The founders of the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club tokens refute accusations of Nazism

The company Yuga Labs, which is the creator of the collection of non-interchangeable tokens (NFT) Bored Ape Yacht Club, spoke out against rumors of a connection with racism and Nazism. Earlier, the artist Ryder Ripps, who illegally distributed these tokens, accused the company of Nazism, since the design of their tokens is imbued with a "misanthropic spirit."

The company, in turn, stated that it did not respond to the accusations due to their absurdity.

Representatives of Yuga Labs explained that the term "monkey" (ape), used by critics to classify Bored Ape Yacht Club tokens as racist, has its roots in the crypto community. There it is often used to describe a person who trades low-risk digital assets.

In addition, representatives claim that the company has other popular NFT collections where monkeys are used. Yuga Labs explains that they did not put too serious meaning into their collection, and the logo (one of the main components behind the rumors) was developed after the artists were inspired by "some vintage yacht club flag."

On June 24, the company filed a lawsuit in the California District Court against Ryder Ripps.

In the statement, Yuga Labs demands to prohibit the defendant from using the company's tokens or similar ones. The artist is also required to publish a refutation of the accusations of Nazism.

NFT, or non–interchangeable tokens, are unique digital assets that confirm ownership of objects of the material or virtual world, such as works of art or objects in video games.

NFTs exist in a blockchain environment, which is a distributed public network where transactions are recorded. In particular, NFTs are usually stored on the Ethereum blockchain, although other blockchains also support them.