Justin Bieber’s $1.3M NFT Now Worth Just $12K

In January 2022, at the peak of the NFT frenzy, pop icon Justin Bieber spent 500 ETH—worth approximately $1.3 million at the time—to acquire Bored Ape #3001. The purchase instantly made him one of the most famous members of the exclusive Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). However, the asset he acquired was a ‘floor’ Ape, meaning it lacked any rare visual attributes or features that typically command a premium. Even at the time, the transaction drew sharp criticism from within the NFT community. Farokh Sarmad, now president of Dastan—parent company of Decrypt—publicly questioned the advice Bieber received, posting: ‘Who the fuck is advising Justin Bieber’s NFT purchases and how can I get in touch to sell them floors NFTs for 500 ETH.’

Four years later, the financial reality of that decision is stark. Bieber’s Ape is now valued at around $12,000, representing a potential loss of over 99% if sold at the current floor price—the lowest listed price for an NFT in the collection. While factors like provenance and celebrity ownership could theoretically support a higher price, comparable assets with similar common traits have seen their values evaporate. The trade exemplifies the extreme risk of paying celebrity-sized premiums for non-rare digital assets during a market bubble.

Bieber’s precipitous loss is not an isolated incident but a symptom of a sector-wide downturn. The Bored Ape Yacht Club’s floor price did experience a temporary surge after his purchase, peaking at around $429,000 in April 2022. However, the market has since been mired in a prolonged ‘NFT winter’ that has dragged down virtually all major collections. Rival blue-chip projects have suffered similar fates. According to data from NFT Price Floor, CryptoPunks, which once traded above $400,000, now have a starting price of about $60,000 worth of ETH. Pudgy Penguins, which nearly reached $100,000, now trade for around $8,850 in ETH.

The sentiment across the crypto community suggests little expectation for a near-term recovery. On Myriad, a prediction market operated by Dastan, users collectively give just a 16% chance that Bored Apes, CryptoPunks, and Pudgy Penguins will reach specific price targets—10 ETH for Apes and Penguins, 50 ETH for Punks—by July. This bleak outlook underscores a fundamental shift: the speculative mania that propelled NFTs to multi-million dollar valuations has largely faded, leaving many high-profile investments underwater.

Despite the crushing market downturn, Yuga Labs, the creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, continues to develop projects aimed at providing long-term utility and value for its community. The company’s strategy appears focused on moving beyond pure digital speculation. In October, Yuga announced plans to create a physical clubhouse in Miami, Florida, serving as a real-world gathering space for NFT holders. This initiative seeks to strengthen the social and experiential aspects of ownership that initially fueled the collection’s popularity.

Yuga’s other major focus is Otherside, a massive multiplayer metaverse game that will feature avatars from the Bored Ape Yacht Club and other affiliated NFT projects. By integrating these digital assets into an interactive gaming environment, Yuga Labs is attempting to create sustained demand and utility that could theoretically support value independent of speculative trading floors. These developments represent a critical test of whether foundational NFT projects can build enduring ecosystems that survive dramatic market cycles, or if they remain ultimately tied to the volatile fortunes of the broader crypto market.