Garnering interest from one of Silicon Valley’s top VC’s, Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs, may be eyeing a $5 billion valuation.
Bored Ape Yacht Club is a huge mainstream hit, but is Wall Street ready for NFTs?
Experts share how Bored Ape Yacht Club’s success has changed the NFT landscape for good.
OpenSea NFT trading volume surges as Bored Ape mania intensifies
Data shows that OpenSea has generated more than $700 million in sales so far this year putting the NFT marketplace on track for another record month.
Time For The Apes: Mutant Ape Yacht Club And BAYC Sales Surge, Floor Prices Spike More Than 40%
Both BAYC and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFT sales have risen since Eminem disclosed that he purchased a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible token (NFT) for $452K.
Time For The Mutant Apes To Eat
Last week, Mutant Ape Yacht Club topped other NFTs with a massive increase in sales volume. The initiative, which began at Bored Ape Yacht Club, saw two serum sales of more than $3.5 million each, helping Bored Ape Chemistry Club to make the top ten list.
The Mutant Ape Yacht Club floor price has continued to grow, and additional serum sales could keep the NFT collection in the spotlight. MAYC’s seven-day trade volume of $93.02 million was up 93.41 percent on Sunday, January 2, 2022, according to metrics, while BAYC’s weekly volume of $78.26 million was up 150.97 percent.
BAYC has witnessed $78.26 million in seven-day volume from 434 dealers, according to statistics. While BAYC volume has increased by 150.97 percent, the number of dealers has increased by 101.86 percent, despite the fact that BAYC sales have increased by 122.95 percent.
Over the last week, the MAYC project has seen a nearly 500 percent spike in trading volume. The average sale price of a Mutant Ape NFT has risen from around 8 ETH (over $32,000) on December 21 to over 12.3 ETH (around $50,250) yesterday. The project’s price floor—or the cost of the cheapest-available NFT—has grown by about 40% in the last seven days, reaching 9.9 ETH as of this writing.
The Mutant Ape Yacht Club is an Ethereum NFT project with a total avatar image count of up to 20,000.
Despite rise in NFT sales, ETH/USD price plunges. Source: TradingView
Related article | Eminem Buys Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT That Looks Like Him For $452K
Yuga Labs And Their Mutant Apes Sales
BAYC’s overall market value is currently $2.73 billion, according to all-time metrics. The floor price of a single BAYC in ETH is roughly $273,420 at the time of writing, however the average price today is $287,740 per BAYC.
While BAYC has seen a significant increase, the Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFT collection had the most volume this week. Today’s MAYC volume is $93.02 million, up 93.41 percent. This week, there were 2,234 MAYC dealers, and while an individual MAYC’s floor price is $59,180 per NFT, MAYCs are selling on average for $54,270.
According to DappRadar, the NFT market has exploded in 2021, with almost $10.7 billion in trade activity in Q3 and an estimated $22 billion year-to-date as of earlier this month.
Related article | Only In Crypto: A Croissant Explains Web3 And NFTs To Elon Musk
Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView.com
Eminem Buys Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT That Looks Like Him For $452K
Eminem, the Grammy Award-winning rapper, has joined the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), purchasing one of the non-fungible token (NFT) apes for 123.45 ether ($462,000) on the OpenSea platform.
Eminem Buys BAYC NFT
Eminem, the famed Detroit rapper, has joined the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC).
The NFT, named “EminApe,” depicts Eminem’s iconic Bored Ape figure wearing a khaki army cap and a gold chain necklace, both of which he frequently wears in real life. BAYC member GeeGazza sold the digital artwork for 123.45 ETH, which is around $450,000 USD. In November 2021, GeeGazza tweeted, “I still think Eminem is destined to buy my @BoredApeYC one day.”
Six, a digital agency that has previously worked with celebrities in the NFT industry including as Wu-Tang Clan, Tycho, and Galantis, was responsible for the transaction. It’s also not Eminem’s first foray into NFTs: under the moniker “Shady Holdings,” the musician now owns 15 NFTs on OpenSea.
In a tweet, BAYC member GeeGazza, who sold the ape, thanked the entertainer for purchasing the NFT. “I’m living in a simulation,” he wrote, adding: “Madness. Let me write a lyric in your next single.”
