The Bored Apes Yacht Club NFT collection recently experienced a sharp price decline of over 90%, plummeting from a peak of 120 ETH to just over 10 ETH. This decline signals a broader decrease in interest in Ethereum-based NFT collections. Despite the initial hype and celebrity endorsements, the Bored Apes collection has seen a substantial decrease in value, attributed to factors such as diminishing retail interest and the emergence of new collections on Bitcoin and Solana.
What was once a hot topic of discussion, digital artwork from the Bored Apes collection is now being sold at a 90% discount compared to its peak prices in 2021, highlighting the fragility associated with viral crypto trends. The minimum price of the non-fungible token (NFT) collection, Bored Apes Yacht Club (BAYC), is now just over 10 ether (ETH), a stark drop from a lifetime average of 120 ether in May 2022. In dollar terms, this represents a similar decline, with the value of Ether dropping from around $3,000 in May 2022 to just over $30,000 at the time of writing.
Data from CryptoSlam indicates that trading volumes have generally remained around the $1 million daily mark since 2022, with nearly 20% of the collection held by ten individual wallets. The decline in the Bored Apes collection comes amidst a broader decrease in retail interest in Ethereum NFT collections, as suggested by Google search data. On the other hand, newer collections on Bitcoin and Solana have begun to attract more interest among investors.
The rise and subsequent decline of the Bored Apes collection is a notable case. Comprising 10,000 digital monkeys on the Ethereum blockchain, the collection features pictures of cartoon apes generated by an algorithm, with each monkey possessing certain traits of varying rarity that contribute to its value. Owners are granted certain benefits, such as access to a private online club or in-person events, and using the NFT for a profile picture has become a prominent display of wealth online.
During the 2021 bull market, Bored Apes gained rapid popularity, with several prominent celebrities claiming to have purchased the NFTs for over $300,000 each. Popular rappers even performed with their Bored Apes in virtual worlds, while singer Justin Bieber reportedly bought a “rare” Bored Ape for over $1.2 million. However, reports in June 2023 suggested that crypto services company MoonPay may have gifted the Bored Apes to some of these celebrities, which likely impacted investor confidence, despite MoonPay denying the claims at the time.
Despite these challenges, Bored Apes remains the top Ethereum NFT collection as of Tuesday, with a market capitalization of $340 million. The decline in its value and the broader trend of decreasing interest in Ethereum-based NFT collections indicate the evolving dynamics of the NFT market, as well as the need for continued scrutiny and evaluation of such digital assets.