It wasn’t that long ago that celebrities were scrambling to purchase Bored Ape NFTs, despite warnings from financial experts about the instability of the NFT market.
Comedian and actor Kevin Hart has allegedly suffered a major financial blow selling his Bored Ape NFT for a fraction of its original purchase price, according to reports from various sources.
Is NFT Fad Fading?
Bored Ape Yacht Club is a non-fungible token (NFT) collection built on the Ethereum blockchain. The collection features profile pictures of cartoon apes.
NFTs are data that have undergone tokenization through a blockchain. These tokens are individualized identification codes generated from metadata using encryption techniques. While these tokens are recorded on a blockchain, the purported assets they represent are typically stored in alternative locations. They can be traded and exchanged for money, cryptocurrencies, or other NFTs, according to Investopedia.
At the beginning of 2022, Business Insider highlighted a surge in the non-fungible token (NFT) market, which had grown to $41 billion in the preceding year. Leading this surge was the Bored Ape Yacht Club, with a notable seven-day sales volume of $206.4 million.
In January 2022, Hart acquired a Bored Ape NFT, numbered #9258, for a reported 79.5 ETH, equivalent to $200,000 at the time. The Bored Ape Yacht Club #9258 was part of the highly sought-after NFT collection known for its distinctive and whimsical digital artwork.
According to NFT marketplace Blur, as obtained by ZyCrypto, Hart’s Bored Ape NFT was sold for 13.65 ETH, or approximately $47,000, on March 25.
The sale of Hart’s Bored Ape NFT comes amidst ongoing scrutiny and debate surrounding the value and longevity of non-fungible tokens. A study conducted by DappGambl last year found that nearly 95% of NFT collections had a market cap of zero Ether, indicating that the vast majority of NFT investments may not retain their value over time.
“Of the 73,257 NFT collections we identified, an eye-watering 69,795 of them have a market cap of 0 Ether (ETH),” the study reads. “This statistic effectively means that 95% of people holding NFT collections are currently holding onto worthless investments. Having looked into those figures, we would estimate that 95% to include over 23 million people who’s investments are now worthless.”
Take the Justin Bieber-owned Bored Ape #3001. In 2023, it was worth $59,000, CNBC reported. Bieber purchased the NFT in January 2022 for 500 ETH, or $1.29 million.
But not all NFT holders have sold at a loss. A CryptoPunks NFT known as Punk #7804 was recently sold for over $16 million in Ethereum, marking one of the largest transactions in the cryptocurrency space.