I’m living in a simulation.
Thank you @Eminem for buying my ape and joining the club!
Madness. Let me write a lyric in your next single 
pic.twitter.com/myGNRmMLeD
— GeeGazza (@Gee__Gazza) December 31, 2021
BTC/USD plunge from $50k. Source: TradingView
Related article | Eminem’s Latest Album Kamikaze Name-Checks Bitcoin
The Rapper Holds NFTs From Different Collections
Slim Shady has 166 non-fungible token (NFT) assets from 32 collections, according to dappradar.com stats. After purchasing BAYC #9055 for 123.45, the address currently possesses 1.52 ether. Eminem received 124 ether from an account known as georgio.eth on ENS. That account owns 504 NFTs from 51 different collections, including Bored Ape Yacht Club #4936, and it spent 43.98 ether ($164,832) on two Cryptopunks.
SABC #2615, Shaq Gives Back #4077, and Adult Fantasy Sub-Dude (130/151) are among Eminem’s other NFTs. The Shady Holdings address, in reality, contains a slew of ERC721 NFTs.
Eminem’s NFT spending binge comes on the heels of his beat-inspired animated NFTs for Stans, which he released in April. Eminem’s NFT sale took place on the Nifty Gateway NFT platform. Slim Shady and Paul Rosenberg also joined a host of venture funds that invested $30 million in the NFT market Makersplace in August.
Eminem’s NFT spending binge comes on the heels of his beat-inspired animated NFTs for Stans, which he released in April. Eminem’s NFT sale took place on the Nifty Gateway NFT platform. Slim Shady and Paul Rosenberg also joined a host of venture funds that invested $30 million in the NFT market Makersplace in August.
Eminem has officially joined the second-largest NFT project on OpenSea by volume with his new EminApe. According to CryptoSlam, the BAYC has sold 284,765 ETH ($977.6 million) in secondary transactions so far, and the floor price is now at 60 ETH ($220,000).
The rapper joined the ranks of a slew of other celebrities, including NBA player Stephen Curry and talk show presenter Jimmy Fallon.
Bored Apes recently overtook CryptoPunks in terms of floor price, which is a huge accomplishment for a project that only began in April 2021.
Related article | Snoop Dogg Joins The Bored Ape Yacht Club And The Sandbox. Read All About It
Featured Image from Shutterstock | Charts by TradingView
Snoop Dogg Joins The Bored Ape Yacht Club And The Sandbox. Read All About It
It’s official, Snoop Dogg joined the apes. The rap superstar and all-around businessman made a substantial NFT investment and is now showing a Bored Ape as his avatar on Twitter. Not only that, Snoop Dogg bought a full set, a Bored Ape, an M1 and an M2 Mutant, and their correspondent Bored Ape Kennel Club. They all match with each other and tend towards pink fur.
Related Reading | A Bored Ape NFT Sold For 0.75ETH By Mistake. Another Sold For 347ETH, But Wait…
In the announcement tweet, Snoop Dogg claimed: “When I APE in I APE all the way in!!,” and he wasn’t lying. This buy puts him among the top celebrity NFT collectors. At least the ones who are public about their buys.
When I APE in I APE all the way in!! pic.twitter.com/3XB3Jo5Fb6
— Snoop Dogg (@SnoopDogg) December 21, 2021
How Did Snoop Dogg Get Into The Bored Ape Yacht Club?
It all came from a deleted tweet. What did it say? We wouldn’t know. However, NFT strategist Just1n.eth brought another rapper into the conversation. “He needs to link up with Waka Flocka to talk about the NFT collection that he should be looking into!” And Waka Flocka went straight to the BAYC. “Uncle Snoop you need a Ape mane!!! Join the yacht club.” This was Snoop Dogg’s answer:
So who sendn that ape. My shit better have all gold everything.
— Snoop Dogg (@SnoopDogg) June 25, 2021
This was in June. Which shows how much of a patient businessman Snoop is.
Snoopverse In The Sandbox
Snoop Dogg is launching himself into NFTs with two feet. A couple of weeks ago, the superstar rapper announced a partnership with The Sandbox metaverse. There, he will have his own piece of the virtual world. There will be Snoop avatars and other Snoop-inspired NFTs for sale. And he will even perform live, and event that’s already selling early access passes for.
