Bored Ape’s New Boss Seeks to Revive NFTs Through Gaming, Events

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Yuga Labs Inc. helped popularize nonfungible tokens with its Bored Ape Yacht Club collection, first introduced two years ago. The cartoon illustrations of slack-jawed primates, decorated with various accessories and expressions, sold for millions of dollars at the peak of the NFT frenzy last year.

Now the bloom is firmly off the NFT rose, as it is with most things linked to cryptocurrencies these days. But for Daniel Alegre, the former Activision Blizzard Inc. executive who joined Yuga as chief executive officer last month, NFTs still have a bright future by serving as a room key to a world of gaming, events and e-commerce.

The company, whose 100 employees all work remotely, began its expansion into video games last year, developing time-limited titles such as Dookey Dash and in the background, its own virtual world called Otherside. Growing the latter has been an area of focus for Yuga since Alegre joined, he said, as part of a shift toward a blockchain-based version of the internet known as web3.

Yuga is also exploring ways to make its existing NFT collections, including CryptoPunks and Meebits, more useful than just digital artwork and offering them as a link to entertainment and shopping experiences through partnerships with retail brands including Gucci and Puma.

“Web3 can really transform community, creativity and connection,” Alegre said in his first media interview since taking over. “That's what I'm here for.”

It's a familiar mantra, proffered by every NFT project and aficionado over the last 12 months in a bid to make these icons more than just an expensive profile picture. But proving their utility and gaining mainstream users is easier said than done. Yuga's gaming releases so far have been restricted to temporary