After layoffs, Miami company acquires startup behind Moonbird NFT collection

Yuga Labs, the company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection of NFTs, acquired digital fine art platform Proof for an undisclosed amount.

Miami-based Yuga Labs will integrate Proof's Moonbird NFTs into its metaverse platform Otherside as part of the deal. The 10,000 piece collection of digital bird-themed avatars were created by Justin Mezzell, an artist and co-founder of Proof.

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“As a company committed to championing art, culture, and community on the blockchain, we’re excited to have Proof join the Yuga ecosystem,” Daniel Alegre, CEO of Yuga Labs, said in a statement.

Moonbirds are distributed under a creative commons license, enabling any creative to use the art to build their own art and products.

Proof co-founder and CEO Kevin Rose will join Yuga Labs as an advisor after a short handover period, according to a news release. The startup's employees will move into roles at Yuga and will oversee the transition of the Moonbirds collection.

Yuga acquired Proof's assets, intellectual property and artistic portfolio in the transaction. Founded in 2021, the firm is also behind the Proof Collective, a private members only collective of 1,000 NFT collectors and artists.

Yuga Labs builds products intended for Web 3, an idea for a future version of the internet powered by blockchain technology. It launched in 2021 with its flagship Bored Ape Yacht Club, a collection of 10,000 unique digital images of cartoon apes. At its height, some of those NFTs sold for hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of dollars, with buyers that included celebrities Justin Bieber and Paris Hilton.

NFT ownership exploded in 2021 and 2022, when the trading of digital collectibles hit $17 billion. But the market collapsed in late 2022, sinking the value of even the most sought-after collections.

Investors poured money into Yuga Labs during the NFT craze, pushing its valuation to $4 billion. Some of that capital bankrolled Otherside, a gamified virtual world where users can turn their NFTs into playable characters.

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After a round of layoffs last October, Yuga Labs CEO Alegre said the development of Otherside is a priority for the business.

Proof CEO Rose said Yuga is a "perfect home" for its collectors.

“With the Proof Collective on board, it shows Yuga's commitment to digital fine art, and our combined resources will allow us to innovate faster and reach more people," he said.

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