The spark came on 27 October 2025, when the official Bored Ape Yacht Club account posted a message on X that quickly caught the attention of the entire Web3 industry:
“Apes, meet Max. The official Bored Ape of @BMW & @BMWLifestyle.”
It marks BMW’s symbolic entry into a digital universe that is no longer based on speculative hype, but on the cultural and identity value of communities. The operation does not come about by chance. It comes at a time when global brands are re-appropriating the Web3 language, not to sell tokens but to build new forms of belonging and narrative. The adoption of ‘Max’ is, in this sense, a strategic signal
A return to the NFT universe
The NFT market experienced a meteoric rise in 2021 and an equally sharp decline in the following years. But some collections have retained a strong symbolic weight, surviving the price slump and passing fads. Of these, the most emblematic is undoubtedly the Bored Ape Yacht Club, a series of ten thousand algorithmically generated images depicting bored monkeys with unique accessories and distinctive features. Launched by Yuga Labs, the collection has built a cohesive and recognisable community from the start, with privileged access to exclusive events, customised merchandising, business partnerships and member benefits. Owning a Bored Ape didn’t just mean owning a digital image: it meant being part of a global club, with a shared identity and strong symbolic capital. This approach turned the Bored Ape into a socio-cultural phenomenon. Celebrities such as Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton and Serena Williams bought their avatars, helping to give the collection a mainstream patina. Brands like Adidas and Gucci have in turn formed partnerships, paving the way for a new kind of digital marketing: not aimed at the masses, but at tribes.
What it means to have a Bored Ape
A Bored Ape is not a simple JPEG file. It is an NFT registered on blockchain that gives the owner commercial rights to the image. Whoever owns one can turn it into a brand, a character, a corporate mascot or a digital ambassador. This explains why the Bored Ape continues to have relevance, even in a market that has lost the financial momentum of years past. To own a Bored Ape is to speak a precise language, shared by a global community. It is a symbol of belonging, a cultural status and, in many cases, a ticket to partnerships and collaborations. This is why BMW’s choice is not a minor one: it does not just ‘buy’ an image, but fits into a well-defined culture.
Why BMW chooses Max now
BMW’s decision comes at a time when the NFT market is no longer dominated by speculators and flippers, but by projects and brands seeking to build a cultural and lasting presence. The adoption of Max represents the will to dialogue with the new digital generations, to enter spaces that cannot be reached with traditional advertising campaigns and to consolidate an image capable of moving between the physical and virtual worlds. It is no coincidence that the move comes shortly after BMW’s participation in ApeFest 2024 in Lisbon, where the brand presented an immersive mixed reality experience. The whole operation seems to be part of a coordinated strategy of narrative and cultural expansion in Web3.
NFT as identity language
BAYC’s tweet contains a sentence that, read between the lines, perfectly sums up the evolution of the sector: ‘Maybe it was never about the pixels’. The strength of NFT today lies not in the market value or technical rarity of tokens, but in the ability to generate shared identities. BMW enters this space by adopting Max as its official avatar. It is a choice that speaks to the symbolic sphere, to the desire to belong, to the construction of a contemporary image capable of dialoguing with those who inhabit digital spaces every day. It is not a speculative manoeuvre, but a language strategy.
Details still to be clarified
At the moment, no official statement has been released explaining the contractual details of the transaction. It is unclear whether BMW purchased the NFT directly or obtained a licence to use it. The on-chain ownership of the token and its possible use in commercial, physical or digital campaigns also remains to be defined. These elements will clarify whether the company chose a token participation or a full immersion in the BAYC logic.
A strategic signal
BMW’s move confirms that the NFT season has not ended with the end of the bubble, but has been transformed. Yuga Labs’ bored monkeys are no longer the focus of financial speculation, but remain a globally recognisable cultural brand. Brands like BMW have understood this well: presiding over these territories means speaking the language of a new audience, building a shared narrative and strengthening one’s image in an ecosystem that will continue to matter.
Max, more than an NFT, it is a message. And BMW, with this move, has decided to send it to the world.
Source: https://decripto.org/
