what's RR/BAYC?

Ryder Ripps' Bored Ape Yacht Club (RR/BAYC) is a conceptual NFT art project created by artist Ryder Ripps in 2022 as a direct critique of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection by Yuga Labs. It consists of 10,000 NFTs that replicate the visual assets of BAYC but are minted separately to emphasize themes of appropriation, decentralization, and alleged problematic inspirations in the original project's designs, such as references to racist imagery. The project positions itself as transformative art, allowing buyers to access the same images at a lower cost while sparking discourse on intellectual property and cultural critique in the NFT space. RR/BAYC operates on the Ethereum blockchain, with minting structured to mirror BAYC's model but without the commercial ecosystem of Yuga Labs. It has gained attention through legal battles, including a 2025 Ninth Circuit ruling reversing summary judgment in favor of Ripps on fair use grounds. The community focuses on long-term artistic value, with Ripps promoting it as enduring conceptual art that challenges centralized control in crypto art.

RR/BAYC settled its Yuga Labs copycat token lawsuit, ending the dispute without trial.