Back in August 2021, Steve Aoki claimed that NFTs would become part of mainstream culture within five years. Today, the situation looks very different: the musician is selling off the remaining assets in his crypto portfolio.
According to CoinDesk, on Monday the wallet of DJ and music producer Steve Aoki sold 1.785 billion SHIB for around $10,300 and swapped 7.25 ETH for approximately $15,900. After that, $29,650 in USDT was sent to Gemini. Two weeks earlier, the same wallet sold 4.155 billion PEPE via 1inch for $14,700. Between these larger transactions, smaller stablecoin transfers ranging from $600 to $1,700 were also made through MetaMask.
For Aoki, these sales may not be significant, but the losses are far more notable. During the 2021 boom, he spent over $800,000 on seven Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs and was one of the most visible celebrity supporters of the market.
Market stagnation
Today, each of those seven tokens is worth about $13,800, with a total value of roughly $97,000. That represents an approximately 88% decline from the purchase price. Aoki has not sold these NFTs yet, but at current floor prices, recovering a significant portion of the investment is nearly impossible.
At the peak of the NFT frenzy, Aoki also secured funding for Dominion X — an NFT-based show created in collaboration with Seth Green’s Stoopid Buddy Stoodios.
At launch, the project sold 500 NFTs in just 30 seconds on Nifty Gateway. At the time, Aoki’s manager said the sale barely covered production costs but demonstrated market interest in original intellectual property on the blockchain. However, the show never made it to broadcast.
The broader NFT market reflects the same trend. The Bored Ape floor price has dropped from over $400,000 in early 2022 to under $14,000 today. The 2023–2025 bull cycle, during which Bitcoin reached a new all-time high above $126,000, largely bypassed NFTs. Unlike previous cycles, capital increasingly flowed into projects with clear utility and real investment value, rather than assets driven purely by hype and speculation.
From hype to apathy
The NFT boom began in 2020 and peaked in 2021–early 2022. High-profile digital art sales were the main driver: for example, Beeple’s work sold for $69 million at Christie’s, while collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks became symbols of a new kind of digital status. NFTs were not limited to images — they were used for access to communities, games, music, and even metaverse projects. Celebrities, brands, and investors активно entered the space, further fueling demand.
However, by the second half of 2022, the market began to cool. Prices for major collections declined, trading volumes dropped, and many projects lost momentum. For example, NFT marketplace OpenSea shifted its strategy entirely. By 2023–2024, it became clear that mainstream interest in NFTs had faded: the market no longer moved in tandem with cryptocurrencies, and the 2023–2025 bull run barely affected the segment. Investors turned their attention to more practical sectors such as DeFi and infrastructure, while NFTs largely became a niche инструмент.
It is also worth noting that Nifty Gateway, an NFT platform owned by Gemini, shut down on February 23, 2026.
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