The United States Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Yuga Labs over whether its Bored Ape Yacht Club Ethereum NFTs and the ApeCoin token are unregistered securities, according to Bloomberg. The report, which cites an unnamed source, claims that the agency is exploring whether the crypto startup broke federal law by issuing NFTs that act like stocks, as well as exploring the distribution of the Ethereum-based ApeCoin token that launched earlier this year. Yuga Labs has not yet been accused of any wrongdoing and the investigation may not necessarily lead to charges, per the report. “It’s well-known that policymakers and regulators have sought to learn more about the novel world of Web3. We hope to partner with the rest of the industry and regulators to define and shape the burgeoning ecosystem,” Yuga Labs told Bloomberg in a statement. “As a leader in the space, Yuga is committed to fully cooperating with any inquiries along the way.” The Bored Ape Yacht Club is one of the most successful NFT projects to date, with the main collection of 10,000 NFTs initially selling to the public at $190 worth of Ethereum apiece. That sale yielded Yuga roughly $1.9 million. Follow-up and spinoff projects, the Mutant Ape Yacht Club and the Otherside metaverse game, then raked in $96 million and $319 million, respectively.
Full story : SEC Investigating Bored Ape Creator Yuga Labs Over Securities Violations: Report.
