Value Accumulation Case Study: How did Yuga Labs build a huge business empire?

原文标题：《 价值积累案例研究：Yuga Labs 如何打造庞大的商业帝国？ 》

Original article by Vader Research

Deep Tide TechFlow

Value accumulation is a crucial but often overlooked topic in Web3. In this article, we will explore in depth how the value generated within the Yuga ecosystem is distributed to different stakeholders (Yuga Labs, $APE, BAYC, MAYC, etc.).

1. Capital structure and enterprise value

In a Web2 enterprise, the capital structure usually consists of equity and various levels of debt. Senior creditors typically have higher collateral security but charge lower interest rates, while junior creditors hold less secure collateral but charge higher interest rates.

Enterprise value is like the price tag of a company. It tells us how much the company is worth in total, including money it owes to others (such as banks) and money that belongs to owners (such as shareholders).

Enterprise value = equity value + debt value

债权人和少数股权股东在企业的收益和资产方面有法律权利。相反，NFT 和Token所有者并没有享有这样的保护。尽管如此，通过将 Web3 公司发行的 Token 和 NFT 作为整个资本结构的一部分，我们可以增强价值增值的设计和结构。

运用同样的逻辑，Yuga 生态系统的价值等于整个 Yuga 世界的价值。它是 Yuga Labs 股权实体所有的资金和所有现有 NFT 收藏品（BAYC，MAYC 等）和 Token （$APE）价值的总和。

Yuga 生态系统价值 = Yuga Labs 股权价值 + Yuga NFT 和 Token 的价值

2. Intrinsic value

Intrinsic value refers to the future value of an asset. We can estimate its intrinsic value based on its future profitability. But since money in the future is less valuable than money in the present, we're discounting future returns.

因此，一个公司、 Token 或 NFT 的基本价值等于其未来盈利的折现值。用同样的逻辑，Yuga 生态系统的价值也等于其未来盈利的折现值。

Yuga ecosystem value = discounted future earnings

3. YUGA's business model?

How does Yuga ecology generate revenue? Let's look at the basic revenue sources of the Yuga ecosystem.

Yuga has two main revenue streams:

NFT 和 Token 销售  创建和出售新的 Token 和 NFT 收藏品；

NFT royalties A fee is charged for each secondary NFT transaction.

4. The dark side of launching a new NFT: dilution

Yuga Ecology has generated a significant revenue stream by creating and selling new collections of NFT, such as BAYC, MAYC and Otherdeeds. Yuga Labs received $100 million from the initial sale of MAYC and $330 million from the initial sale of Otherdeeds, while holding more than $2 billion of Ape Coin and $40 million of Otherdeeds on its balance sheet.

However, releasing a new collection of NFT has its downside: it dilutes the ownership of existing Yuga ecosystem shareholders (Yuga Labs, APE, BAYC). For existing Yuga ecosystem shareholders to benefit from dilution, the cost of dilution needs to be offset by the value created by issuing and selling new NFT collections.

The idea is similar to mergers and acquisitions (M& As), in which the acquiring company acquires the target company through a share exchange. As a result, shareholders of the acquiring company will experience dilution. The success of the acquisition depends on whether the value created by the target company exceeds the dilution cost. If the value created is greater, the acquisition is considered a success; Otherwise, it is considered a failure.

5. | BAYC sales & have spent In May 2021

When Yuga Labs released and sold 10K pieces of BAYC for $200 each, they created a new group of stakeholders called BAYC holders, which received $2 million from the first sale.

It is important to note that NFT sold by PFP projects and Web3 game studios are not just virtual goods; people buy them with the expectation that their value will increase over time.

This is why BAYC owners are considered an independent stakeholder group in the Yuga ecosystem, as the publishing company has a responsibility to these NFT owners.

In the months following the sale, the price of BAYC increased significantly, reaching $66,000 by the end of August.

This implies that BAYC's market value could be as high as $660 million, and if we assume a 1:1 conversion rate between BAYC's market value and Yuga Labs' equity entity valuation, then Yuga Labs would be valued at about $660 million.

The analysis of the Machinations chart above is as follows:

Yuga Labs sold 10,000 BayCs for $2 million.

In four months, the price of BAYC went from $200 to $66,000.

In its fourth month, Yuga Labs has raised $2.5 million from BAYC royalties.

6. | MAYC sales & have spent In August 2021

Next, let's take a look at MAYC's launch and sales. Prior to MAYC's launch, BAYC had a market capitalization of about $660 million and the entire ecosystem consisted solely of Yuga Labs, owned by BAYC holders and the four founders.

