Daniel Alegre is the new CEO of Yuga Labs, the company behind the nonfungible token (NFT) collections Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and CryptoPunks. On April 1, the executive joined the NFT startup after quitting his position as president and chief operating officer of Activision Blizzard.
On Twitter, he wrote, “Couldn’t be more excited for this next chapter.” Alegre was responsible for popular video game franchises such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Candy Crush Saga, and he was a key contributor to the expansion of Activision Blizzard in recent years.
The executive has worked in the technology, entertainment, and gaming industries for a long time. Alegre worked for Bertelsmann, a German media conglomerate, for nearly six years before joining Google. There, he spent more than 16 years in various leadership roles overseeing areas like global shopping revenue, retail ecosystem engagement, and operations in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America regions.
Alegre’s arrival was announced by Yuga Labs in December 2022. In a public statement at that point, the leader said, “the organization’s pipeline of items, associations, and IP [intellectual property] addresses an enormous chance to characterize the metaverse.
There will be difficulties alongside the opportunities. In December, a class-action lawsuit was filed in the United States against BAYC’s creators, who are accused of using celebrity promoters to entice more investors and misrepresenting the financial benefits of Yuga securities to investors. According to the Rosen Law Firm, investors who purchased BAYC and ApeCoin APE tickers at a price of $4.29 or less between April 23, 2021 and December 8, 2022 may be eligible for compensation.
Beside that, Yuga Labs prime supporter Wylie Aronow withdrew from nonattendance in January to focus on his wellbeing following a congestive cardiovascular breakdown conclusion. It’s hazy when he will actually want to continue his obligations.
In the NFT industry, Alegre’s arrival has been hailed as a bold move. Illuvium co-founder Kieran Warwick stated that Yuga Labs’ new hire is “big for all of GameFi,” implying that Web3 gaming will ignite the subsequent crypto bull run.
