The following drama was difficult to unfold; it's gotten just a bit of traction from Crypto news outlets (post correction - over the past two days that I've been working on this article (because, you know, pretty busy IRL) a number of videos and talks have surfaced around Youtube and Twitter. Feel free to check them out for a wider perspective.) Alot of the information that is presented comes from various Twitter posts that have different conversations and depictions copied and pasted, and so on and so forth... If you have any corrections or additions to the information I have provided, please leave a comment. I have done my utmost to ensure that the information in this article is presented in an unbiased fashion.
This really paints a vivid picture of how a large chunk of our society operates today; in large part, online. But this does not paint a vivid picture of the truth, for as we all know, scammers run rampant in the pseudonymous space. But what happens when one pseudonymous actor accuses another pseudonymous actor of fraud? The court of law becomes involved, and all pseudonymity goes to shit.
Let's focus on the facts in chronological order.
1. Conceptual artist "Ryder Ripps" is already known in the crypto space for minting an NFT titled "CryptoPunk 3100" on NFT platform Foundation. CryptoPunk 3100 is identical to the 1st CryptoPunk NFT minted by Larva Labs in 2017. See it's posting here. As you'll see if you click the link, this NFT was originally removed Foundation platform a day after it's posting, citing a DMCA from Larva Labs. Ripps fought the order, and won, with the prize of his work being reinstated, and also proving a point that should go hard in the crypto space- an NFT cannot be copied. Even if the image is identical, the ERC-721 token is uniquely encrypted, and that's what matters. Ryder claims he has been investigating Yuga Labs and their imagery since December 2021. The earliest proof of this I have found thus far besides his own word is an article that was published in early January 2022. The article gives a summarized recap of a Twitter Space which was centered around this subject of Nazi imagery embedded within the BAYC NFTS. This Space had close to 5,000 listeners, with Ripps being one of the more vocal voices. The said article not only touches on the space, but finds Ripps for a one-on-one interview, him having been one of the more well-known protestors in the Space. I'll hesitate to call the article "informative" so as to not lose my neutral position, but it is very interesting. That article can be found here. Yuga Labs issued a Tweet in defense in early May, before RR/BAYC was released, defending and denying against and denying the racist allegations toward their NFT imagery. The same tweet can be found in the linked article.
2. May 13, 2022 Ryder Ripps begins minting RR/BAYC NFTs as a satirical protest against what he claims is racist/pro-Nazi content. The racist/Nazi content essentially refers to the typically stereotyped and exotified Black or Asian features which are resembled on the monkeys and the Bored Ape Yacht Club logo resembling the "SS Totenkopf," as well as possible Neo Nazi origins of the Indian word "Yuga." I'll save Ripps' job of presenting you with the "proof," but his Twitter is full of tweets which will clarify what the topics of debate for those who don't necessarily know (and I didn't.) If you really want to go down the rabbit hole, you can check out gordongoner.com. Again...interesting.
3. May 17, 2022- RR/BAYC is delisted from Foundation, after a receiving a formal DMCA from Yuga Labs. The DMCA was formally withdrawn by Yuga Labs, essentially citing pending copyright issues. Even so, Ripps has won before in the legal scrimmage with Larva Labs over a similarly related NFT issue.
4. June 24, 2022- Yuga labs formally brings a lawsuit against Ripps, citing unjust enrichment, false advertisement, intentional intereference with prospective economic advantage, common law trademark infrigement, unfair competition, and cyber squatting. The court requests a trial by jury. The entire filed document can be found here.
That's where we are at right now, not including the shit show on Twitter of the back and forths of everyone from Ripps and his followers to all the BAYC holders coming who are coming out of the woodwork. We will follow where this goes...
I think that the evidence is worth looking at to the educated mind. If anyone chooses to discard the evidence without giving it a fair evaluation just because they are a BAYC holder, that says alot about our society as well.
Before researching this issue, I could not understand why someone would want to blow the whistle on something and then republicate that same thing. Now I can see that Ripps may have a method to the madness- Yuga's legal response to Ripps activities is what's really starting to make the headlines, as will the trial. Now the nation will have a chance to look at the facts and decide for themselves.
What do you think? Leave a comment, and follow to stay tuned for the updated covering of this drama.
