Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have become a new form of investment and have broadened the horizons of digital collectables. Built on blockchain technology, their unique and rare characteristics make NFTs exclusive and hence, expensive.
One of the most renowned NFT collections that dominated the trends in 2021 was the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), and it continues to do so. The exclusive collection of over 10,000 unique apes, wearing trendy and funky outfits and posing against colourful dazzling backgrounds, was created on the Ethereum blockchain.
About Bored Ape Yacht Club
Yuga Labs launched the Bored Ape Yacht Club in April 2021 and since then, the world of digital artworks has witnessed a rise in the price and popularity of NFTs. Each Bored Ape is customised with unique colours, facial expressions and outfits. For example, while one ape features brown, clean-shaven, wearing sunglasses, another dons a leopard print, sporting rainbow-coloured teeth.
Having garnered around USD 2 million in its initial days, the craze of buying BAYC collectables proliferated from digital platforms to auction houses. In 2021, Sotheby’s sold two lots of 107 BAYC and 101 Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC) NFTs for a mammoth amount of over USD 24 million and over USD 1.8 million, respectively.
And that is not all. Yuga Labs, then, went on to launch Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) in August 2021. A collection of 20,000 Mutant Apes were created by exposing the existing Bored Apes to a vial of mutant serum.
Although CryptoPunks by LarvaLabs may have started the trend of NFT profile pictures for social media accounts in 2017, it is BAYC who made it mainstream. Such was their renown that NFT enthusiasts and celebrities alike became proud owners of BAYC collectables. This includes names like Justin Bieber, Jimmy Fallon, Lil Baby, Mark Cuban and Snoop Dogg.
The celebrity owners of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber is one of the recent celebrities to hop on to the Bored Ape Yacht Club bandwagon with his BAYC #3001 purchase on 29 January 2022. The NFT came with a price tag of 500 ETH or about USD 1.3 million.
Many BAYC enthusiasts pointed out that the pop star overpaid considering the Bored Ape’s fairly common traits and characteristics like brown fur and a black tee. But none of that mattered to the Canadian singer.
Eminem
Rapper Eminem, aka Marshall Mathers, is yet another celebrity to get his own Bored Ape. He purchased it from Twitter user @Gee__Gazza, who publicly expressed his hopes that Eminem would own one.
In January 2022, Eminem bought BAYC #9055 for 123.45 ETH, which was worth over USD 400,000 at the time of purchase. The NFT has some really stylish features like a gold chain, a golden jacket and a cap.
Snoop Dogg
American rapper and NFT collector Snoop Dogg bought four Bored Apes in December 2021. This included BAYC #7723, along with a BAKC and two Mutant Apes. The rapper also owns CryptoPunks, Artblocks, XCOPY and many other high-value NFTs. The Cheetah fur Bored Ape owned by Snoop Dogg has some funky traits like pink fur coat and a lit cigar.
Paris Hilton
American media personality and actress Paris Hilton bought her BAYC long before other celebrities could be a part of the hype. She sold her blockchain-based artwork in 2020 and has been vocal about investing in NFTs ever since.
Recently, she appeared on The Tonight Show and talked about her BAYC #1294, which she bought for 119 ETH, or around USD 275,000 at the time. The Bored Ape sports red fur, black shades and a chained hat.
Neymar Jr.
Touted as one of the best football players in the world, Neymar Jr. has also made a name for himself in the NFT space. Surprising his ever-growing fanbase of 55 million on Twitter, Neymar announced his Bored Ape debut in January 2022 with two NFTs — #5269 and #6633. The latter is also his social media profile picture on both Twitter and Instagram. It features a party hat #2, a bubble gum mouth and holographic eyes.
Steve Aoki
From buying and selling to creating, DJ Steve Aoki has a longer history with NFTs and Bored Apes than most celebrity ape owners. Other than BAYCs like #118, #1867, #3719, #4190, #5823, #8716, #9050, #9394, Mutant Ape #17438 and Mutant Ape #17439 in his NFT collection, he also owns CryptoPunks. BAYC #118 features laser eyes and a striped tee.
Recently, Aoki launched a Solana-based NFT marketplace along with comic book artist Todd McFarlane.
Post Malone
The American rapper bought not one but two Bored Apes — #961 and #9039. The former has been showcased in his music video titled “One Right Now” with The Weekend. The latter features a brown cowboy hat, blue glistening teeth and rainbow suspenders.
MoonPay tweeted about Post Malone buying the Bored Apes, although the rapper has not shared any information on social media accounts for his fans about the same.
Mark Cuban
Owner of the basketball team Dallas Mavericks Mark Cuban has been open about his support for crypto and entered the NFT space in June 2021.
