lawsuit dismissed yuga labs bored ape yacht club nfts howey 1234755582
A federal judge dismissed a class action lawsuit against Yuga Labs, the company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection, ruling that its digital assets—including Bored Ape NFTs and ApeCoin—do not qualify as securities under the Howey test. The plaintiffs, Adonis Real and Adam Titcher, had alleged that Yuga Labs colluded with celebrities like Justin Bieber, Madonna, and Steph Curry, as well as talent agent Guy Oseary and crypto platform MoonPay, to inflate prices and sell unregistered securities. Judge Fernando Olguin found that while the plaintiffs met one prong of the Howey test—expectation of profits from others' efforts—they failed to satisfy the other requirements, leading to the dismissal.