Sotheby's Auction Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT
Sotheby’s will hold a high-profile auction on June 18 of an Ethereum NFT from Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape Yacht Club collection. The sale will be an important opportunity to test the staying power of these monkey-themed digital assets in the art market.
The highlight of the auction is an NFT avatar wearing a leather work vest and a "sushi chef headband" numbered Ape #8552. In addition to possessing the rare attribute of a golden retriever coat, this NFT is also attracting attention because of the story of its previous owner’s bankruptcy. The previous owner was the once-famous cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), which went bankrupt amid the market turmoil in 2022.
Image source: OpenSea Ape #8552
Rare digital artworks gathered together
In addition to Ape #8552, the auction also includes two golden retriever NFTs from Yuga’s Mutant Ape Yacht Club collection, and a dog NFT from the Bored Ape Kennel Club collection. The character and rarity of these digital artworks add significant value to them.
According to NFT Price Floor, the cheapest Bored Ape on the secondary market currently sells for about $48,000. And out of 10,000 Bored Ape, only 46 have golden retriever characteristics. The most recent sale of Golden Retriever Bored Ape reached a price of $933,000 or 247 $ETH, showing the high value of this feature in the market.
Of the on-chain transactions tracked on OpenSea, 9 of the 12 highest-priced Bored Ape transactions involved the Golden Retriever trait. This feature also helped Sotheby's set records. In 2021, Sotheby's brokered a $3,400,000 sale for a Golden Retriever Bored Ape.
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Digital Relics of 2021
Michael Bouhanna, head of Sotheby’s digital art and NFT department, described the Bored Ape auctioned on X as “a relic of 2021.” At the same time, NFT researcher Punk9059 also pointed out on
Image source: X Michael Bouhanna, head of Sotheby’s digital art and NFT department, described the Bored Ape auctioned on X as a “relic of 2021.”
The Mutant Ape series was launched in August 2021 as a derivative financial product series of Bored Ape. Bored Ape holders can mutate their existing Ape using the “Mutant Serum” NFT, or purchase from the 10,000 additional Mutant Ape issued by Yuga.
While ultra-rare Bored Ape can still fetch high prices, the price of regular Bored Ape has dropped significantly since peaking at nearly $430,000 in April 2022. Over the past year, its lowest price has fallen from $84,250 (46 $ETH) to $47,500 (12.6 $ETH), in stark contrast to the rise in Ethereum’s price.
Sotheby's also caused a stir last year when it auctioned off digital art owned by 3AC. At that time, Ringers #879, a generative art piece titled "The Goose," sold for $6,200,000, including auction house fees.
Image source: OpenSea Ringers #879
This auction is not only another test of the NFT market, but also a re-examination of the status of digital art in the traditional art market. As the cryptocurrency market fluctuates and digital art continues to evolve, this auction will provide investors and collectors with valuable market guidance. Whether NFT can really maintain long-term vitality in the art market, this auction may provide the answer.
