Bored Ape Creator Yuga Labs Says SEC Closing Investigation in ‘Huge Win’ for NFT Sector

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has closed its investigation into Yuga Labs, the creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, without taking enforcement action, the company said on Monday.

Yuga Labs had been under SEC scrutiny since 2022 over whether its NFT offerings and ApeCoin token distribution violated federal securities laws.

The company welcomed the decision, calling it a “huge win” for the NFT industry. The company also labeled the move as a boon for “all creators pushing our ecosystem forward.”

“NFTs are not securities,” it said.

Yuga Labs did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment. The SEC has yet to answer questions on the reasoning behind the move.

The floor price for Bored Apes on the NFT marketplace OpenSea jumped 3.8% on Monday, from 13.39 ETH to a local peak of 13.9 ETH.

Still, Bored Apes, once championed by celebrities as status symbols and part of a broader cultural movement, have seen their value decline sharply.

The floor price, which peaked at 153.7 ETH nearly three years ago during the last crypto bull run, has dropped by about 91%, according to CoinGecko data.

The move Monday comes as the SEC appears to be shifting its regulatory stance on the crypto.

In recent weeks, the agency has dropped or suspended cases against major crypto firms, including Coinbase, Binance, Robinhood, OpenSea, and Uniswap.

The SEC has also replaced its crypto division with a new Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit and formed a task force aimed at developing clearer regulatory guidelines.

Yuga Labs, under CEO Greg Solano, has focused on expanding its crypto-native initiatives.

In February, the company launched BAYC LLC, a subsidiary to provide greater autonomy for its flagship NFT brand.

That followed a company restructure and multiple waves of layoffs last year, with Solano justifying the move as part of an agile strategy after “Yuga lost its way,” in recent years.