Madonna joins Metaverse with $560,000 Bored Ape NFT purchase

Iconic singer/songwriter and actress Madonna joined the proud ranks of “ape holders” today, flaunting on Instagram a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible token (NFT) she purchased for about $560,000 via fintech firm MoonPay.

“I finally entered the MetaVerse…My very own Ape! What should I name her? Thanks @moonpay,” Madonna wrote on her Instagram. “We all need protection from Evil Eye.”

According to NFT marketplace OpenSea’s records, MoonPay bought Madonna’s new token—BAYC #4988—for 180 Ethereum (roughly $564,660 at press time). Prior to that, the ape last changed hands for 46.5 Ethereum in August—worth about $155,000.

Notably, rumors that Madonna is pondering a BAYC purchase have been flying around since at least January. At the time, BAYC holder Lindsey Byrnes tweeted at Madonna, pointing out similarities between the looks of her ape and the singer’s “Justify my love” album cover.

Two weeks later, Madonna replied: “Ape well chosen. Now what?”

@LindseyByrnes I’m glad you saved it for me.
Ape well chosen. Now what?

— Madonna (@Madonna) January 17, 2022

Additionally, Madonna and BAYC actually have the same manager—Guy Oseary—so it wasn’t really unexpected for the musician to cross paths with premium NFT apes sooner or later.

Simultaneously, MoonPay also transferred another ape—BAYC #1506—to an unknown address on Thursday. Soon after, rapper Wiz Khalifa uploaded the “jpeg” as his Twitter avatar.

Smoke 1 with me!! Just dropped my first ever $APE Coin mixtape on the block chain with Unc @SnoopDogg ??

▶️ https://t.co/tUItOCCIhT

— Wiz Khalifa (@wizkhalifa) March 24, 2022

As CryptoSlate reported, BAYC tokens are becoming increasingly popular among mainstream celebrities. In early January, for example, famous rapper Eminem also “joined the ape club” with a $450,000 NFT purchase.