Bored Ape Yacht Club’s ‘Golden Key’ NFT Sells For $1.6M

Less than a month after its release, “Golden Key Sewer Pass” by Yuga Labs and Bored Ape Yacht Club has already found a new home thanks to an ambitious purchase this week. The purchase of the “Golden Key” cost a whopping 1,000 ETH, making it one of the more uncommon 7-figure NFT transactions today.

Will the decision mark yet another significant turning point in web3 culture and gaming when we look back in retrospect?Let’s explore the specifics of the acquisition of the unique NFT.

While reviewing the video game “Dookey Dash” by Yuga Labs in late January, we first brought attention to the Golden Key’s backstory. The Yuga Labs game required a Bored Ape (or Mutant Ape) Yacht Club NFT to buy a “Sewer Pass” in order to play (though secondary markets did their thing, commanding 2-3ETH), and many professional and semi-pro esports players were (and still are) offering “boosting” services to help more casual players get a better score.

Mongraal, a long-time top 1 pro in Fortnite’s EU zone, was making waves at the time by amassing absurdly high scores in the game Dookey Dash. Mongraal received the best score when the first period ended in February, making him the legitimate recipient of the golden key.

NFT native collectors have made a number of offers for what is generally regarded as the first genuine “one of one” Yuga Labs NFT during the previous several weeks. Nevertheless, NFT collector Adam Weitsman placed the winning offer with a price of 1,000 ETH, which at the time of the auction was valued around $1.6M. Both the purchasing and selling parties continue to have faith in Yuga Laboratories as a result of the deal. There is obviously still a lot of optimistic sentiment in the NFT area given Mongraal’s expertise and dedication to the game over a number of weeks as well as Weitsman’s financial value put on the NFT.

You may check the NFT and its transaction record by visiting the OpenSea website HERE. Mongraal verified the sale of the key in a tweet on Monday.

The deal might mark a significant turning point for the gaming industry, but it could take some time to fully understand. If Yuga Labs and other web3 stalwarts can create a GameFi environment that compensates players, it might attract players (and viewers) of existing conventional competitive games. Epic Games, the maker and owner of Fortnite, has gradually pared down prizes from Fortnite competitive tournaments.

Expect CS:GO to be popular for some time. Yet, little steps may result in larger waves, and many fish are striving for modest but significant steps in this area.