After Many In The Web3 World Expressed Disappointment With 'Super Punk World,' Yuga Labs CEO Garga Announced That The Company Will 'No Longer Touch Punks'

Yuga Labs CEO Garga announced that the company will no longer touch CryptoPunks after many in the community expressed disappointment with “Super Punk World,” an inaugural collection created by the first Punk-in-Residence, Nina Chanel Abney, and a planned auction of the 3D sculptures she created.

On Monday, Yuga labs was met with criticism after the company shared a post announcing their upcoming auction of Punks In Residence Artist, Nina Chanel Abney’s Super Punk World collection that debuted at the Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City over the weekend.

Following Yuga Labs' post, the Web3 community filled the timeline with their takes on the art and auction with many saying that this would dilute the CryptoPunks brand.

“Respectfully, please cancel this sale,” CryptoPunk Holder Viktor Bunin tweeted. “It dilutes the Cryptopunks brand with what appears to be a low-quality cash grab. The best way you can steward punks is by building the legacy, not monetizing it in such poor taste.”

After the Web3 world’s reaction to Yuga Labs’ Punks In Residence program and the company’s plan to auction the pieces, Yuga Labs CEO Garga took to Twitter and announced that the auction is canceled and that Yuga Labs will not touch Punks again.

“The team had a vision of collaborating with world-class artists to bridge web3 with the traditional art world,” Garga wrote. “Nina Chanel is known for her graphic large-scale pieces with bold and colorful palettes. Her work is everywhere: MoMA, the Whitney, you name it. Matt and John were ecstatic to learn that she would be a CryptoPunks artist in residence, and so was the team. Our plan is to get Nina’s latest collection into the hands of those who have been supporting her work in this space by making it available only to SuperCoolWorld holders. Current thinking is via randomized airdrop. What about punks? Yuga will no longer touch punks. They will just be decentralized and preserved on the blockchain. The only thing we intend to do is support a few museums and institutions in their quest to acquire a punk and help educate their audience about them.”

As the Bored Ape Gazette previously reported, Yuga Labs first announced its Punks in Residence program on February 6, 2024 with the goal of answering 'What does punk mean to you?'

“The Punks are rebellious in a way,” Abney told Yuga Labs recently. “They’re a vehicle that can kind of shake things up and cause one to question what art is. I’ve always wanted to actually create a world that one could enter into. This Residence has really opened my studio practice up to a whole other medium.”

The Bored Ape Gazette will continue to follow the Super Punks World collection rollout and will let you know what’s next for Yuga Labs’ Punks In Residence program. Stay tuned for updates.