Till early 2022, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) was like the glittering gold of the non-fungible token (NFT) world. It looked so attractive as an investment that even celebrities spent thousands of dollars to get their hands on at least one of the ape-faced tokens. Cut to June 2023 and BAYC NFTs have lost over 85 per cent of their market value since their peak in April 2022.
The floor price of the BAYC NFT tumbled to less than 30 ETH (Ethereum), or around USD 58,000 on 2 July. The floor price is now almost the same as it was in October 2021, before the boom in the NFT market.
Created by Yuga Labs, BAYC is a collection of 10,000 ape-faced NFTs. Interest in them peaked alongside a growing demand for NFT collectibles in 2021.
Following the success of the BAYC, Yuga Labs also released a separate collection of NFTs known as Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC).
More about the fall in BAYC tokens
Data analytics firm CoinGecko has revealed that the floor price of the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection has hit a low of 27.4 ETH, or USD 53,000 in the evening of 2 July. According to it, the highest floor price BAYC ever touched was in April 2022 when it was worth 153.7 ETH, or about USD 430,000.
But the fall has been more pronounced in recent months. Data from NFT marketplace OpenSea shows that the floor price of the tokens have dropped by at least 50 per cent since April 2023, when it was worth at around 64 ETH, or USD 126,000.
As on 4 July 2023, BAYC was trading on OpenSea at a floor price of 30.03 ETH, or USD 58,733. The floor price of MAYC tokens, as on 4 July 2023, is just 5.8 ETH, or USD 11,425.
BAYC NFT tokens of celebrities affected
The rapid fall has obviously affected the worth of the tokens held by celebrities, including sportspersons, actors, musicians and businesspersons.
Before the boom that followed, National Basketball Association (NBA) player Stephen Curry bought a blue-skinned BAYC ape token in August 2021 for 55 ETH, or USD 180,000 at the time.
But the token, #7990, is now worth almost half at 29 ETH, or USD 56,840 at current exchange rate, due to the current floor price.
BAYC #3667, the token believed to be held by National Football League (NFL) superstar Tom Brady, was sold to him for 133 ETH in April 2022, but is now at a best offer of just 29 ETH, or USD 57,000.
Brazilian football icon Neymar Jr., who plays for French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), bought two BAYC tokens in January 2022.
He paid 189 ETH and 153 ETH for Ape #5269 and Ape #6633, respectively, or a total price of around USD 790,000. Today, the best offer on both tokens together amounts to just 60 ETH, or USD 112,000.
And one of the costliest ever transactions related to BAYC was in January 2022 when singer-songwriter Justin Bieber bought #3001 for 500 ETH, or around USD 1,150,000 at the time. Given the current floor price, the token’s worth is just around USD 55,000 — or a mere 4 per cent of what Bieber paid for it.
Among the several other celebrities who hold BAYC tokens are Serena Williams, Gwyneth Paltrow, Post Malone, Paris Hilton, Eminem, Jimmy Fallon, and Steve Aoki. As the floor price of BAYC tanks in the midst of an overall lack of interest in NFTs, the tokens the celebrities hold are now worth far less than what they paid for it.
This article first appeared on Augustman Singapore
(Main image: PiggyBank/@piggybank/Unsplash; Featured image: OpenSea)
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Manas Sen Gupta writes at the intersection of tech, entertainment and history. His works have appeared in publications such as The Statesman, Myanmar Matters, Hindustan Times and News18/ETV. In his spare time, Manas loves studying interactive charts and topographic maps. When not doing either, he prefers reading detective fiction. Spring is his favourite season and he can happily eat a bowl of noodles any time of the day.
