Justin Bieber’s Bored Ape NFT has plummeted from its initial purchase price of $1.3million to a mere $59,000. This represents a staggering decline of over 95% and an unrealised loss of $1.24m.
The Canadian singer was one of the celebrities who weighed in on the NFT frenzy. He splurged around $2m on Bored Ape #3850, Bored Ape #3001, Alien Fren #8591 World of Women #7853, Doodle #3595 and Doodle #8426 in January 2022.
At the time, NFTs were the rave of the moment as rare collectibles sold for jaw-dropping amounts and trading volumes on NFT marketplaces reached a monthly high of around $16bn.
More than a year later, the frenzy surrounding digital collectibles has significantly subsided. The floor prices of the once most sought-after digital collectibles have shrunk, primarily due to diminishing interest in the market.
The drastic decline of Bieber’s NFT is a reflection of the current market conditions, which accounts for the decrease in the volume and floor price of the Bored Ape collection.
Speculations of promotion tactic
There’s speculation that the singer didn’t purchase the NFT but received it as a gift from MoonPay, possibly as part of a promotional strategy.
While it remains unconfirmed, it’s not without basis. Instances of project founders gifting tokens to prominent individuals as a promotional tactic have been observed in the past.
Celebs face substantial losses on NFT investments
Justin Bieber isn’t the sole celebrity facing losses from NFTs. Brazilian footballer Neymar is also sitting on unrealised losses. He invested more than $1m in two Bored Ape NFTs in January 2022, purchasing Bored Ape #5269 for 189.6 ETH (equivalent to $580,593 at the time) and Bored Ape #6633 for 159.9 ETH (equivalent to $489,413 at the time).
Unfortunately, the value of these NFTs has declined significantly since then. Bored Ape #5269 is currently valued at 29.54 WETH, equivalent to approximately $57,720.86, and Bored Ape #6633 is now worth 30.5 ETH, approximately $59,690.
Mavin Records’ CEO, Don Jazzy, also faces a substantial loss in his NFT investment. He acquired his Bored Ape #8752 for around $319,000, but its current value has dropped to approximately 29.5521 ETH, amounting to $57,816.62. This represents an astonishing 82% loss on his initial investment.
