This is a rude awakening for certain precursors of NFTs, non-fungible tokens or non-fungible tokens. At the start of 2022, a digital wave is taking over the planet. For some influencers, owning a pixelated drawing of a monkey or penguin becomes a must, a purchase that is both performative and serves as an investment. Today, in February 2026, the time of reckoning has come and the bill is steep for the celebrities who thought they had found the goose that laid the golden eggs on the blockchain.
The most striking example is that of the Canadian star Justin Bieber. The singer had paid 1.3 million dollars (approximately 1.1 million euros) to acquire the Bored Ape #3001a drawing of a visibly dejected primate. An investment which, in hindsight, seems almost prophetic as the character’s appearance now reflects the state of its owner’s finances in this sector. The jaded monkey has indeed lost almost all of its value.
According to the latest figures published by Futurism, this asset would today be worth only 12,000 dollars (approximately 10,115 euros). In the space of four years, the American star saw more than 99% of his initial investment evaporate. “A questionable expenditure of money that turned into a hilarious investment of mediocrity”notes a report from Benzinga.
The Yuga Labs Shipwreck
Justin Bieber is far from the only one to have invested in this way. Brothers Jake and Logan Paul – in turn YouTubers, influencers and boxers – are the best example. Logan also holds one of the most symbolic records of this catastrophic epic. The value of his NFT from the 0N1 Force collection, purchased for $623,000 (approximately 525,500 euros), has also collapsed. “It’s a costly lesson.”, recognizes the one whose token would now be worth only around ten dollars.
The chasm is deeper for Yuga Labs, the parent company of Bored Apes. Despite a legal victory in March 2025, when the US Securities and Exchange Commission finally concluded that its assets were not unregistered financial securities, public interest never returned. The company has continued waves of layoffs, with its co-founder Greg Solano admitting in April 2024 that the structure had become “lost along the way”.
However, Yuga Labs refuses to admit defeat. The firm is attempting a last-ditch maneuver by opening a physical clubhouse in Miami, hoping to transform its devalued pixels into a concrete experience. However, it is difficult to see such an artificial and fleeting craze regaining momentum.
Jaded monkey owners, once proud to display their avatars as profile pictures, have discreetly replaced their monkeys with images generated by artificial intelligence, the new toy of a Silicon Valley which already seems to have turned the page.
