Justin Bieber’s $1.3 million chained monkey drops in value to just $70,000 as NFT prices continue freefall
One of Justin Bieber’s Bored Apes, bought for $1.3 million in ETH in January, is probably now worth only $70,000.
This figure is based on the current floor price, or lowest asking price, for any artwork in Bored Ape Yacht Club’s collection of 10,000 usage-activated PFP artworks (profile image). Bieber’s Ape ties into that value because its variable characteristics and features (such as eyes and attire) are common in the collection—one of several critical indicators of value when it comes to BAYC NFTs.
The whole collection has been a hit lately. Yahoo Finance noted this week that BAYC’s floor price has fallen by about a third since just the beginning of November, falling below $60,000 for the second time this month on Monday, after hitting a peak of $429,000 in April.
Still, out of 10,000 Bored Apes in existence, Bieber’s January acquisition ranks 9,810. most rare. If he specifically didn’t own it, the piece would likely sell for floor price. Bieber’s involvement in BAYC coincided with crypto’s cultural and financial high-water mark.
Some have wondered why Bieber even bought the otherwise unremarkable monkey in the first place. “The common thought is that the specific characteristics spoke to him and the lyrics of a recent song he had released,” a crypto expert known as Punk9059 told Artnet News. “He had released a song about being sad at the time. Everyone in the community knew it was an ‘outlier sale.’
Punk9059 added that the true value of Bieber’s NFT was probably $300,000 when he bought it, meaning the market-driven depreciation of this particular piece may not be as bad as outlets are making it out to be.
“The idea of people paying for NFTs is very easy to want to sensationalize and bang on,” Punk0959 continued. “Most people think it’s crazy. So articles describing how down people are often go viral, especially when you involve a celebrity.”
Another of the month’s biggest headlines was the surprise disappearance of FTX Ventures founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s $16 billion fortune – the biggest wealth destruction event in history.
“NFT prices were hurt by the FTX collapse, but we’ve been on a multi-month trend where profile picture project prices have been declining,” Punk0959 said. “[Bieber’s] wasn’t that big of a move.”
Interest in BAYC also surged this week, rising 135 percent to $6.5 million worth of Apes sold on Tuesday, perhaps due to speculators buying the dip in hopes of Apes rebound.
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