This week, Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) made headlines when Bored Ape#1734sold for $1.2 million. The recent NFT market downturn has caused projects like Bored Ape Yacht Club to plummet in value, with the lowest price hitting a 20-month low, which has also sparked concerns about Apecoin (APE).
The price of the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT fluctuated in late June. In addition to Azuki causing the market to crash, Huang Licheng (also known as Machi Big Brother) initiated a series of sales of Bored Ape and subsequently purchased multiple NFTs of the series.
According to data from the NFT marketplace Blur, Huang Licheng sold more than 50 Bored Apes in a few days.
On June 24 alone, Huang Licheng sold 19 Bored Monkeys at one time for 651 ETH, which is equivalent to about $1.2 million based on the current exchange rate.
Although Boring Ape Yacht Club is considered one of the leading NFT series, due to Huang Licheng's continuous selling behavior, Boring Ape's lowest price fell to its lowest point since November 2021.
In comparison, the reserve price of the Bored Ape NFT peaked at approximately 152 ETH in April 2022.
According to data from NFT Price Floor, the recent reserve price of this so-called "blue chip" NFT has dropped to about 35 ETH, equivalent to $65,000.
But now, the market is turning around again. On OpenSea, the floor price for the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection has risen by 8% to around 35 ETH, a considerable improvement from 32 ETH a week ago. However, challenges remain. Both sales and trading volumes have taken a major hit, plummeting 91% and 92% respectively from their all-time highs. While the surge in floor prices is encouraging, the lack of trading activity raises questions about the future of the market.
DappRadar data paints a more optimistic picture, with Bored Ape Yacht Club leading the NFT series of the week, with average price soaring 80% and market value rising nearly 5%, suggesting growing investor interest. Trading volume also soared by more than 82%. Record-breaking sales of Bored Ape#1734in the past 30 days have boosted the series' status, raising hopes for a positive trend.
On July 7, an NFT transaction briefly attracted the attention of the crypto world. Although the NFT was sold at a high price of 200 ETH (about $372,000), the crypto community was left with only sighs.
The protagonist of this transaction comes from the most prestigious Bored Ape series in the NFT field. The "monkey" numbered BAYC#3953has cream-colored fur, protruding eyes, and a small piece of pizza in its mouth. Among the total of 10,000 Bored Ape NFTs, this "monkey" is highly recognizable and is ranked second rarest on the NFT rarity ranking website Rarity Sniper.
The transaction of this top-quality Bored Ape occurred during the most depressed period of the NFT market. Therefore, many NFT veterans added the prefix "For Sale Only" before the price of 200 ETH, which clearly implies a discount promotion. Compared with the price of Bored Ape at its peak, this transaction price is indeed just a fraction. At a Sotheby's auction in 2021, BAYC #8817, ranked 16th in rarity, was sold for a sky-high price of US$3.4 million.
Bored Ape is experiencing the biggest tearful sale in history. In the past June, singer Huang Licheng sold at least 74 BAYC NFTs. According to the on-chain tracking tool Nansen, many long-term BAYC holders have sold their NFTs, and 39 addresses have held BAYC for more than a year, indicating that BAYC's loyal fans are leaving the market one after another.
The overall floor price of the Bored Ape NFT series has also been falling. Last week, the floor price of BAYC once fell below 30 ETH. On July 11, the floor price of the NFT rebounded to 33 ETH, equivalent to about 62,000 US dollars. Although this price is still expensive for ordinary people, on April 30, 2022, the floor price of BAYC once reached a peak of 153.7 ETH. At that time, the cheapest Bored Ape cost 430,000 US dollars, about 3 million yuan.
With the bursting of the NFT market bubble, Bored Ape fell from the altar of nobility, and its market value also dropped from a luxury house to a low-end BMW 5 Series, with a price drop of more than 85%.
The huge drop has caused big investors who once bought the Bored Ape at high prices to suffer heavy losses. An NFT collector posted a message on WeChat Moments calling himself a "big loser". He posted a picture of the Bored Ape he held and said, "I bought it for 118 ETH. Let's see when it drops to 18 ETH."
The more eye-catching losses are due to a number of celebrities and commercial brands. In the heyday of Bored Ape, it was sought after by many big names at home and abroad. Basketball stars Curry and O'Neal, famous singers Justin Bieber, Jay Chou, JJ Lin, etc. have all posted their Bored Ape NFTs.
In January 2022, Justin Bieber bought BAY#3001for about $1.29 million. Today, the highest bid for this NFT on OpenSea is only $61,000, which means that its floating loss exceeds $1.2 million. In May 2022, Cai Wensheng, chairman of Meitu Group, announced that he bought BAYC#8848for about $560,000. Its current highest bid is only $61,000. In addition, China Li Ning once bought BAY#4102for 120 ETH (about $356,000), and Greenland Group bought BAY#8302for 140 ETH. The current value has shrunk by more than 80%.
As the leader of NFT, the price of Bored Ape continues to fall, which is a microcosm of the NFT market entering its darkest moment. According to data from NFTGO, the total market value of the NFT market has fallen from $29.3 billion at its peak to $6.05 billion today, a drop of 79.35%. In the past month, 44.5 million NFT trading users have lost money, and only 46,000 have made money.
More than a year ago, BAYC was still the darling of the fashion industry, and celebrities such as Curry and Justin Bieber bought it. To date, the floor price of this series of NFTs has fallen by more than 85% from its high point, and celebrities and big investors have been "taken advantage of".
Although YugaLabs, the label behind Boring Ape, claims to be the most capable NFT issuer, it cannot change the downward trend whether it is making games or creating the metaverse.
The overall NFT market is also in a depression, with the total market value falling from US$29.3 billion at its peak to US$6.05 billion today, a drop of 79.35%, which is really regrettable.