It’s a no-brainer that the NFT boom has attracted many malicious actors, including those who would sell a copycat digital collectible just to make a quick buck. OpenSea has been a dark spot for many of these projects. Two parody Bored Ape Yacht Club projects (or BAYC), are struggling to sell their collectibles since they were banned from the NFT marketplace because of plagiarism.

PHAYC creators and Phunky Ape Yacht Club owners (PAYC), were likely too lazy to pay a digital artist for unique NFTs. Instead they decided to make identical mirrors of highly-priced Bored Ape avatars.

While PAYC launched in early December to promote decentralization and tackle “rich douchebags” who it claimed had taken over the ape market, PHAYC made its debut shortly after, describing itself as “a limited NFT collection where the token itself offers no membership and no allegiance.” A community member of PHAYC reportedly told CoinDesk that the project is “a satirical take on the current state of NFTs and members of the NFT community who might be taking the NFT market a little too seriously.”

Both copycat projects were at odds with each other, as expected. PAYC’s founder dubbed PHAYC a “cash grab project.” There have also been allegations that the PHAYC team absconded after making $1.8 million.

OpenSea has delisted both projects. Both are currently in an intense race to create alternative platforms to market their left-leaning apes. PAYC, PHAYC both tweeted that they were launching new marketplaces.

OpenSea’s centralized nature and NFT markets like OpenSea have been criticized by many, but it does appear that this move is not a bad one. Profiting from an artist’s work simply by mirroring is nothing but a cheap shot.

OpenSea has frozen 16 Bored Apes and Mutant Ape NFTs valued at $2.28 Million, after the NFTs were stolen from an art gallery in New York.

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