According to The Bored Ape Gazette, he was gifted the BAYC #1597. At the time of writing, the NFT was valued at USD 266,112.76. The NFT has six traits, featuring Cheetah fur, a flat-brimmed cap, a Hawaiian shirt, bored eyes, an unshaven mouth and a purple background.
Lamelo Ball
The Charlotte Hornets guard had not only joined the Bored Ape gang but also made headlines by joining the BAYC Discord to chat. Ball owns two Bored Apes — #598 and #7226.
While #598 features popped out eyes and an animal print cover, #7226 sports 3-D glasses and a captain’s hat.
Stephen Curry
The three-time NBA champion may not be the first athlete to join the Bored Ape Yacht Club, but he surely was one of the most prominent and influential persons to own the NFT in August 2021.
Curry bought the Bored Ape #7990 for 55 ETH, which amounted to approximately USD 180,000 at that time. Some characteristics of the Bored Ape owned by Steph Curry include blue fur, zombie eyes and a tweed suit.
Jimmy Fallon
The Tonight Show host’s Bored Ape purchase made headlines when he revealed it on Twitter on 12 November 2021. He bought it for 46.6 ETH, which would roughly amount to USD 224,000. The transaction was done via MoonPay, which allows users to buy NFTs without using decentralised apps like OpenSea.
Notable traits of Jimmy Fallon’s BAYC #599 include a blue background, navy striped tee, heart-shaped sunglasses, cream fur and a sea captain’s hat.
Lil Baby
American rapper Dominique Armani Jones, known by most as Lil Baby owns both a Mutant Ape as well as a BAYC NFT. He purchased BAYC #129 via MoonPay for 38 ETH, which is estimated to be over USD 24 million at the time of writing the article. It sports a white stained sleeveless tee, pink fur and a blue wavy hat. The Mutant Ape #10259 was created by ‘mutating’ his existing BAYC NFT.
Lil Baby has always supported crypto and NFTs. He has also performed at the Bored Ape warehouse party during the NFT.NYC conference, which was held between 2 November and 4 November 2021.
Logan Paul
After abstaining for months, YouTuber and social media influencer Logan Paul finally gave in to the BAYC hype and bought BAYC #1442 for 38 ETH. It is estimated to be more than double the amount today.
Notable traits of Paul’s Ape include DMT fur, 3D glasses and a captain’s hat.
Kevin Hart
In January 2022, celebrity comedian and actor Kevin Hart became a Bored Ape member when he purchased BAYC #9258. At that time, it cost him 79.5 ETH, which was around USD 200,000. Hart’s ape sports guayabera clothes, a spinner hat, ‘phoneme ooo’ mouth and angry eyes.
Shaquille O’Neal
The retired NBA star and celebrity influencer has made his presence felt in almost every domain. From several brand endorsements to DJ-ing at some of the biggest music festivals, he is in no mood to slow down. He bought MAYC #14452 in September 2021 at quite a modest sum of 4.8 ETH or nearly USD 20,000. The five trait brown fur M1 mutant ape sports a smoking jacket among the others.
The Chainsmokers
The American DJ duo became one of the early celebrities to own a Bored Ape. In September 2021, they purchased the Cheetah fur BAYC #7691, for 55 ETH, or about USD 225,000. The Bored Ape NFT sports a Cheetah fur, a basic black tee and a small cigarette.
Dez Bryant
Dez Bryant is one of the few NFL stars to join the Bored Ape Yacht Club. He bought BAYC #2902 in July 2021. Today, Bryant’s collectible is worth over 60 ETH, which is around USD 250,000. Notable traits of the ape include cheetah fur, sunglasses and a king crown.
Marshmello
EDM artiste and DJ Marshmello is an early adopter of NFTs and owns a Bored Ape and a CryptoPunk. The mask-clad artiste bought a rare ape, #4808, featuring rainbow teeth, 3-D glasses and a bone tee. It cost him 75 ETH or about USD 220,000 at that time.
Timbaland
Legendary hip hop producer Timbaland invested in BAYC with #590 and he uses it as his social media profile picture. The bored ape is quite a stylish one with gold chains, golden jacket and black framed glasses.
His Ape-In Productions, an exclusive platform that develops virtual music groups and animations based on Bored Ape NFTs, recently launched its first NFT.
Rich The Kid
Among the host of rappers and musicians taking a keen interest in NFTs and Bored Ape Yacht Club is Rich The Kid, aka Dimitri Leslie Roger.
The American rapper owns the funky BAYC #9719, which he bought in November 2021. Some of its noted features include black fur, crazy eyes and a black tee with holes.
(Main image credit: Bored Ape Yacht Club/ @boredapeyachtclub/ Instagram; feature image credit: Paris Hilton/ @parishilton/ Instagram)
The post All-star owners of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs appeared first on Lifestyle Asia Kuala Lumpur.
