Yuga Labs acquires tokenproof to drive NFT innovation

Yuga Labs has acquired web3 tokenization provider tokenproof. Through the integration, the blockchain hopes to drive crypto and NFT adoption.

In a recent X post on Dec. 3, tokenproof founder and CEO, Fonz O, announced the web3 tokenization service’s integration into Yuga Labs. He stated that part of the tokenproof team will join Yuga Labs’ research and development division, The Workshop.

“Thanks to our years of partnership, this transition will be seamless. I’m confident this is a fantastic outcome for everyone, and I’m excited to see our team succeed at Yuga Labs,” said Fonz O in his post.

The tokenproof founder highlighted that Yuga Labs and tokenproof have had a long history of collaborating “time and time again” since 2022. Fonz O even went as far as to cite Yuga Labs’ annual event ApeFest as what inspired him and “jump started” the idea to build an infrastructure to verify non-fungible token ownership in the real world in the first place.

Although he himself will not be joining the team in Yuga Labs, he vowed to stay in the crypto and NFT space even after he is no longer known as the “tokenproof guy.”

“While I will not be transitioning to Yuga Labs, I am not leaving this space. I have an unwavering commitment to web3, and I’m looking forward to continuing to hang out and attending ApeFest as an ape again,” he wrote.

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Responding to a user who asked him about the price of the acquisition, Fonz O jokingly replied that the value of Yuga Labs’ tokenproof acquisition was somewhere between “subway footlong and Elon Musk’s net worth.”

Yuga Labs co-founder and CEO Greg Solano stated that the blockchain has enjoyed collaborating with the tokenproof team throughout the years and the integration between the two companies will bring about “a bunch of exciting stuff to make crypto and NFTs more accessible.”

“Together with tokenproof, we tackled a bunch of thorny problems, so that your monkey jpeg could safely and efficiently get you into a festival across the world,” said Solano in his post.

Furthermore, he revealed that the tokenproof team will be joining Yuga Labs’ R&D division, known as The Workshop following the acquisition.

In April 2024, the company behind popular NFT collections including Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks, announced a series of layoffs as part of its restructuring efforts.

Read more: Yuga Labs CEO announces layoffs, focusing on ‘getting back to roots’