Justin Bieber’s $1.3M NFT Now Worth Nearly Nothing, Blockstream CEO Says

Justin Bieber's Bored Ape NFT cost him $1.3 million in January 2022. Now, Blockstream CEO Adam Back says it's worthless, according to Coin Edition. The current price is around $16,300, 99% less than what the singer paid.

Back spoke up after seeing a social media post that tried to value the NFT at today's market price. He sided with another user who claimed the portfolio might actually hold negative value because gas fees would cost money just to move it. "You have to pay to get rid of it," Back said.

Bieber bought Bored Ape Yacht Club #3001 for 500 ETH when the NFT market was red-hot. Critics slammed the purchase price since the token lacked rare traits or standout features. Many called it a floor-tier piece.

Back thinks that profile picture NFTs have no worth as an asset class. He separated them from Bitcoin, brushing off Bored Apes and similar collections as silliness. Bitcoin is a decentralized monetary asset, he argued, while NFTs are just collectibles that lack utility or monetary properties. The Blockstream CEO is a cryptographer whose Hashcash system appears in the Bitcoin white paper. 

Justin Bieber wasn't the only one who bought NFTs during the 2022 craze. NBA player Stephen Curry and other stars also acquired apes. Since then, values in the sector have plunged. In June, NFT valuations slid toward record lows as Ethereum dropped. Nike shut down its NFT studio late last year.

Automated trackers might estimate a floor price around $16,000, but that number is theoretical. A real buyer has to pay it in the current market for it to mean anything. Back's stance suggests that the token has become illiquid and worthless now that the hype has died down.