As NFT prices hit a critical juncture, the pitchforks and flaming torches began to emerge as hapless traders sought to pin the blame. The last crusade, a lawsuit aimed at Sotheby’s auction house and army of celebrities who have ever endorsed BAYC NFTs.
Sotheby’s has drawn the ire of 4 Bored Ape Yacht Club collectors, who accuse the auction house of misleading marketing tactics surrounding a $24 million BAYC sale in September 2021. At the time, a single, unnamed collector bought more than 100 of the Bored Ape NFTs for the princely sum. An act that, according to the plaintiffs, artificially inflated the value of the collectibles and misrepresented their true value.
In the lawsuit, the 4 collectors said they believe Sotheby’s colluded with Yuga Labs, BAYC’s parent company, to create the impression of mainstream adoption. This comes in addition to allegations against payment company Moonpay for covertly orchestrating celebrities. All in all, more than 30 companies and individuals have been added as defendants to the case, from the aforementioned Sotheby’s and Moonpay to celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Justin Bieber and the sportswear brand Adidas.
Bored Ape Yacht Club prices continue to fall
The crux of the matter lies in the massive drop in value of items within the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection. In May 2022, the cheapest available on the market came in at an eye-watering $400,000. However, the ongoing bear market has put the brakes on associated token prices, and opportunistic traders have soured daily trading, and that figure has now shrunk to around $50,000.
So while those looking to make a lot of money trading high value assets, many have suffered big losses instead, and now people are starting to question what got them there in the first place.
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*All NFT Plazas investment/financial opinions are derived from the personal research and experience of our site moderators and are intended as educational material only. Individuals are required to fully research each product before making any kind of investment.