Moonbirds Soar: Orange Cap Games Acquires IP from Yuga Labs, Igniting NFT Sales

In a significant move within the NFT space, Yuga Labs has sold the intellectual property (IP) for its Moonbirds, Mythics, and Oddities NFT collections to Orange Cap Games. This acquisition has sparked a remarkable resurgence in Moonbirds' market activity, with sales volumes and floor prices experiencing substantial increases, signaling renewed investor confidence in the collection.

Moonbirds IP Changes Hands

Crypto gaming startup Orange Cap Games (OCG) officially acquired the IP for the Ethereum-based Moonbirds, Mythics, and Oddities NFT collections from Yuga Labs on May 30. While the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, this marks a strategic shift for Yuga Labs, which had acquired these collections just over a year prior when it took over PROOF, their original creator.

Yuga Labs co-founder Greg Solano stated that Moonbirds "deserve a team whose whole world is the birds," expressing confidence in Orange Cap Games' ability to help the collections reach their full potential. Yuga Labs, meanwhile, will focus on its core collections, including Bored Ape Yacht Club and its metaverse project, Otherside. Moonbirds will still launch on Otherside, and new on-chain assets will be hosted on Ethereum or Yuga's ApeChain.

Market Reacts Positively

The news of the acquisition immediately impacted Moonbirds' market performance:

• Floor Price Surge: The floor price of Moonbirds more than tripled, jumping from 0.295 ETH to 0.9 ETH.

• Sales Volume Explosion: Weekly sales volume for Moonbirds exceeded $2 million, marking a 2,525% increase from the previous week.

• Monthly Performance: By June 6, the collection's June sales volume had already surpassed its total for all of May.

• Transaction Increase: Over 1,000 transactions were recorded in the last seven days, an 877% increase.

This surge propelled Moonbirds to become the seventh-ranked NFT collection in weekly sales, outperforming established collections like Pudgy Penguins and Bored Ape Yacht Club.

Key Takeaways

• Yuga Labs continues to divest non-core NFT assets to focus on its primary collections and the Otherside metaverse.

• The acquisition by Orange Cap Games has significantly boosted Moonbirds' market activity and investor optimism.

• Orange Cap Games, known for its hybrid trading card game Vibes, is now responsible for the creative and developmental direction of Moonbirds.

• The broader NFT market showed signs of recovery in May, with increased buyers and sales volumes, breaking a downward trend.

Yuga Labs' Strategic Divestment

This sale is part of a broader strategy by Yuga Labs to streamline its portfolio amidst a challenging NFT market. The company has been actively offloading various NFT collections and intellectual properties:

• CryptoPunks: Sold to the nonprofit Infinite Node Foundation in early May.

• Meebits: Acquired by The Meebit Company in February, though Yuga Labs retains a minority stake.

• Gaming IPs: Last year, Yuga sold the IPs for its games HV-MTL and Legends of the Mara.

These moves indicate Yuga Labs' commitment to refocusing on its foundational collections and the development of its metaverse ecosystem. The recent uptick in the overall NFT market, with a 50% increase in unique buyers and a 15% rise in volume in May, suggests a potential end to the prolonged downtrend, providing a more favorable environment for such strategic shifts.

Sources

• Yuga Labs sells Moonbirds NFT collection to Orange Cap Games, Cointelegraph.

• Moonbirds NFT Sales Jump 2,525% After Orange Cap Games Acquires IP, Cointelegraph.