Popular owl-themed NFT collection Moonbird recently announced its return to enforcing copyright protection for NFT holders. The latest move follows Moonbird’s recent acquisition by the BAYC creator Yuga Labs. After the announcement, the NFT collection’s floor price and daily trading volume increased.
Months after its debut in April 2022, the Moonbird NFT project adopted a Creative Commons (CC0), as stated by its co-founder Kevin Rose. This entailed that anyone could commercialize the art of any Moonbird NFT without the owner’s consent. Rose explained at the time that this step “honors and respects the values of the internet and web3.”
In February 2024, NFT giant Yuga Labs, the brain behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and other projects, acquired PROOF, the art collective behind the Moonbird NFT collection and other affiliated projects like Mythics NFTs. The acquisition deal entails that the Moonbirds NFT will join other Yuga Labs-owned projects in the Otherside metaverse.
Aligning itself with Yuga Labs’ business model, Moonbird has eradicated its CC0 public licensing, putting NFT holders in control once again. In a tweet, it wrote:
“You’re going to need a character. A character that you own. Starting today, Moonbirds will join Mythics as a collection with commercial rights. If you’ve made stuff during the CC0 era - cool. But from now on, you’ll need to own a Moonbird to keep doing so.”
The announcement added that the pixelated Moonbird PFP will transform into other art forms like 3D avatars. Colin Hesterly, one of Mythics’ creators, will lead this new art direction.
Moonbirds will also transcend its digital presence into the real world through branded physical collectibles. The move follows the success of rival NFT projects like Pudgy Penguins.
With these announcements, Moonbirds’ on-chain activities spiked. Its floor price soared by approximately 30% to 0.74 ETH. It also saw the sale of more than 300 collectibles. These metrics demonstrated how receptive the NFT community is towards Moonbird’s new direction under Yuga Labs. With more online and offline activities coming up for the owl-themed PFP community, the project may likely see more ecosystem uptrends.