Early peak of the @SnoopDogg Avatars! https://t.co/ckEOApZwL6 pic.twitter.com/l8gYQVASFc
— Snoop Dogg (@SnoopDogg) December 11, 2021
Not only that, the rap star even made a song about the whole ordeal.
And if you look closely, there are Bored Ape Yacht Club pieces on the walls in Snoop Dogg’s virtual mansion. Did he buy the set of apes to decorate his house? Maybe he did.
SAND price chart on Kraken | Source: SAND/USD on TradingView.com
But Wait… Wasn’t Cozomo De’ Medici An Alias For Snoop Dogg?
Notorious NFT collector Cozomo De’ Medici once did a publicity stunt that seemed to suggest that he was Snoop Dogg. However, since then, the prevailing sentiment is that he isn’t. Artnet’s .pdf mag about NFT culture, Artnet NFT 30, broke down the story:
“Is Cozomo really Snoop Dogg? That was the rumor that swept the internet after the collector announced that a celebrity would reveal Cozomo’s true identity (with the first to spot the announcement winning 1 ETH), only for Snoop Dogg’s official account to tweet shortly thereafter, “I am @CozomoMedici.” The frenzy of investigations that followed, however, cast doubt on the link, pointing to a selfie that Cozomo posted from Lake Como with the musician Jason Derulo that obscured their face but not their short, Caucasian body.”
Related Reading | Will NFTs Kill Traditional Art? Famed Collector Cozomo de’ Medici Makes The Case
If Snoop was Cozomo, he would be the biggest celebrity NFT collector without a doubt. But he isn’t. Or is he? Following Snoop Dogg’s BAYC announcement, Cozomo tweeted:
Oh and btw 
https://t.co/zn2ajWZFS4
— Cozomo de’ Medici (@CozomoMedici) December 22, 2021
What does that mean? You be the judge of that.
Featured Image: Snoop Dogg on The Sandbox title screen | Charts by TradingView
A Bored Ape NFT Sold For 0.75ETH By Mistake. Another Sold For 347ETH, But Wait…
The second most popular NFT collection, Bored Ape Yacht Club, is back on the news. On the one hand, a deadly mistake cost a pseudonymous user more than $250K. On the other, a feelgood story of a diamond-hand holder that minted a Bored Ape seven months ago and just sold it for over $1M. Or did he? The deal is tainted by a suspect second transaction that the community immediately detected.
Related Reading | The Sandbox Purchase Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT for More Than $2.9 Million
Exciting beginning of the week in the Yacht Club, and NewsBTC has all the juicy details on both stories.
A Costly-Costly Mistake In The Bored Ape Yacht Club
Maxnaut’s membership to the Yacht Club has been revoked. This person’s distraction while listing his Bored Ape for 75ETH, lead him to actually list it for 0.75ETH. A bot immediately snatched it, paying an extra high transaction fee to ensure the extremely profitable buy. Not only that, the bot listed it for 88 ETH straight away. Forget the Roomba and those goofy Boston Dynamics robots, this is the most useful and effective bot ever created.
The ex-owner, Maxnaut, told Cnet:
“I list a lot of items every day and just wasn’t paying attention properly. I instantly saw the error as my finger clicked the mouse but a bot sent a transaction with over 8 eth [$34,000] of gas fees so it was instantly sniped before I could click cancel, and just like that, $250k was gone.”
A horror story if we ever heard one. Multitasking takes another victim.
ETH price chart for 12/13/2021 on Kraken | Source: ETH/USD on TradingView.com
From Diamond Hands To Millionaire, But Wait…
Only 10.000 Bored Apes exist. All of them were minted for 0.08ETH each. The photographer John Knopf was one of the lucky people that believed in the project from the get-go and was greatly rewarded. This is his story. “I bought my ape for .08 on minting night and just sold it for 347 ETH. (…) I am crying so much. Thank you Bored Ape Yacht Club for completely changing my life and everyone in the community!”