In addition, a total of 20,000 MAYC NFT were created, 10,000 of which were sold to the public and another 10,000 distributed to BAYC holders. This means that Yuga Labs and BAYC each receive 50% of MAYC's launch proceeds.

Unlike other PFP NFT series, BAYC holders can receive future Yuga NFT free of charge. This sends a clear message to BAYC holders that they have a vital place in the Yuga ecosystem.

Yuga Labs managed to sell 10,000 MAYC NFT for $10,000 each, making $10 million. The 10,000 MAYC NFT presented to BAYC holders is theoretically worth $10 million at the close of the MAYC sale.

At the time of MAYC's launch, there were some concerns that could affect it. First, there is uncertainty about whether Yuga Labs will be able to sell all 10k MAYC NFT. Second, there is concern that the sale of new collectibles (MAYCs) will erode value from BayCs, as the price of BayCs NFT falls due to increased competition.

However, despite these concerns, the MAYC sale was a huge success for Yuga Labs, generating $10 million in revenue and paving the way for future NFT products.

Let's analyze the Machinations chart above:

Yuga Labs sold 10,000 mayCs for $100 million.

The MAYC went from $10,000 to $58,000 in seven months.

By the seventh month, Yuga Labs had generated $25 million in royalties through MAYC.

In the weeks leading up to ApeCoin's launch, BAYC was trading at $2.2 billion, while MAYC was trading at $1.1 billion. Yuga launched a new collection of NFT's that created significant new value and attracted cash-rich late-stage crypto venture investors.

Yuga, led by a16z, raised a staggering $450 million seed round at a $4.5 billion valuation, which will become public a few weeks after ApeCoin launches. If we did not consider the 1:1 NFT market cap and equity rule and instead applied seed round valuation, the value accumulation structure would look like the following.

7. $APE released | & have spent In March 2022

The launch of ApeCoin in March 2022 was an important event in the Yuga ecosystem and was highly watched by the NFT community. Yuga Labs has had several successful launches in the blockchain space, so many people are eagerly looking forward to the launch of ApeCoin and hope that it will live up to the high standards set by Yuga Labs.

初始 Token 分配的设计是将 47% 的 Token 分配给生态系统，15% 分配给 Yuga Labs，1% 分配给慈善事业，8% 分配给创始人，14% 分配给风险投资，15% 分配给 BAYC 和 MAYC 持有人。

我们对于 Yuga 生态系统利益相关者的定义（Yuga Labs、BAYC、MAYC、VCs）在 Token 中分配了总共 52% 的 Token 。让我们看看这 52% 中的分配情况：

虽然前面提到的数字提供了一些思路，但并没有完全反映实际情况。需要注意的是，Yuga Labs 的风险投资者和创始人也对 Yuga Labs 有着根本的利益，这意味着他们间接地获得的 Token 比前面提到的数字要更多。因此，有必要进一步分析这些数字，以获得更准确的 Token 分配情况。

假设没有员工或顾问拥有 Yuga Labs 的任何所有权，并且我们也排除了 Larva Labs (CryptoPunks IP) 收购的潜在股权稀释。基于 4.5 亿美元的种子轮融资，看起来 Yuga Labs 创始人拥有公司的 89％，而 Yuga Labs 的风险投资则拥有剩余的 11％。当我们总计这些数字时，这意味着 Yuga Labs 创始人的 Token 分配为 41％，Yuga Labs 风险投资的 Token 分配为 30％。

Due to the fact that the distribution of $APE Coin is quite different from MAYC, the distribution of $APE Coin favors Yuga Labs shareholders over BAYC and MAYC holders.

Our calculations show that Yuga Labs and its shareholders received 71% of the quota, while BAYC/MAYC holders received only 29%. This equates to a ratio of 2.4:1, which is higher than the 1:1 ratio allocated by MAYC. Thus, the founders of a16z and Yuga Labs are getting more of their $APE Coin allotment at the expense of BAYC and MAYC holders.

值得注意的是，分配给 BAYC 和 MAYC 持有人的 Token 是可以立即使用的，而分配给 Yuga Labs、VC 和创始人的 Token 则需要经过 4 年的解禁期。

8. OTHERDEEDS sale | & have spent In May 2022

在 Otherdeeds 销售之前的几天，Bored Ape Yacht Club（BAYC）、Mutant Ape Yacht Club（MAYC）和$APE Token 的交易价格均创下历史新高。

BAYC 拥有惊人的约 40 亿美元的市值，MAYC 已达到约 20 亿美元，而$APE Token 的市值为 65 亿美元。Yuga Labs 在不到两年的时间里，成功将一万个没有任何实用性的猴子 JPEG 转化为一个价值数十亿美元的帝国！

It is important to note that the market value of NFT collectibles is calculated based on the floor price multiplied by the supply in circulation, so if someone wanted to buy all the Yuga ecosystem assets in circulation at once, the actual valuation would likely be much lower.

