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Vitalik Buterin compared Bored Ape Yacht Club tokens to gambling

The co-founder of Ethereum called the hype around the Bored Ape Yacht Club and other collectible tokens meaningless, comparing NFTs to gambling.

Vitalik Buterin criticized the excessive focus on non-fungible tokens in an interview with the American TIME magazine. The co-creator of Ethereum is concerned about the safety of the funds of eager investors buying tokens, which have come to be perceived in the public establishment as a “wealth indicator”. Buterin doesn’t see fit to buy NFTs for millions of dollars, as that money can buy tangible luxuries, whether it’s yachts or Lamborghini sports cars.

“The danger is that people are ready to buy painted monkeys for $3 million, and this is already becoming a kind of gambling,” Buterin said, referring to the popular project Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC).

The hype around BAYC skyrocketed after the project launched the long-awaited ApeCoin (APE) token, which has become an important component of the BAYC ecosystem. This month, developer Yuga Labs announced the acquisition of intellectual property rights to the Cryptopunks and Meebits collections of NFTs created by Larva Labs.

Buterin is convinced that Ethereum should become a springboard for the creation of social projects, for example, systems for fair voting or city planning. However, Ethereum is in danger of giving way to greed, as only things that bring immediate profit have begun to be created on its basis. And they are very far from what could bring real benefits to the world, Buterin complained. He acknowledged that his credibility as one of the creators of Ethereum is not enough to “deviate from the course” of the development of the network. Following the principles of decentralization, Ethereum should not only meet the co-founder’s own vision, but also the interests of a growing community.

Earlier, Vitalik Buterin said that NFTs should solve people’s problems, not enrich celebrities. And last year, TIME magazine named Buterin one of the 100 most influential people in innovation of the year.

Source: Bits

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