Justin Bieber’s BAYC Investment Turns Sour as Paper Losses Mount to $1.24 Million in 18 Months

Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs have tanked significantly in value this month.

Justin Bieber might be iconic on stage, but his investment strategy, at least in terms of NFTs, certainly missed the mark. The famous Canadian pop star paid $1.3 million for a Bored Ape NFT last year, which is now worth only around $59,000.

Foraying the hyped NFT space during the digital asset bull run seemed like a lucrative and exciting addition to many celebrities investment portfolios. However, many who sang the praises of these non-fungible tokens have not managed to steer clear of the troubles that followed.

Justin Biebers NFT Losses

Biebers tryst with NFTs dates back to January 2022, when the sector was raging with celebrity endorsements. The global pop star invested 500 ETH, which was equivalent to $1.3 million, on BAYC. Eighteen months later, his net paper loss stands at $1.24 million.

Bieber isnt the only celeb to have suffered financial damage from his NFT purchases as a result of the turbulent market conditions. Last year, the paper losses of the soccer star Neymar Jr. as well as the renowned rapper Eminem stood at $700,000 and $300,000, respectively.

American singer and “Queen of Pop,” Madonna, also sported big paper losses with her NFTs after purchasing an evil eye ape and then subsequently watching the price go down.

Legal Troubles

Apart from crashing prices, legal troubles for these celebs caught up. Last December, NFT investors sued the creator of the popular BAYC collection of NFTs and its promoters, including A-listers such as Madonna, Paris Hilton, and Justin Bieber, for allegedly using the celebs who didnt disclose they were paid to pump sales to dupe them into buying the collectibles.

The proposed class-action lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles federal court, accused Yuga Labs, Hollywood agent Guy Oseary and MoonPay USA of using their network of prominent musicians, athletes, and celebrities to misleadingly promote and sell Yuga financial products.

Bored Ape NFTs are leading the charge in a brutal market plunge, but other “blue chip” PFPs are losing steam as well.

A tumultuous week in the NFT space has been marked by widespread selling, prompting jitters among collectors and investors as “blue chip” projects like the Bored Ape Yacht Club careen toward multi-year low prices.

When digital asset markets were frothy in 2021 and early 2022, the Bored Ape Yacht Club became synonymous with NFTs for mainstream audiences. As celebrities bought in and creator Yuga Labs Otherside game took shape, the Ethereum NFTs surged in value—hitting a peak minimum price of 152 ETH, or $429,000 in April 2022.

The floor price for Bored Ape NFTs fell to just over $52,000 worth of Ethereum late Sunday, or about 27 ETH at the time, per data from

NFT Price

Floor. Its rebounded slightly since then to a current price of $55,000 (about 28.5 ETH), but that still marks a 20% dip in terms of USD value over the last week.

Zooming out, Sunday‘s low marks a nearly 88% decline in floor price from the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s April 2022 peak when measured in USD. It‘s not quite as severe in ETH terms—that's about an 82% dip. In USD terms, it’s also the lowest floor price for Bored Apes since August 2021, or nearly two full years.

Not just Apes

While Bored Ape prices have plunged hard, other NFT projects are feeling the bitter breeze of an increasingly chilly market for profile pictures (PFPs) and collectibles.

Azuki is the other big project that's been suffering over the past week. Collectors of Azuki NFTs were broadly upset following last weeks launch of Azuki Elementals, which left collectors disappointed and disgruntled due to the release of nearly-identical artwork for the follow-up collection.

Azukis namesake NFT collection has seen its floor price sink 59% over the past week to around 6 ETH (USD $11,785). The floor price for Beanz, another collection from Azuki creator Chiru Labs, has also plummeted 77% to 0.4 ETH (USD $785).

“The core of whats happening is PFP brands are getting repriced across the board,” Leonidas said. “This is not really anything unprecedented. Typical bear market stuff.”

While it‘s unclear exactly what’s spurred recent declines, Leonidas.og said Azuki Elementals lackluster mint is the “closest thing to a catalyst.”

Azuki‘s troubles made it “glaringly obvious” that the value of some PFP collections is dependent on brands’ ability to execute on a roadmap, he said, and is predicated on a companys performance as opposed to the intrinsic value of the artwork.