Canadian pop star Justin Bieber has forked over a reported $1.6 million for a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT.
Bieber shared his ape in an Instagram post caption with slightly altered lyrics from his 2020 hit “Lonely.”
He wrote: “What if you had it all, but nobody to call, maybe then you’d know me. Cuz I’ve had everything but noones listening and that’s just f**kin lonely.”
According to Bitcoin.com, Bieber spent 500 ethereum – the equivalent of $1.29 million U.S. at the time of settlement. He has not disclosed the purchased price.
The 27-year-old singer reportedly paid 300 percent over the market price for BAYC #3001, which had a value of about $265,000.
The BAYC NFT is only the latest addition to Bieber’s collection of more than 600 NFTs. Eminem and Travis Barker are among the music stars who have bought BAYC NFTs.
NFTs are non-fungible tokens, a non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a blockchain.
It’s not the first time Bieber has dabbled in primate ownership. He once had a pet capuchin monkey named OG Mally. It was seized by German custom officials in 2013 and eventually placed in the Serengeti Park in Copenhagen, Denmark.