BAYC Game Winner Auctions Prize for $1.63 million

Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) recently hosted a mini-game called Dookey Dash, in which the player with the best high score won a collectible golden key NFT. The winner ended up being the 18-year old esports star Kyle “Mongraal” Jackson, who is best known for playing Fortnite. He now has sold his winning Dookey Dash key NFT to billionaire entrepreneur Adam Weitsman. The price ended up being 1000 ETH, which means around $1.63 million. Mongraal had listed the key NFT for sale for 3333 ETH, equivalent to $5.43 million, but ultimately accepted Weitsman's lower offer. The sale marks a significant moment for Yuga Labs, the creators of Dookey Dash, who will receive 5% of the sale in royalties, equivalent to 50 ETH, or $81,500.

Mongraal enlisted the help of a Stanford grad and cofounder of NFT community Underground, who goes by "Tre" online, to help him with the sale. "I helped with negotiations with interested bidders," Tre said via Twitter DM. "Just wanted to help make sure he was getting the right price the key deserved."

Last week, the Web3 community UpDAO placed a bid for 690 WETH on the asset, which at the time was worth around $1.1 million. Meme site 9GAG later placed a 999 ETH bid on the key but was ultimately outbid by Weitsman, who currently sports a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT as his Twitter profile picture. He is known for his scrap metal businesses and massive social media following, and is also fond of cryptocurrency. In 2021 he started a crypto mining business called Viridium. Mongraal expressed his appreciation for Weitsman, describing him as a “super nice guy” and adding that he was “thrilled the sale went through with him.” He also thanked Yuga Labs for hosting an incredible competition and promised to compete in future events while ensuring that royalties would be paid in full.

The sale of Mongraal's Dookey Dash key NFT is just the latest example of the booming collectible NFT market. Non-fungible tokens have exploded in popularity over the past few years, with sales reaching new heights on a regular basis. Last year, an NFT work of art sold for a record-breaking $69 million at Christie's auction house.

NFTs have also become increasingly popular in the gaming world, with developers creating games that allow players to earn NFTs as rewards. Yuga Labs' Dookey Dash is just one example of this trend. The game challenges players to collect "Dookeys", which can then be used to unlock new levels and compete for prizes.

Mongraal's sale of his Dookey Dash key NFT to Weitsman is sure to draw attention both to the game and the NFT market as a whole. It remains to be seen whether NFT sales will continue to climb to new heights, but for now, it seems that the market shows no signs of slowing down.