OpenSea, the world’s largest NFT marketplace, has delisted two left-facing Ape copycats from its platform for using recycled photos from the Bored Ape Yacht Club. The Phunky Ape Yacht Club (PAYC) was the first to launch, using the original ape drawings and flipping them horizontally to create new NFTs. A few days later, PHAYC, another APE copycat project (a play on the words “fake” and “BAYC.”),also followed in the footsteps of PAYC by producing left-facing copies of Bored Apes.
According to Coindesk, both NFT collection projects were released the previous week, with PHAYC following PAYC a few hours later. Both projects were appealingly sold out in a matter of hours. Surprisingly, the two even attacked each other on Twitter, claiming to be the best Bored Ape impersonators.
As a result, a hilarious Twitter feud erupted, in which each collection fought for the right to call themselves “the original knockoff BAYC.” Both of them were seen boasting about their fake new project on their Twitter profile.
Insults were hurled, banter echoed, and disputes were waged, all until OpenSea stepped in, banned both projects for allegedly infringing on the platform’s policies in violation of copyright, and kicked them from their platform.
