New Report Says NFT Buyers Momentarily Lost Millions in USD on Yuga Labs ‘Otherside’ Gaming Initiative

Late last month, Yuga Labs, the owner of Bored Ape Yacht Club, launched the Otherdeed for Otherside NFT collection. The new project appeared to be part of the blockchain firm’s commitment to building out a greater NFT ecosystem.

While few details were made public about the initiative, Otherside was billed as an MMORPG (massively-multiplayer online role-playing game) that contains a variety of NFT collections within it. Otherdeed NFTs would act as the keys to unlocking the game.

“Otherdeed is the key to claiming land in Otherside,” the collection’s description on OpenSea reads. “Each have a unique blend of environment and sediment — some with resources, some home to powerful artifacts.”

Since its April 30 launch, however, the project has fallen short of expectations due to build-up on the blockchain. According to Kotaku, “the NFTs could only be minted in ApeCoin, though that coin exists on the Ethereum blockchain, so Ethereum’s transactional ‘gas fees’ were hiked up by demand.”

While Yuga Labs reportedly made $319 million USD from 55,000 NFTs sold, per Coin Telegraph, the gas fee hike saw some buyers paying as much as $14,000 USD in fees. Others allegedly paid the gas fees, even though their attempt to purchase NFTs weren’t successful.

“We are aware that some users had failed transactions due to the incredible demand being forced through Ethereum’s bottleneck,” Yuga Labs wrote on Twitter. “For those of you affected, we appreciate your willingness to build alongside us – know that we’ve got your back and will be refunding your gas.”

Some buyers have since responded to the post saying that they still haven’t refunded as of Friday, May 6, Kotaku reported.

In other NFT news, FC Barcelona’s Memphis Depay showed off his Bored Ape Yacht Club diamond grill.