One of the largest non-fungible token companies is announcing a new initiative to help its hometown.
What Happened: Yuga Labs co-founders Wylie Aronow and Greg Solano announced Wednesday a $1 million initiative to support arts and education programs in the city of Miami, Florida.
“This is a vibrant community with a bright future — we’re thrilled to announce a new $1 million initiative to support arts and education programs there [Miami],” Yuga Labs tweeted.
A blog post by Aronow and Solano shared that several of the co-founders of Yuga Labs count Miami as their hometown: “We love Miami. From 24-hour Cuban cafes on 8th street, to fishing under the Rickenbacker Causeway, sandwich spots hidden in coin laundries, and the city’s incredible music and nightlife scene.”
The duo also highlighted Miami being a “majority-minority city” that welcomed immigrants and diversity.
“It’s also our hometown. We spent our youth learning to skateboard in marina parking lots in Coconut Grove, reading books at the University of Miami coffee shops, and making long treks on the metro rail to punk shows.”
Aronow and Solano recall meeting and how Miami played an important part in the creation of Bored Ape Yacht Club.
“We were on different paths when we met by chance a decade ago at a bar in South Miami, but we quickly recognized a shared connection beyond our love of creative writing that reflected this city. When we started to talk about what would eventually become the Bored Ape Yacht Club, we knew it had to be grounded in the kind of community we knew and loved — one that embraced and supported people from all walks of life and didn’t care if everyone else thought it was a little strange.”
Yuga Labs announced a $1 million donation that will support “arts and education initiatives across the city” of Miami.
The donation will kick off with a $300,000 donation to the Venture Miami Scholarship Fund, which provides free tuition to students in Miami pursuing bachelor’s degrees in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) sector at a Miami institution.
Related Link: Bored Ape Yacht Club Parent Yuga Labs Valued At $4B
Why It’s Important: Aronow and Solano are using the new donation to recognize their roots in Miami.
“It’s still mind-blowing to us that we’re able to do this, but we know firsthand the kind of talent that Miami is capable of producing, and we want to make sure that the next generation of innovators and storytellers get their shot at fulfilling their potential,” Aronow and Solano said.
The Yuga Labs co-founders also highlighted how the city of Miami has been friendly to cryptocurrency and Web3 initiatives.
“It’s one of the main reasons we’re so excited to keep building out our business and club here. So, stay tuned for more from Yuga about our plans for the city we love. This is just the beginning.”
Solano will be a featured speaker at the Benzinga Future of Crypto event on Dec. 7 in New York City. Tickets are on sale now here.
Photo: MINEART via Shutterstock
