Sotheby's added to lawsuit from ‘Bored Apes’ over celebrity-backed NFTs
Plaintiffs allege Sotheby's unfairly promoted the NFT collection
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Sotheby’s Holdings has been named in a lawsuit led by alleged purchasers with the Bored Ape Yacht Club against non-fungible tokens (NFT) company Yuga Labs.
The lawsuit stems from a 2021 promotion of Bored Ape NFTs and follows a price drop for the celebrity-backed items while alleging that the art broker and auction house helped Yuga Labs "deceptively promote" the NFT collection.
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"The allegations in this suit are baseless, and Sotheby's is prepared to vigorously defend itself," Sotheby’s said in a statement sent to FOX Business.
FILE-Sotheby's New York. (Sotheby's New York)
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Bored Ape Yacht Club in a statement to FOX Business, said, "We believe that these new allegations, like those in the previous iteration of this opportunistic complaint, are completely without merit or factual basis. As a media and technology company, Yuga Labs has empowered strong communities of enthusiasts and entrepreneurs to innovate, connect, and build. Their creativity has fostered community-driven projects that have captured the imagination of people around the world. That's the story worth telling."
A representation of cryptocurrency Ethereum is seen next to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of Yuga Labs "Bored Ape Yacht Club" collection displayed on its website, in this illustration picture taken March 24, 2022. (REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration / Reuters)
Currently, Sotheby’s is just one of 30 defendants named in a lawsuit that also alleges Justin Bieber and Paris Hilton championed the collection while staying quiet about their own financial association to the NFT’s.
Paris Hilton (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic / Getty Images)
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Data compiled by Market Research Future shows the NFT market size will cross the $342.54 billion level by 2032. As of last year, the NFT market was valued at nearly $38.2 billion.
A non-fungible token (NFT) displayed on the website of NFT marketplace OpenSea is seen through a magnifying glass, in this illustration picture taken February 28, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration (Reuters)
Still, the prices of NFTs are volatile and can trade in tandem with cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, the largest crypto by market value, has slipped to the $27,000 level but is still up 72% this year.