What is Meebits?
CryptoPunks is a trendy project created by Larva Labs founders Matt Hall and John Watkinson, but it is not their only brainchild. In 2021, the pixel punks were joined by Meebits. What distinguishes these characters, and how did they end up in the hands of Yuga Labs?
Meebits are a set of unique NFT characters with randomly generated traits. The visualization using voxels, three-dimensional image elements, distinguishes them from two-dimensional cryptopunks. The 3D avatars are created by a custom generative algorithm and then registered on the Ethereum blockchain.
Source: meebits.apps
The Meebits Collection consists of 20,000 characters that resemble Minecraft characters. The creators claim that they experimented with the voxel generator for several years before getting the desired result. These 3D avatars are designed to be used in games and metaverses for user interaction with each other.
Of the 20,000 Meebits, 18,881 are humans, 711 are pigs, 256 are elephants, 72 are robots, 57 are skeletons, 18 are visitors, and 5 are dissected. The price of NFTs is based on the character's rarity, just like in the previous Larva Labs projects. For example, Meebit #6337 (a skeleton in a business suit) was sold for nearly $500,000 at Christie's online auction.
A marketplace that supports standard purchase, offer, and sale transactions as well as single-type trading up to 100 avatars per transaction is included in the user's contract when purchasing NFT. The Meebits owner has access to a high-resolution 3D model and T-pose. As a result, there is no quality loss when using the avatar in various virtual worlds.
Source: meebits.apps
One of the main competitors, Yuga Labs, purchased the intellectual property rights to CryptoPunks and Meebits from Larva Labs, as well as a portion of the NFT collections, in the spring of 2022. Why are the Bored Ape Yacht Club's creators interested in these projects?
Despite the popularity of CryptoPunks, users have repeatedly complained about Hall and Watkinson's lack of attention to their brainchild. It was specifically about the lack of various privileges and benefits available to owners of Yuga Labs' NFTs. The owners of CryptoPunks and Meebits are also dissatisfied with Larva Labs' attitude toward derivative projects by other developers and its ambiguous guidance on the use of avatars for commercial purposes.
After the deal was completed, Yuga Labs informed NFT owners of new opportunities, including long-awaited full commercialization rights. The company later added a 5% royalty on sales of avatars on the secondary market.
Meebits is currently ranked 21st on OpenSea. The collection's total volume is 131,746 ETH, with a minimum price of 3.18 ETH for one avatar.
