.
They criticized the artwork, which aimed to celebrate diversity and challenge conventional ideas about identity, labeling it as “woke”. Some argued that the avatars depicted in the artwork differed from what they believed an original Punk should be.
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