Justin Bieber paid $1.3 million for his NFT in 2022 and its value has now plummeted to a sickening amount

If you had an NFT not long ago, you had one of the hottest things in the world of tech, with celebrities and collectors spending millions of dollars on digital artwork, like Justin Bieber and Paris Hilton.

The What Do You Mean? singer jumped on the trend, paying a staggering amount for a cartoon ape in January 2022.

But the market has changed dramatically since then, leaving some once-coveted digital collectibles worth only a tiny fraction of their original price.

And Bieber’s purchase is one of the most eye-catching examples of how quickly things can go wrong when an investment loses its hype.

Justin Bieber had a $1.3 million NFT that has lost almost all its value

Bieber spent 500 Ethereum, a now almost forgotten cryptocurrency, worth around $1.3 million at the time, on Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT #3001 in January 2022.

The artwork features a cartoon ape and was part of a collection that became a status symbol among celebrities, crypto enthusiasts and wealthy collectors.

However, not all Bored Apes were created equal, and Bieber’s example lacked the rare visual traits that could make other NFTs in the collection particularly desirable, with some observers questioning the price he paid even at the time.

By February 2026, Decrypt estimated the NFT’s value at around $12,000 based on comparable Bored Apes.

That’s a potential drop of more than 99 percent compared with its original purchase price.

The exact amount Justin Bieber could get for his individual NFT remains uncertain, as collection floor prices don’t necessarily reflect what a specific piece will sell for.

Still, the contrast is staggering, because an asset that once cost more than many luxury supercars is now estimated to be worth a fraction of its original price.

These are some of the most expensive NFTs ever sold

Bieber’s purchase was eye-watering, but it wasn’t the only digital asset to command an extraordinary price during the NFT boom.

Here are three other sales that show just how much money collectors were willing to spend.

1. The Merge - $91.8 million

Created by digital artist Pak, The Merge generated around $91.8 million in sales in December 2021.

It was sold in units to thousands of buyers, rather than being a single artwork purchased by one collector, so its total sales figure isn’t directly comparable with Bieber’s NFT.

2. Everydays: The First 5000 Days - $69.3 million

Artist Beeple made history when this digital collage sold at Christie’s in March 2021 for approximately $69.3 million.

The work combined 5,000 images created over more than 13 years, helping bring NFTs into the mainstream art world.

3. Clock - $52.7 million

Pak’s Clock sold for approximately $52.7 million in February 2022.

The digital artwork features a counter tracking Julian Assange’s time in prison and was acquired by AssangeDAO, a collective that raised funds to support the WikiLeaks founder.

The NFT craze has taken a serious hit

During the boom, owning a Bored Ape could be a way to show off wealth, join an exclusive online community or speculate on the next big thing in digital art.

But the market’s subsequent decline has shown that a famous name or a hefty original price tag doesn’t guarantee an NFT will hold its value.

In September 2026, reporting on comments from Blockstream CEO Adam Back described Bieber’s NFT as effectively worthless.

The wider Bored Ape collection still had a reported floor price, however, meaning the claim shouldn’t be treated as a confirmed valuation of Bieber’s specific token.

For anyone who paid millions for digital collectibles at the height of the hype, the downturn has been a harsh lesson in how quickly market sentiment can change.

And Justin Bieber and his $1.3 million ape remains one of the clearest examples of just how expensive that lesson can be.