Yuga Labs launches 'Otherdeeds' NFTs and enters the Metaverse
BAYC finally lands in the Metaverse with a resounding success: 55,000 virtual lands sold in a few minutes and the Ethereum Network going haywire due to high demand.
On Sunday 1 May 2022, Yuga Labs, the creator of the very famous "Bored Ape Yacht Club", launched the "Otherdeeds for Otherside" collection, selling a total of 55,000 NFTs representing virtual land for the "Otherside" Metaverse and earning around 319 million dollars. This virtual world will be populated by all the characters created or acquired by Yuga Labs, including:
- Bored Ape Yacht Club
- Mutant Ape Yacht Club
- CryptoPunks
- Bored Ape Kennel Club
- Meebits
https://twitter.com/yugalabs/status/1505014986556551172?s=20&t=lN9WuHy4OTAaUUmySofESg
("Otherside" metaverse trailer)
Otherdeeds for Otherside: a long-awaited NFT Collection
Many Web3 users have participated in the minting of NFTs, generating impressive volumes. The prestige of the BAYC brand is huge and its has further amplified after the recent acquisition of the copyrights of CryptoPunks and Meebits by Yuga Labs. The launch of the metaverse was news that thrilled the whole crypto community to the point that the various users had to compete with each other to grab a piece of virtual land. The blockchain used was Ethereum, which struggled to cope with the huge number of requests. 
(Ranking of the collections with the highest weekly sales volume, offered by CryptoSlam. Otherdeed ranked first.)
Otherdeed: a very expensive NFT Collection
The total NFTs of the collection is 100,000, divided as follows:
- 55,000 for public sale
- 45,000 allocated to "Bored Ape Yacht Club" and "Mutant Ape Yacht Club" NFT holders
At launch, anyone wishing to purchase an Otherdeed NFT had to pay a total of 305 Apecoin, or approximately $5,800, excluding Ethereum Blockchain fees. The high volume of demand at such an anticipated event with so much hype, generated a huge increase in gas fees! 
(Otherdeed #0 on Opensea. The owner has received offers of up to 223 ETH: more than $600,000)
What are Ethereum Gas Fees
Gas fees are commission costs that people pay when interacting with the Ethereum Blockchain. E.g. by transferring funds, or by approving and executing a Smart Contract. These costs are not fixed, but variable. After London's recent update, it was decided that each transaction should be paid a fee consisting of a basic fee, plus a priority fee to obtain the privilege of being chosen preferentially in adding the transaction itself to the blockchain. 
(Estimated cost of gas fees on Ethereum, visible on Etherscan)
Cost of Gas Fees during the launch of "Otherdeeds"
Etherscan data shows that many users have paid between 2.6 and 5 ETH to carry out the minting of the Otherdeeds. This is a figure that leaves even crypto veterans who have seen gas fees rise sharply in the past - but never to this extent - speechless. Yuga Labs, with a tweet, shared its frustration about the problems of the Ethereum network, saying that Apecoin will need to migrate to its own chain. https://twitter.com/yugalabs/status/1520612362986078208?s=20&t=sMIILpZiQ_TEZJhyuviAMg Many users were satisfied with the event, despite the high commission costs, as they still managed to secure a much needed virtual ground on the market, which could gain value in the future. Less good went to those users who failed to mint the NFT, despite trying to make the transaction. For them, the damage was added to the fact that they had to pay the commission costs even if the transaction failed. 
(Gas price chart on Ethereum. The price hike happened during May 1st and reached a peak of 6k gwei, the minimum unit of measurement of Ether.)
Yuga Labs refunds lost Ether to unlucky users
Yuga Labs, in order to show its closeness to the community and to thank them for spending time and resources on its project, announces that it will refund all users who failed the Otherdeed minting transaction and lost Ether due to high gas fees. https://twitter.com/yugalabs/status/1520917586560659456