Celebrity-endorsed NFT ownership functioned as conspicuous status display in 2021.

Evidence

NFTs hit the mainstream in mid-2021 as Bored Ape Yacht Club profile pics were snapped up as status symbols. A founder of the avatar project Pudgy Penguins admitted, “The way I describe it to my family members and friends is like, people buy Supreme clothes, or they buy a Rolex.” BAYC’s creators Yuga Labs worked with Madonna’s agent to build the brand through celebrity endorsements. Steph Curry paid 180,000 for Bored Ape #7990, and Justin Bieber owned one worth 1.3 million. The phenomenon spread globally to consumer goods, spawning BAYC-themed products like Ape Water and branding a coconut distributor in Thailand. Universal Music even signed the virtual band Kingship, composed of three Bored Apes and one Mutant Ape. The cultural peak of BAYC came in January 2022, when Paris Hilton and Jimmy Fallon showcased their apes on The Tonight Show in an awkward, infomercial-like exchange. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 732

Categorization

• CANDY: Steph Curry’s 180,000 ape, Justin Bieber's 1.3 million ape, Universal signing a band of Bored Apes — crisp, tweetable absurdity of the bubble.