I bought my ape for .08 on minting night and just sold it for 347 ETH. I am at a loss for words right now. I am crying so much. Thank you @BoredApeYC for completely changing my life and everyone in the community!!!! And thank you @_jeffnicholas_ for telling us all to buy them! https://t.co/BxeexYDmM7 pic.twitter.com/FuKtrFwhdH
— John Knopf (@JohnKnopfPhotos) December 12, 2021
The person who told him to buy completes the heartwarming story. “Going from degening into Bored Ape Yacht Club because I liked the art, to telling John Knopf to ape in that fateful Friday night (…) I’m so so so happy for you. Massive. Massive for you, and for the BAYC community.”
Going from degening into @BoredApeYC because I liked the art, to telling @JohnKnopfPhotos to ape in that fateful Friday night when he was all 
, to this result 8mo later. Wow. @JohnKnopfPhotos I’m so so so happy for you. Massive. Massive for you, and for the BAYC community. https://t.co/bJTE83XLKl pic.twitter.com/snhIlLRi63
— jeffnicholas.eth 
(@_jeffnicholas_) December 12, 2021
But wait, what is this? The Ethereum blockchain shows that John Knopf sent 230 ETH back to the wallet that bought his Bored Ape.
And then he transfer 230E to the wallet that bought the Ape?
I dont get it pic.twitter.com/f2UgKrKS2W
— !etavares (@Eurico_RT) December 12, 2021
But wait, what is this? The owner of the wallet did send a message to John Knopf through the blockchain asking him to return the funds. Apparently, he was trying to make a bid and made a million Dollar mistake.
Yo yo @JohnKnopfPhotos is not in the WRONG
Buyer fucked up the offer. Chill out y'allhttps://t.co/fPOsXeITnr pic.twitter.com/iiG4mD0Tm0
— jiran.eth | Sherblock Nodes (@Jiran_z) December 12, 2021
The New Bored Ape Owner Shared His Side Of The Story
A few days later, Deepak Thapliyal, the Bored Ape 9452’s new owner, told his story. “I decided I wanted this ape no matter what (…) I knew I wanted it, so originally I moved 655 ETH into my wallet because I was actually prepared to buy it at full ask.”
6/ Here comes the interesting part. The message signed in the blockchain wasn’t the __full story__ on how I mistakenly sent the eth but was the high level overview of it as far as anyone publicly needed to be concerned at the time.
— Deepak Thapliyal (@dt_chain) December 12, 2021
He wasn’t actually making a bid, but checking John Knopf’s wallet activity in Etherscan. However, “After I placed my originally bid, I had to move 230 ETH to another wallet in mobile. I _thought_ the copy button for the address I was sending too was pressed properly. PS: I was multi tasking.” Here we go, multitasking takes another victim.
11/ I finally took spaces out manually via a mobile phone (took a few mins) then missed a space and had to do it again (mind you I’m moving quickly to try to get the message out ASAP). Finally getting the message out but no funds were sent back. Thankfully I found Johns Twitter.
— Deepak Thapliyal (@dt_chain) December 12, 2021
Deepak found Knopf’s on Twitter, and “I tweeted at him and he followed so I could DM him. I explained my story and told him how I wanted his ape. He quickly informed me he had no intentions to keep my money and would send it back. He asked if I wanted the ape still which I said “yes”.” They agreed on a price and the rest is history. “Funny story to tell my kids one day when I give them this ape. Thanks to John for being a standup guy and returning my ETH.”
14/ Odd way to start but very nostalgic to “aping in” as it goes. Funny story to tell my kids one day when I give them this ape. Thanks to John for being a standup guy and returning my ETH and giving me a discount of what I was prepared to spend already.
— Deepak Thapliyal (@dt_chain) December 12, 2021
Facts And Burning Questions
And that’s pretty much it. Do you buy Deepak Thapliyal’s story? Was it an innocent mistake? Or do you think he and Knopf were up to something? The high price buy raises all of the Bored Ape’s prices, specially Bored Ape 9452’s value. However, the blockchain doesn’t lie and Knopf ended up with 347 ETH total.
Related Reading | Miramax Sues Quentin Tarantino Over “Pulp Fiction” NFTs. Tarantino Moves Forward
You have all the facts and every side of the story. Reach your own conclusions.
Featured Image: Screenshot from the Bored Ape’s website | Charts by TradingView
