The Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC) is an exclusive NFT collection of 10,000 unique digital dog companions created by Yuga Labs, the same team behind the highly successful Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). Launched in June 2021, BAKC was offered as a free mint exclusively to existing BAYC holders, with each Bored Ape owner having the opportunity to claim one companion dog NFT.
The BAKC collection was introduced as a surprise drop for the BAYC community, adding another layer of utility and value to the existing ecosystem. These digital dogs were designed to complement their ape counterparts, featuring various traits and characteristics that make each one unique. The collection maintains the signature artistic style of the BAYC while introducing new canine-specific elements.
While BAKC NFTs were initially free to mint for BAYC holders, they quickly gained significant value in the secondary market. The collection has generated substantial trading volume on NFT marketplaces like OpenSea, with some rare specimens selling for considerable amounts of ETH. The success of BAKC demonstrated the strength of the BAYC brand and its ability to create valuable companion collections.
BAKC holders benefit from being part of the broader BAYC ecosystem, which includes access to exclusive events, merchandise, and potential future benefits. The collection has fostered its own sub-community within the larger BAYC universe, with owners often displaying their ape-dog pairs together in social media profiles and NFT galleries.
The BAKC release marked an important moment in NFT history as one of the first successful companion collections to an existing blue-chip NFT project. This model has since been replicated by numerous other projects, though few have achieved the same level of success. The collection also demonstrated how NFT projects could use free mints and airdrops to reward existing holders and build community loyalty.
Like their ape counterparts, BAKC NFTs are stored on the Ethereum blockchain as ERC-721 tokens. Each token contains metadata that defines the dog's unique characteristics and proves its authenticity and ownership. The smart contract governing BAKC includes features for transferring ownership, viewing token metadata, and managing royalties.
BAKC helped establish several important trends in the NFT space, including:
The Bored Ape Kennel Club remains a significant player in the NFT space, representing one of the most successful companion collections ever created. Its integration with the larger BAYC ecosystem and strong community following continue to make it a valuable and sought-after collection in the digital art world.