"NFTS ARE NOT SECURITIES": The SEC Closes Its Three-Year Investigation Into Yuga Labs

It’s a damn good day to be an Ape, an artist and a NFT collector after the Securities and Exchange Commission officially closed its investigation into Yuga Labs, determining that Bored Apes aren’t securities. They’re Apes!

Mutant Monday was insane around the swamp after Yuga Labs took to the timeline to announce the news that the SEC has closed its investigation into the company!

 

“After 3+ years, the SEC has officially closed its investigation into Yuga Labs,” Yuga Labs tweeted. “This is a huge win for NFTs and all creators pushing our ecosystem forward. NFTs are not securities.”

 

 

After Yuga Labs’ post, the company’s CEO and Co-Founder Garga took a moment to celebrate and then got back to building. "We're back, baby! It’s a great time to build crypto in the USA," he wrote.

 

Yuga Labs Co-Founder Gordon Goner echoed Garga’s enthusiasm, calling it a victory for NFT companies across the country.  “Huge win not just for us, but for all NFT companies, builders, and artists in America,” he wrote. “Let’s fucking go!”

 

 

As the Bored Ape Gazette previously reported, SEC Chair Gary Gensler launched an investigation into Yuga Labs during the Biden administration in October 2022.

“The SEC is examining whether certain nonfungible tokens from the Miami-based company are more akin to stocks and should follow the same disclosure rules, according to a person familiar with the matter,” Bloomberg’s Matt Robinson reported on Ocotber 11th, 2022. “Wall Street’s main regulator is also examining the distribution of ApeCoin, which was given to holders of Bored Ape Yacht Club and related NFTs. The cryptocurrency was created in part for web3, a vision of a decentralized internet built around blockchains.”

 

The SEC’s decision to drop the case comes as President Donald Trump and Acting SEC Chairman Mark Uyeda have been closing crypto-related investigations into major players like OpenSea and Uniswap.

Fuck yes! One for the good guys,” longtime BAYC member DFarmer tweeted this evening. “Now let’s get a lil more aggro in the swamp guys, loyal holder base could use an enthusiasm injection. Looking forward to experimenting, to deliver direct value to holders without having to jump hundred legal hoops, to break shit and have fun.”

 

Following today’s announcement, BAYC member and Yuga Labs Social Lead Boris Vagner kicked off a new copypasta trend to celebrate the end of the investigation and to reiterate that “Bored Apes aren’t securities. They’re Apes.”

 

The Bored Ape Gazette will continue to track the community’s reaction to this news and report on what’s next for Yuga Labs now that it’s no longer under the SEC’s microscope. Stay tuned for updates!