Steve Aoki told CoinDesk in August 2021 that NFTs would be “part of the culture” within five years. Almost exactly five years later, he is liquidating what remains of his cryptocurrency portfolio.
Data from Arkham Intelligence shows that Aoki’s wallet sold 1.785 billion SHIB for about $10,300 and exchanged 7.25 ETH for about $15,900 on Monday, diverting $29,650 in USDT to Gemini. Two weeks earlier, the same wallet sold 4.155 million 1-inch PEPE for $14,700. Smaller stablecoin moves, between $600 and $1,700 via MetaMask, filled the gaps between the larger outflows.
These sales are pocket change but the losses are not.
Aoki paid more than $800,000 for seven Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs during the 2021 boom, when he was one of the most visible celebrity advocates in the space.
Those seven apes are now worth approximately $13,800 each, or approximately $97,000 in total, an 88% decrease from their purchase price. He has not sold them, but at current minimum prices there is little left to recover.
At the height of the NFT mania, Aoki secured funding for “Dominion X,” an NFT TV show produced in collaboration with Seth Green’s Stoopid Buddy Stoodios.
The program sold 500 NFTs in 30 seconds on Nifty Gateway. Its manager told CoinDesk that the sale “barely covered” production costs, but demonstrated a market for “original IP on the blockchain.”
The program was never broadcast.
The NFT market in general confirms the pattern. Bored Ape’s floor prices have dropped from over $400,000 in early 2022 to under $14,000 today. The 2023-2025 bull market, which took Bitcoin to all-time highs above $126,000, largely bypassed NFTs entirely. Unlike previous cycles, capital has increasingly favored projects that demonstrate clear utility and portfolio value rather than purely narrative or speculative assets.
Aoki still has the seven apes. Everything else goes to Gemini.
