Announcements of pro-athletes entering into the non-fungible token (NFT) space have been storming in during the month of August including Cleveland Browns’ Odell Beckham Jr. and tennis player Naomi Osaka. Now, Stephen Curry is one of the latest to get his hands on an exclusive NFT.
According to Hypebeast, the basketball superstar purchased a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT for 55 ETH which equates to $180,000 USD.
When it comes to the discussion of highly sought-after NFTs, the Bored Ape Yacht Club is a part of the conversation with its limited collection of 10,000 Bored Ape digital collectibles on the ethereum (ETH) blockchain.
Hypebeast reported that the NFTs were initially selling for 0.68 ETH back in May. Now, they are 1,500 ETH ($4.8 million USD). Along with the increase of worth, Bored Ape Yacht Club shook up the market after 10,000 Mutant Apes NFTs were sold out in an hour on Aug. 28 — racking in $96 million.
According to Bored Ape Yacht Club’s website, Bored Apes are programmatically generated from over 170 possible traits. Out of the collection, Curry bought the Bored Ape #7990 NFT, which is rare, according to its profile. The Bored Ape #7990’s unique traits include blue fur, a brown tweed suit and green zombie eyes. Curry rung in the announcement of his new prized possession by changing his current Twitter profile image to Bored Ape #7990’s digital artwork.
This one hits home…@ayeshacurry & I are excited to announce the Curry Family Women’s Athletics Initiative aimed at helping close the inequity gap in women’s sports starting with @DavidsonCollege. It's on all of us to help female scholar-athletes keep shining. Let’s goooo Cats! pic.twitter.com/9AcX5Nubi2
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) August 26, 2021
The Bored Ape Yacht Club’s website also notes that — for its owners — the Bored Ape NFT serves as the club’s membership pass and grants exclusive access to members-only benefits such as The Bathroom — a collaborative graffiti board.
The Bored Ape Yacht Club launched in April and is founded by four friends “who set out to make some dope apes, test our skills, and try to build something (ridiculous),” its website states.