Of the total 100,000 Otherdeeds issued, 55,000 were sold publicly, 10,000 were given to BAYC, 20,000 were given to MAYC, and 15,000 were retained by Yuga Labs.

总体来看，70％的 Otherdeeds 分配给了 Yuga Labs。我们看到另一种情况，即 Yuga Labs 以过高的价格获取了 NFT 和$APE Token 持有者的资产。此外，MAYC 持有者在牺牲 BAYC 持有者的利益下得到了过多的分配，而$APE 持有者则没有获得任何 Otherdeeds 分配。

Let's break it down:

Yuga Labs sold 55,000 Otherdeeds NFT for $310 million. Using the $310 million purchasing power to buy Otherdeeds NFT, Yuga Labs promised not to touch the proceeds of $APE for a year. As a result, Yuga's $APE proceeds from the sale of Otherdeeds are currently valued at approximately $80 million.

The price of Otherdeeds fell from $31,000 to $2,000 in seven months.

Yuga Labs has generated $56 million in royalties from Otherdeeds in its seventh month.

While we said earlier that APE holders did not receive any Otherdeeds distribution, it is important to note that major sales were made using $APE. But using APE as a medium of exchange to buy the assets of Otherdeeds at auction does not necessarily enable $APE to capture value or make it a sustainable meeting point.

Only when $16,000,000 of $APE is deposited into the $APE DAO's vault by the purchaser of the Otherdeeds will the value be permanently accrued to $APE. If so, the excess $APE held in the vaults will be subject to a collective vote by APE's governance team to decide what to do with it - as it will remain on APE DAO's balance sheet.

在这个假设的图表中，我们可以观察到几个事件正在发生。每个月，500 万个 APE Token 通过预定的 Token 解锁和质押奖励进入流通。此外，我们可以看到每个月有 1,000 个 APE Token 通过在 Yuga 的手机游戏中出售 Sewer Pass IAPs 被转移回到 $APE 储备库中（我们将很快讨论这个）。

随着更多 Token 在储备库中累积，$APE 的价值理论上会增加。然而，如果 Token 不是累积在金库中，而是被质押，这只会推迟不可避免的事情——Yuga Labs 出售他们自己的 Token 分配。

关于 Otherdeeds 的销售，需要注意的是购买者支付的$APE 直接进入了 Yuga Labs 的钱包，而不是进入 APE DAO 的金库。这意味着 Yuga Labs 完全掌控这些 Token ，可以随时出售它们并将收益分配给其股东。不过，Yuga Labs 承诺不会在一年内出售从 Otherdeeds 销售中获得的$APE Token 。

实际上，Yuga Labs 在某种程度上将$APE Token 锁定了一年，但他们很可能在一年结束时出售其中的一部分。这导致$APE Token 在一年内成为一种稀缺资源，但事实上，从 Otherdeeds 销售中获得的 Token 仍然在 Yuga Labs 的掌控之下。

In this hypothetical chart, we demonstrate a scenario in which the proceeds from the sale of Otherdeeds only temporarily slow the selling pressure on $APE in a situation where Yuga Labs regularly sells $5 million APE.

9. SEWER PASS released | & have spent In January 2023

Prior to the introduction of the Sewer Pass, Yuga's asset values were declining as the broader cryptocurrency market declined. Specifically, the Yuga ecosystem value decreased from $17 billion in May 2022 to $3.8 billion in January 2023.

Now let's analyze the structure of the Sewer Pass distribution.

Here is the capital structure of the Yuga ecosystem as of March 2023:

Yuga Labs: Owns NFT, games, and other assets

Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) : Holds the Sewer Pass NFT

Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) : Holds the Sewer Pass NFT

APE DAO: 拥有 APE Token 和 Otherdeeds NFT，由 APE Token 持有者控制

其中，Sewer Pass NFT 被认为是连接 BAYC 和 MAYC 社区与 Yuga Labs 的通道。不过，由于 Yuga Labs 自身未持有 Sewer Pass NFT，因此该 NFT 集合的价值并未计入 Yuga Labs 的总资产中。同时，虽然游戏内的微交易可以使用 APE Token 进行购买，但与 Sewer Pass NFT 相比，其收益规模微不足道。

10.YUGA ecosystem benefits

表格显示了 Yuga Labs、BAYC 和 MAYC 从发行和销售 Yuga NFT 和 Token 中所获得的收入。尽管 BAYC 和 MAYC 持有人的收入似乎更高，分别为 13 亿美元和 5.72 亿美元，但 Yuga Labs 的收入为 4.12 亿美元，不包括其储备中持有的 Token 和 NFT。值得注意的是，Yuga Labs 在其储备中持有 20 亿美元的$APE Coin。

Royalties have become an important source of revenue for NFT projects, although their viability is challenged by the ongoing competition in the NFT market.

