U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Opening Investigation Into Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT Creators: Report

Federal regulators are reportedly investigating the creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible token (NFT) collection for potential violations of federal laws during the sale of digital assets.

Citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating Yuga Labs to determine if some of its NFTs are comparable to stocks, which would require compliance with disclosure rules.

In a statement, the Miami-based company says it will cooperate with any investigation.

“It’s well-known that policymakers and regulators have sought to learn more about the novel world of web 3. We hope to partner with the rest of the industry and regulators to define and shape the burgeoning ecosystem. As a leader in the space, Yuga is committed to fully cooperating with any inquiries along the way.”

Yuga Lab’s NFTs of cartoon apes often fetch high prices in the market and ownership of these digital assets has become something of a status symbol. Last year, basketball icon Stephen Curry bought a BAYC NFT for 55 ETH worth around $180,000 at the time of purchase.

Bloomberg also reports that the SEC is probing the distribution of ApeCoin (APE), the governance and utility token of the BAYC community and related communities. The regulator is investigating the potential that crypto asset is a security.

At time of writing APE is trading for $4.70, down by 8.16% over the last 24 hours.

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Featured Image: Shutterstock/Peshkova