Yesterday, Moonbirds, an NFT collection owned by Yuga Labs, unveiled a new 3D metaverse called the ‘Moonbirds Universe.’ The news caused a surge of excitement on X and led to an increase in trading volume of Moonbirds NFTs by over 225% during the course of 24 hours.
Unfortunately, despite the boost in sales, many on X were critical of Yuga Labs’ latest policy to remove future Moonbirds artwork from the Creative Commons Zero (CCO) copyright policy, which was the model adopted by Proof Collective, the original creators of the collection.
Previously, Moonbirds artworks were registered in the public domain, which meant that anyone could commercialize the artwork, even without consent from NFT holders. While that will remain true of the old artwork for the 10,000 genesis NFTs launched in April 2022, future additions to the project will not fall under CCO copyright policy.
Some community members were more frustrated by the copyright change than they were excited about the release of the new 3D world. One artist that goes by @batzdu on X, said that he was getting ready to release a new derivation collection and that the news of the CCO change “couldn’t have come at a worse time.”
Although the current floor price of a Moonbirds NFT (0.71 ETH) is still down significantly from its all-time high of 38.5 ETH in April of 2022, the surge in activity is a good sign for Yuga Labs, which has struggled throughout the bear market.
Yuga Labs Keeps Working Despite Tough Times
The announcement of a new 3D world and the recent surge in sales of Moonbirds’ NFTs is exciting news for holders. But whether the collection can continue on its road to recovery and one day return to its all-time high floor price remains to be seen. What isn’t uncertain, however, is that the owner of Moonbirds and other bluechip NFT collections, Yuga Labs, has been doing everything it can to build its brand in recent months.
Here are some of the top headlines from Yuga Labs over the past six months:
- Yuga Labs, BMW, Forbes Web3 & Others Join Arts DAO Fest in Dubai
- Magic Eden, Yuga Labs Debut Ethereum NFT Marketplace
- BAYC Co-Founder Greg Solano Takes Helm as Yuga Labs CEO
- Popular ‘Dookey Dash’ Game From Yuga Labs Returns
- Yuga Labs New “CryptoPunks” 721 Wrapper Revealed
- Yuga Labs & Magic Eden to Launch Creator Royalty NFT Marketplace
As you can see, Yuga Labs has not stopped trying to bring value to its community, even with the setbacks brought on by the bear market. With a new CEO in charge, Greg Solano, we can likely expect more projects, features, and events from one of the top studios in Web3.
While the focus is often on Yuga Labs’ top collections like CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club, the resurgence of interest in a lesser known collection like Moonbirds is good news for Yuga Labs. Let’s see if it can keep up the momentum.