Solana drops below $105 as Yuga Labs launches NFT cards

Yuga Labs has launched Mudwater, a physical and digital trading card collection on Solana, allowing Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club holders to claim free packs from a limited supply of 240,000.

In an October 18 announcement, Yuga Labs confirmed that the collection was live and that eligible NFT holders could begin claiming their cards. The release introduces 120 designs, rare collectible editions and an ApeCoin reward mechanism linked to NFT trading.

The launch arrives while Solana (SOL) faces renewed selling pressure. CoinGecko data placed the token near $104, down approximately 5.6% over seven days, after retreating from its earlier rally toward $120.

The card collection operates independently of SOL’s market performance, and the available data does not establish a direct price reaction to Yuga Labs’ announcement.

BAYC and MAYC holders can claim Mudwater cards

Mudwater’s official website lists more than 140,000 packs available for Bored Ape and Mutant Ape collectors through the initial claim program.

Under the distribution rules, each Bored Ape NFT qualifies its holder for ten packs, while each Mutant Ape NFT qualifies for two. Every pack contains ten cards drawn from the collection’s available designs. Yuga Labs has established a January 19, 2027, deadline at 00:00 UTC for eligible holders to claim their allocations.

Collectors can connect their wallets through the official Mudwater website to check their entitlements. The project describes the claim as free for eligible NFT holders, although it does not establish that every associated blockchain transaction will be free of network charges. The project has a fixed supply of 10,000 boxes containing 24 packs each. That amounts to 240,000 packs across all distribution categories.

According to the official allocation, 7,134 boxes, equivalent to 171,216 packs, are reserved for the community airdrop. Another 566 boxes support community onboarding, while partner communities receive 300 boxes.

The remaining 2,000 boxes form a commercial distribution reserve, representing 20% of the total supply. The distribution extends beyond existing Bored Ape collectors. Yuga Labs identifies Otherside holders, ApeChain communities and selected Solana communities among the groups eligible for partner allocations.

The company has not published a final count of completed claims or verified how many allocated packs had been opened as of October 18.

Mudwater offers rare cards and ApeCoin rewards

The Mudwater collection contains 120 artworks, with physical and digital versions designed around the Bored Ape universe.

Its official collection page identifies approximately 2.4 million individual cards across the available packs, including foil editions, numbered cards and eight unique cracked-ice cards. The cracked-ice versions are identified as one-of-one collectibles, meaning the collection contains only one copy of each of the eight designs in that format.

Yuga Labs has introduced a mechanism that directs 2.5% of eligible digital NFT trading value toward purchasing ApeCoin (APE). The purchased tokens are intended for distribution among Mudwater collectors based on their qualifying holdings. According to the project’s documentation, unopened packs, sealed boxes and cases can qualify alongside individual cards.

A separate 2.5% royalty applies to NFT transactions under the collection’s published terms. The royalty is distinct from the portion allocated to APE purchases.

For example, a transaction worth $100 would generate a $2.50 APE allocation under the stated 2.5% mechanism. A separate $2.50 royalty would apply if the transaction is subject to the published royalty terms.

The project’s materials do not guarantee that collectors will earn a fixed return, since distributions depend on eligible trading activity and holdings.

Meanwhile, Mudwater’s official website links to OpenSea marketplaces for individual cards, sealed packs and Totems. Collectors can trade eligible digital items through those listings. Yuga Labs plans to introduce a feature allowing collectors to combine 24 pack tokens into a sealed box token. Ten box tokens will qualify for conversion into one case token.

The project identifies that feature as coming soon, along with a service allowing collectors to exchange physical cards for digital tokens and request physical delivery of cards held in custody.

Yuga Labs expands BAYC collectibles into Solana

The Mudwater launch adds another product to Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape collection, which originally gained recognition through Ethereum-based NFTs. The company has spent recent years focusing on its Ape-related brands and the Otherside virtual environment.

In June 2025, crypto.news examined Yuga Labs’ renewed focus on Bored Apes and Otherside after the company transferred intellectual property rights associated with other NFT collections. The restructuring included the transfer of CryptoPunks intellectual property to the Infinite Node Foundation and Moonbirds to Orange Cap Games.

Mudwater introduces a card-based format to the Bored Ape ecosystem, combining blockchain tokens with physical collectibles. According to its published roadmap, collectors will eventually be able to redeem qualifying digital cards for physical versions held in a warehouse. The reverse process would allow owners to submit physical cards for verification before receiving corresponding blockchain tokens.

The website currently labels these conversion services as upcoming features. The project includes a competitive card game in which two players each commit three cards, with the winner receiving one randomly selected card from the opponent’s stake. Yuga Labs said a version of the game is available inside Otherside using demonstration cards. Support for players’ actual on-chain Mudwater cards is planned for a later release.

A separate project notice states that serialized packs will be awarded randomly 30 days after the initial claim period begins.

Solana price falls toward $100 as momentum weakens

While BAYC collectors begin claiming their Mudwater packs, Solana continues trading near a closely watched support area.

CoinGecko’s latest retrieved market snapshot placed SOL at approximately $104.04, with a market capitalization of $61.34 billion and daily trading volume near $1.84 billion.

The token traded between $101.41 and $104.96 during the preceding 24 hours. Its seven-day performance remained negative, following an earlier retreat from the $120–$125 area. The supplied daily technical chart showed the MACD line near -2.05, below the signal line at -0.42. Its histogram stood at -1.63, indicating negative momentum in the chart’s measurement period.

At the same time, the Relative Strength Index stood at 38.86, below its moving average of 45.14 and the neutral 50 level. The reading remained above the traditional oversold threshold of 30.

Crypto analyst Iko identified $100 as the main support level to watch following Solana’s retreat. He suggested that defending the level could support another recovery attempt, while a sustained decline below it could allow selling to continue.

In the October 16 Solana support analysis, the token traded near $104.47 after falling to $103.91 during the session. The weekly 50-period moving average stood near $98.99, just below the $100.62 support area identified in the report. Solana’s recent weakness coincided with persistent institutional selling. U.S. spot SOL exchange-traded funds recorded nine consecutive sessions of withdrawals before the October 16 report.

The October 21 network upgrade remained another scheduled event for traders, with Alpenglow expected to target transaction finality of approximately 150 milliseconds.

For Mudwater collectors, the next announced milestones include the random allocation of serialized packs, future physical-card conversion and the January 19, 2027, claim deadline.