Bored Ape #3001 by Justin Bieber, bought for no less than 500 $ETH early 2022 saw its value evaporate to around $12,000, reflecting a near-total destruction of its initial $1.3 million investment.
The pop star, who has gathered one of the most visible celebrities $NFT portfolios, acquired the digital collectible as enthusiasm for the sector reached its peak. Analysts noted at the time that Bieber paid well above prevailing rates, with comparable assets in the collection trade between $200,000 and $300,000.
With the highest bid at 5.9 $ETH and the bottom of the collection floated around 6:15 am $ETHEthereum trading around $2,000 means investors who participated in the 2022 rally face even bigger dollar losses.
Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), a 10,000-piece generative art series created by Yuga Labs, debuted in April 2021 at a coin price of 0.08 $ETH and sold out within half a day. In May 2022, bottom prices reached a high of 128 to 145 $ETHwhich equates to approximately $350,000 to $420,000 at current exchange rates.
Bieber has at least one additional piece from the series, ape #3850, which he purchased shortly after his initial purchase for approximately $470,000.
After the speculative bubble burst, $NFT Trading volumes and rock bottom prices fell sharply from their 2022 peaks, but the sector did not disappear. Instead, development has shifted to utility-oriented applications, such as in-game assets, access passes, identity tools, and tokenized real-world items.
Ethereum remains dominant for high-value NFTs, while Solana and Polygon have gained market share through lower fees and better scalability.