Bored Ape sold for 83% less than what Kevin Hart paid

Bored Ape Yacht Club #9258, once owned by American comedian Kevin Hart, was traded for around 13.26 ether ($46,200) earlier today on Blur, a non-fungible token exchange, after changing hands multiple times over the weekend. It was sold at a significantly lower price than what Hart paid for it over two years ago, according to the platform’s trading page. 

Hart purchased the Bored Ape, seen wearing a colorful propeller hat, in January 2022 for 79.5 ether, worth over $200,000 at the time, according to Blur data.

Hart’s 2022 purchase was made with the help of crypto startup firm MoonPay. The company reportedly assisted other celebrities in acquiring BAYC NFTs in exchange for promotional activities for MoonPay — sometimes without charge. The list of celebrities includes Justin Bieber, Madonna and Jimmy Fallon, but MoonPay denied giving out Bored Ape NFTs for free.

In December 2022, MoonPay, Bored Ape maker Yuga Labs, Hart and dozens of celebrities were caught in a class-action lawsuit from Scott + Scott, a California-based law firm, for allegedly pushing a scheme of undisclosed celebrity endorsements. Last summer, the lawsuit was updated to include auction house Sotheby’s on the list of defendants.

Since its launch in 2021, the Bored Ape Yacht Club has become a symbol of the nonfungible token market. However, the NFT collection has seen a gradual decline in floor price — the value of the cheapest available NFT in a collection — which peaked at over 150 ether in May 2022 but fell to around 14 ether on March 23, according to CoinGecko data.