Yuga Labs Pauses CryptoPunks Project in Response to Community Backlash Against Woke Initiatives

Yuga Labs Halts CryptoPunks Project Amid Backlash from ‘Woke’ Community Outrage


By Ruholamin Haqshanas
Published on:
May 21, 2024 06:58 EDT
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Reading Time: 2 mins


The renowned NFT collection, CryptoPunks, managed by Yuga Labs, has recently come under fire and stirred controversy with its latest initiative.
Following the successful integration of CryptoPunks into various museums, Yuga Labs announced plans to collaborate with distinguished artists to contribute to the project by creating official Punks.
The initial collaboration featured artist Nina Chanel Abney, selected as the first participant in the Punk in Residence program.
Abney’s unveiling of her new collection, “Super Punk World,” at The School in the Jack Shainman Gallery in New York over the weekend caught the attention of many.
The collection’s NFTs were revealed on Monday, showcasing hand-picked avatars inspired by iconic CryptoPunks traits and Abney’s previous artistic endeavors.
Each avatar was meticulously crafted and digitized to embody 195 unique 3D-sculpted attributes, staying true to Abney’s style while paying homage to the original essence of the CryptoPunks project.
Yuga Labs aimed to introduce wallets, generative art, Web3, and NFTs to a wider audience of traditional art enthusiasts and collectors.
Nathalie Stone, General Manager and Brand Lead of CryptoPunks, explained, “We’re aiming to democratize CryptoPunks in a way, while also educating people on the importance of digital ownership.”
Abney’s collection also tackled pricing discrepancies in NFT collections based on gender and skin tone, challenging societal norms around value and implicit biases.
However, upon the reveal of Abney’s interpretation of CryptoPunks, the project faced a barrage of criticism on social media.
Critics took issue with the art style, the attempt to reimagine an iconic project, and labeled it as “woke” due to the focus on race and gender.
The project was also criticized for diluting the original CryptoPunks collection, with collectors expressing disappointment in Yuga Labs’ efforts to expand a project known for its valuable “blue chip” Ethereum NFTs.
Initially, Yuga Labs remained silent on the backlash, but CEO Greg “Garga” Solano later took to Twitter to address the situation.
He announced that the NFTs, originally slated for auction, would now be distributed to Super Cool World NFT holders, potentially through a randomized airdrop.
Furthermore, there are no plans for a follow-up artist residency program in the same manner.
“Yuga will no longer meddle with Punks… Our focus will be on supporting museums and institutions in acquiring a Punk and educating their audiences about them.”
Earlier in March, Starbucks discontinued its NFT rewards program, joining the growing list of companies stepping back from the NFT space.
This decision by Starbucks follows a trend of companies scaling back their involvement in the NFT market, with GameStop shutting down its NFT marketplace in January after reducing its crypto services over the past two years.
Most recently, X (formerly Twitter), under Elon Musk’s ownership, discontinued a feature that allowed premium users to use NFT images as their profile pictures.