Many celebrities are buying NFTs, particularly Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs. Justin Bieber can be added to the list of celebrities investing in these digital collectors’ items.
There is a variety of BAYC NFTs available, some more unique than others. The BAYC NFTs are photos of digitally drawn cartoon apes wearing a variety of clothes and accessories.
Some are seen smoking, while others wear sunglasses, and some share teary-eyed expressions.
While some consider the ape NFTs to be ugly and think they have little value, many people are paying more than the market price for these ape images, Justin Bieber included.
Justin Bieber’s NFT purchase
Justin Bieber took to Instagram to show off his NFT purchase of BAYC #3001. The ape is shown with tear-filled eyes and wears a black t-shirt.
The singer captioned the photo with lyrics from his hit song Lonely. The caption reads, “What if you had it all, but nobody to call, maybe then you’d know me. Cuz I’ve had everything but noones listening and that’s just f***in lonely. #lonelyboredape.”
Page Six reports that this ape in particular had an estimated value of $208,237 when the singer purchased it. Bieber spent 500 ethereum cryptocurrency on the ape, which is the equivalent of $1.29 million.
Bieber bought BAYC #3001 for almost 300% more than its valued price.
Although the singer’s Instagram comments are filled with people praising him for his purchase and others discussing their own NFT apes, many fans are entirely confused by this trend.
What is an NFT?
NFT stands for non-fungible token, meaning they are unique and can’t be replaced by something else. The Verge explains that a bitcoin is fungible, it can be traded or exchanged for another bitcoin, and you have the same thing: a bitcoin.
However, an NFT can’t be traded for another version of itself. Some like to compare it to a trading card. If you trade a collectible trading card for a different card, you no longer have the one-of-a-kind card. In its place would be something different.
NFTs can be digital art, photos, videos, music, even Tweets, now. Some consider buying NFTs to be like collecting fine art, while others consider buying NFTs a scam that’s just a game for rich people, as you can download and copy anything off the internet multiple times. For example, one could right-click and save Bieber’s NFT and have it saved for themselves.
Many NFTs are said to be part of the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum is a form of cryptocurrency. According to PWC, “a blockchain is a decentralized ledger of all transactions across a peer-to-peer network. Using this technology, participants can confirm transactions without a need for a central clearing authority. Potential applications can include fund transfers, settling trades, voting, and many other issues.”
Many use cryptocurrency and the subsequent blockchains to buy NFTs to see if the value will increase and they can resell them. Essentially, most people consider NFTs to be an investment.
Artists look to create NFTs because it is a popular new platform that many people (such as Justin Bieber) look to invest in. Plus, NFTs have a feature that can be enabled that pays the artist a percentage every time the NFT is sold or changes hands, so they can be sure to benefit from the NFT if its value increases.