Justin Bieber's Latest Expensive Purchase Has Everyone Saying The Same Thing
In case you haven't been paying attention, celebrities are going gaga over non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. They're essentially tokens that prove your right to ownership over a digital item, like a painting or a video. Before the technology had taken off, only a subset of crypto enthusiasts were interested in it, but celebrity involvement has taken NFTs to new heights.
For instance, the ever-famous football player Lionel Messi launched an NFT collection featuring digital art pieces and reportedly earned millions on the first day of launch. Rapper Snoop Dogg also broke into the space with a collection called "A Journey with the Dogg," which is comprised of his memories from his early years, along with an original track and a new cryptocurrency. "I've seen the game change over the years from analog to digital and I'm always happier when the technology lets the fans get to connect with the artists," he said in a press release at the time, calling NFTs "an amazing innovation" and opining that the collaboration was "an honor." Even the biggest boyband in the world, BTS, is reported to introduce their own NFTs in the future.
On top of launching NFT collections left and right, many celebrities have also invested in them, with one of them being Justin Bieber. The "Peaches" singer has quite the collection of NFTs, especially of the inBetweeners, but his recent investment earned ridicule from all over the internet.
Justin Bieber's Bored Ape purchase has the internet reeling
Justin Bieber can be considered experienced when it comes to investing in NFTs, with his collection boasting 619 different NFTs worth $285 million combined. Still, his recent purchase sent the internet into a frenzy, with fans saying how he overpaid for a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT.
On Monday, January 31, the "Holy" singer reportedly bought a Bored Ape NFT for 500 Ethereum, which is equivalent to $1.3 million or 300 percent more than its market price. He celebrated the purchase by sharing a photo of the BAYC #3001 on Instagram, along with lyrics to his song, "Lonely." According to Bitcoin News, BAYC's price prior to the purchase was $208,237, meaning Bieber acquired the NFT for a lot more than what it's really presumed to be worth — and now, the internet is mocking him for it. "Justin Bieber really paid 5x the Bored Ape floor price for an ape with no rare traits," one person tweeted. "So Justin Bieber is an idiot. Like wtf this ain't worth 500eth," said another.
Bieber has yet to make a comment about his purchase, but one fan said that it may well be a deliberate choice. "The serial is his home address, the ape is on brand, he makes that in literally a day, and Veblen goods are priced in round/meme numbers," they wrote. "It's not worth it to *you*." Maybe it is worth it to Bieber after all.