Blockstream CEO Adam Back says Justin Bieber’s $1.3 million Bored Ape NFT is worth nothing, or even less. However, he insists Bitcoin faces no such fate.
Back is a cryptographer whose Hashcash system the Bitcoin white paper cites. He was replying to a crypto influencer who valued the token at about $16,300.
How Much Is Justin Bieber’s Bored Ape NFT Worth Now?
Bieber bought his Bored Ape NFT, #3001, for 500 ETH in January 2022. At the time, that sum equaled roughly $1.3 million. However, the token carried no rare traits, so critics questioned the price even then.
Today, the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) floor sits near 6.25 ETH, or about $16,600. That still leaves the singer roughly 99% below his entry. By comparison, the collection’s floor peaked at 153.7 ETH in May 2022.
Bieber was far from alone. Stars such as NBA player Stephen Curry also bought apes during that hype cycle.
The wider sector has struggled too. In June, NFT valuations slid toward record market cap lows as Ethereum (ETH) dropped. Meanwhile, Nike closed its NFT studio late last year.
Adam Back Separates Bitcoin From Collectibles
Back’s first reply simply corrected the ape’s value to “worth $0.” Another user then argued the figure should be negative. After all, moving an NFT costs gas, the fee Ethereum charges for transactions. Back agreed the point was technically true, since an owner would have to pay to dump the token.
Separately, a user asked whether Bitcoin was heading to zero as well. Back answered that his verdict covered the Bored Ape NFT and similar collectibles, not Bitcoin.
Back rarely softens his views. In August, he argued that Satoshi’s early forum posts settle nothing on scaling.
He also backs his convictions with money. In September, he put €7.6 million into Capital B’s Bitcoin treasury. The Paris-listed company stockpiles the asset.
Still Bieber’s Bored Ape NFT could also fetch a premium thanks to its famous owner. Whether a buyer would pay that premium, though, is another question.