Der kanadische Sänger und Teenie-Idol Justin Bieber machte im Januar Schlagzeilen, als er einen NFT aus der BAYC-Kollektion für 500 ETH (damals rund 1,3 Millionen US-Dollar) erwarb.
However, deepening bear market and declining interest in digital collectibles reduced the USD value of his investment by more than 94%.
Bieber’s huge paper loss
Justin Bieber was among the celebrities to dive into NFTs when the hype surrounding them was at its peak. The superstar bought Bored Ape #3001 in January for a whopping 500 ETH. Ethereum’s price was in much better shape earlier in the year, trading at around $2,600, meaning Bieber’s investment cost him around $1.3 million.
One of the rarest of its kind, the digital collectible features a sad-eyed, unshaven ape wearing a black T-shirt.
Unfortunately for Bieber, the market crash took a toll on his investment in the following months. According to NFT Price Floor data, his collectible is currently worth 59 ETH, or just $71,000.
Bieber continued his interaction with NFTs in February, purchasing another item from the BAYC collection worth $470,000 in ETH. Bored Ape #3850 is now priced under $90,000.Justin Bieber, Variety
Apart from the negative consequences of the bear market, the collapse in NFT prices could also be explained by the decrease in the craze for such assets. Trading volume on OpenSea surpassed $500 million per day last summer, while recently hovering below $10 million per 24 hour period.
More celebrities affected
YouTube personality Logan Paul, popular rapper Eminem and Brazilian soccer icon Neymar are also among the famous people who have suffered substantial unrealized losses on their NFT investments.
Paul jumped on the bandwagon in 2021 and purchased an Azuki Collection item for $623,000. He recently announced that his investment is currently only worth $10.
The only rapper to ever win an Oscar – Eminem – bought Bored Ape 9055 in January for 123.45 ETH (or $462.00 at the time). His digital monkey now costs around $70,000.
The star of the Brazil national soccer team – Neymar – has two bored monkeys and even swapped his Twitter profile picture with one of them upon purchase. The 30-year-old spent over $1 million buying them, and they’re now worth less than $340,000.
