- The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs, facilitated by MoonPay, have been embroiled in a scandal involving celebrity endorsements and artificial inflation of NFT prices.
- Celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Jimmy Fallon were seen endorsing MoonPay on ‘The Tonight Show,’ which coincided with a surge in Bored Ape NFT purchases and a possible conflict of interest due to Hilton’s investment in MoonPay.
- MoonPay has spent at least $25 million on NFTs since 2021, with about $15 million spent specifically on Bored Apes, strengthening the link between the company and the Bored Ape hype.
The world of digital arts and cryptocurrencies has become increasingly intertwined. This intersection is nowhere more evident than in the meteoric rise of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Beneath the surface of this glitzy industry hides a legal scandal and a whirlwind of accusations involving celebrity endorsements, artificial inflation of NFT prices, and MoonPay, a crypto payments company.
The “Ape” Craze and MoonPay’s Role
In the spring of 2021, Yuga Labs, an anonymous group of developers, released the Bored Ape Yacht Club, a collection of 10,000 cartoon ape NFTs. This unique set of digital art quickly became a status symbol, attracting numerous celebrities like Hilton, Fallon, and many others. However, a class-action lawsuit filed in December 2022 alleges that the celebrity endorsement was part of a “vast scheme” to inflate the prices of the Bored Apes artificially, resulting in a substantial financial windfall for MoonPay, Yuga Labs, and the celebrities themselves.
At the core of this controversy is MoonPay, a crypto payments company that enables customers to purchase crypto through significant payment systems. When Fallon introduced NFTs to his audience, he specifically named MoonPay the platform he used for his first NFT purchase. Likewise, Hilton mentioned using MoonPay after Fallon’s recommendation, creating a perfect circle of celebrity endorsement. However, things got murkier when it was revealed that Hilton had invested in MoonPay after her endorsement on “The Tonight Show.”
Unmasking the MoonPay-Bored Ape Connection
MoonPay’s ties to the Bored Ape scandal deepen as independent journalists, Coffeezilla and Dirty Bubble Media, scrutinized blockchain records. They uncovered significant transactions preceding major celebrity ape purchases, suggesting that the celebrity interest in Bored Apes may not be as genuine as it appears. For instance, Justin Bieber received Ethereum worth about $2.5 million hours before purchasing an ape for $1.3 million. Such transactions have led to speculations about whether MoonPay is providing celebrities with crypto to buy the apes or even gifting the NFTs to celebrities.
An examination of MoonPay’s blockchain records reveals that the company has spent at least $25 million on NFTs since 2021, with about $15 million explicitly spent on Bored Apes. The connection between MoonPay and the Bored Apes becomes even more apparent as celebrities who have obtained the apes have often thanked MoonPay on social media.
A Lawsuit and Beyond The Implications of the Scandal
The celebrity hype, MoonPay’s involvement, and the ensuing lawsuit have spotlighted the crypto industry’s dark underbelly, raising questions about its authenticity and accountability. The class-action lawsuit alleges that the celebrity endorsements were part of a conspiracy to inflate the Bored Apes’ prices artificially.
MoonPay, Hilton, and Fallon have not yet publicly responded to these allegations. However, the controversy signals a turning point for the NFT market, raising concerns about regulation and the potential manipulation of prices. The scandal offers a sobering reminder that in the shiny new world of NFTs, not everything that glitters is gold.
