Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs has dismissed the provocative claims made by artist Ryder Ripps as a preposterous “conspiracy theory,” calling them “slanderous” and vowing to fight back (albeit with a lawsuit premised on trademark infringement rather than slander). Many of the dominant voices in the struggling cryptocurrency industry have accepted this line, believing it absurd that a company supported by hundreds of millions of dollars of venture capital could actually have been intended as an ideological troll.

As an intellectual historian of 20th century political thought, who is familiar with the writings of Julius Evola and the fascist ideology of “traditionalism,” I believe that Ripps’ charges are not only plausible but, in fact, quite persuasive. Indeed, they resonate with elements of internet culture that are much more widespread than many assume.

The non-fungible token (NFT) collection has long been controversial, criticized by individuals such as record executive Damon Dash because of its racial imagery of simians wearing prison uniforms, bone necklaces and jewelry grills.

However, nowhere is a conceivable alt-right connection most evident as in the company’s name, Yuga Labs, a possible reference to the “Kali Yuga,” a core concept in historical fascism, and one that has become even more central for the contemporary alt-right. Serious students of philosophy, history and literature – as the two founders of Yuga Labs, Wylie Aronow and Greg Solano, certainly are – should be at least somewhat familiar with it.