Chinese NFT project Bored Wukong accused of monkey business

Chinese NFT task Bored Wukong attracted its just stock of atrocious publicity past week, pursuing plagiarism accusations that started circulating connected fashionable messaging app WeChat, reported South China Morning Post.  

Accused of plagiarizing Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Bored Wukong creator Wang Wendong insists that the creation is archetypal and that his monkeys person nary transportation to Yuga Labs’ apes.

Awfully familiar 

The article, which received much than 243,000 views connected the fashionable messaging app WeChat, was cited by respective Chinese quality outlets. In it, the authors called retired Bored Wukong for appropriating plan elements, specified arsenic the facial features of Bored Apes. 

According to the project’s website, Wang Wendong is simply a lecturer astatine the Central Academy of Fine Arts successful Beijing. Wendong’s NFT postulation successful question features antithetic impersonations of Sun Wukong, oregon Monkey King–a legendary quality from the classical Chinese caller “Journey to the West.” 

The creator defended his NFT avatars connected WeChat, arguing that the look signifier of his monkeys is antithetic from that of Bored Apes, arsenic helium claimed to person manually drawn each of them–making definite that each monkey comes with unsocial swag. 

In enactment with astir NFT avatar projects retired there, Bored Wukongs travel successful different, personalized styles.

Bored Wukong NFTs listed connected NFTCN (China Morning Post)

NFT Avatars

The archetypal Bored Wukong avatar was purchased past November for 99 yuan ($15). According to the item’s transaction past connected the Chinese NFT marketplace NFTCN, the NFT was resold successful December for 1,888 yuan ($297) and is presently listed for merchantability astatine 8,888,888 yuan ($13,985,25). 

Thus far, Wendong has released 390 Bored Wukongs and climbed the ladder connected the Chinese NFT marketplace–currently ranking arsenic the 2nd astir fashionable creator connected NFTCN by transaction volume, South China Morning Post pointed out. 

China is seemingly not lagging down erstwhile it comes to pursuing the NFT marketplace trends.

Avatar NFTs presently correspond the largest sub-sector wrong the NFT market. They relationship for astir $8 cardinal of the 18 cardinal dollar marketplace capitalization, according to marketplace quality steadfast Messari.

NFT marketplace capitalization by class (Messari)

Meanwhile, the individuality of pseudonymous creators down the mega-popular BAYC postulation of 10,000 unsocial NFT avatars that surpassed $1.3 cardinal successful trading measurement became known.

Some of the BAYC NFTs presently listed connected OpenSea (OpenSea)