Yuga Labs charges a 2.5 percent fee for BAYC and MAYC, while they charge 5 percent for Otherdeeds and Sewer Passes. It is important to note that all royalties earned go to Yuga Labs and are not distributed to other stakeholders in the Yuga ecosystem. As a result, Yuga Labs has accumulated $182 million in revenue from royalties.

Compared to the main sales, the royalty income is much smaller. As we have argued previously, master sales are a superior mechanism for monetizing intellectual property. However, royalties can provide an additional source of income as a supplementary income stream.

11. Stakeholder issues

One of the biggest challenges when dealing with multiple holders is the inconsistency of interests. In the absence of laws or predetermined smart contracts that dictate who is entitled to what, each holder may strive to maximize their short-term gains. At some point, there may be internal conflicts among multiple stakeholders as each tries to gather value into their assets.

To prevent this from happening, Yuga Labs must be responsible for managing multiple stakeholders, managing stakeholders in a relatively fair manner while building new releases and creating new revenue channels. A well-designed structure should aim to maximize collaboration among all stakeholders and minimize discordances of interest.

Think about:

Suppose Yuga launches a new collection tomorrow, how will the company allocate the collection to its stakeholders?

What is the value or utility of the Sewer Pass if the Sewer Pass holder does not receive any drops? Why would anyone continue to hold on to their Sewer Pass? Why won't they sell it? The same question applies to Otherdeeds.

What percentage of the game/meta-universe revenue will be shared with Yuga stakeholders? Will BAYC/MAYC holders not receive any shares in the game's revenue?

What would the distribution be if the game revenue were distributed only to the holders of $APE and Otherdeeds? 50/50? 80/20? Will the allocation be based on the most recent market price or the main selling price?

Let's think about this from the perspective of the retail investor. If someone wants to invest in the Yuga ecosystem, what kind of assets should he buy?

This question is important because each asset provides a different income stream that allows investors to capture income within the Yuga ecosystem. If Yuga does well in the future, but investors buy assets that do not perform well compared to other Yuga assets, it will be a big disappointment for investors.

购买 BAYC 和 MAYC 有一个令人信服的价值主张。通过拥有这些资产，投资者可以获得每次新的 Yuga NFT 或 Token 发行的一定比例奖励。即使 Yuga 有时会给 BAYC 和 MAYC 持有者分配较少的奖励，他们仍然可以从发行中获得一定的比例。

如果您相信 Yuga 未来的 NFT 和 Token 收藏将会有价值，那么 BAYC 或 MAYC 就是要购买的资产。但是，您将不会获得 Yuga 的版税收益。购买这些资产所需的最低资本相对较高，因为 BAYC 和 MAYC 的地板价分别为 110,000 美元和 20,000 美元以上。

$APE 币则提供了不同的价值主张。目前，$APE 提供了模糊而肤浅的「赋能」，其中没有解释 Yuga 生态系统如何使$APE 积累收益。虽然用$APE 购买 Otherdeeds 提供了临时的价值，但这只是推迟了不可避免的结果。一旦$APE Token 持有人意识到从 Yuga 生态系统创造的价值不会积累到$APE，他们就没有理由不卖掉它。

Using $APE for in-game microtransactions is a much clearer utility (assuming the revenue goes into the $APE DAO's coffers). We'll probably see more $APE powers in Yuga's game/meta-universe. However, Yuga has yet to announce the usefulness of its existing assets. It was actually wise of them to delay the announcement because it would have led to more speculation and anticipation among asset holders.

That means asset holders are likely to be unhappy if promises are not made. Even if Yuga develops great intellectual property, games, or metacomes, BAYC holders or Yuga Labs will be unhappy if they make more money out of it relative to $APE or Otherdeed holders.

12. Summary

价值积累结构是 Web3 世界中一个具有挑战性的话题。项目发行的每一组 NFT 或 Token 都成为项目 Web3 资本结构的一项负债。为确保所有利益相关者保持一致并有效地合作，项目需要有一个精心设计的价值积累结构。

If you are an investor, it is very important to thoroughly conduct due diligence to fully understand the income and value channels you will be exposed to. When you make a mistake in choosing an asset, it can be very disappointing, even if you made the right decision in terms of the project and team you invested in.

In short, well-structured value-accumulation models are critical to the success of Web3 projects, and investors should take the time to fully understand the assets they are investing in to avoid disappointment later on.

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