NFT Market Downturn: Bored Ape Yacht Club Drops Dramatically in Value

Updated: 04 July 2023

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The Bored Ape Yacht Club, a popular name in the non-fungible token (NFT) space, has seen a precipitous fall in value, generating widespread concern among collectors and investors. As a “blue chip” project in the realm of digital assets, Bored Ape Yacht Club became a household name in the year 2021 and the early part of 2022. The project’s tremendous popularity has made its dramatic downturn all the more alarming.

During the frenzy that gripped the digital asset markets in 2021 and early 2022, Bored Ape Yacht Club rose to prominence as a symbol of the power and potential of NFTs. Linked to Ethereum NFTs and propelled by the development of Yuga Labs’ Otherside game, Bored Apes quickly became a fascination for mainstream audiences, from tech enthusiasts to celebrities. At its zenith in April 2022, the floor price of these NFTs soared to a remarkable 152 ETH or $429,000.

However, the subsequent period witnessed a considerable cooling down of the NFT market. As the market lost steam, the value of Bored Apes began to plummet, mirroring their rapid rise. The degree of decline has been startling, with these NFTs now trading at a low not seen in nearly two years.

This past Sunday marked a new low for Bored Ape NFTs, with the floor price dropping to roughly $52,000 worth of Ethereum, or about 27 ETH, according to data from NFT Price Floor. While the price has since rallied slightly to about $55,000 (approximately 28.5 ETH), it still indicates a significant dip of 20% in terms of USD value over the previous week.

Looking at the bigger picture, this dip signifies an almost 88% decrease from the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s peak in April 2022 when calculated in USD. Even when assessed in terms of Ethereum, the decline is a staggering 82%. The current state of affairs marks the lowest floor price for Bored Apes since August 2021, which is nearly two years back.

The impact of the NFT market’s downturn isn’t exclusive to the Bored Apes. Other NFT projects, especially those dealing in profile pictures (PFPs) and collectibles, are also feeling the pinch. Azuki, another big project, suffered a major setback following last week’s launch of Azuki Elementals, which featured nearly identical artwork for its follow-up collection, causing much disappointment and disgruntlement among collectors.

Adding to the problems, the Mutant Ape Yacht Club, a sequel to the Bored Ape Yacht Club from Yuga Labs, experienced a 32% drop in its floor price within a week. The situation worsened on Sunday when it dipped to just over 4.7 ETH or approximately $9,100. This dip represents the lowest USD value for the Mutant Ape Yacht Club since its launch in 2021.

CryptoPunks Has Maintained Value Amind the Turmoil

Interestingly, Yuga Labs, the creator behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, also owns CryptoPunks, one of the first significant examples of NFTs. Despite the market turmoil, CryptoPunks has managed to maintain relative stability. Known for its cultural importance to the Web3 space, CryptoPunks experienced a relatively modest drop of 14% over the past week, bringing its floor price to 43 ETH.

Several well-known collections haven’t been spared from the recent market difficulties either. Moonbirds, Meebits, and Nakamigos have all seen their floor prices drop by over 35% in ETH within the last month. Meanwhile, other collections such as DeGods, Doodles, and Milady Maker NFTs have fared somewhat better, with their floor prices falling around 20% in ETH.

The sharp decrease in the value of major NFT collections has coincided with an increase in trading volumes on leading marketplaces like Blur and OpenSea. Blur, which encourages traders to flip NFTs with similar frequency and ease as trading cryptocurrencies, has seen trading volumes three times higher than OpenSea, clocking at $54 million and $194 million respectively.

Teng Yan, the Head of NFT Research at Delphi Digital, has voiced his opinion on the recent wave of NFT “panic selling.” He asserts that traders on Blur, incentivized by frequent trading, have only added to the intensity of the sell-off. As this chill spreads across the NFT market, it remains to be seen how and when the market will recover from this downturn.