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NFT bull Steve Aoki sells his SHIB, ETH, and PEPE. His Bored Apes are down 88%.
The DJ who told CoinDesk in 2021 that NFTs would be “part of culture” within five years is quietly exiting crypto.
Apr 14, 2026, 6:39 a.m.
What to know:
- Nearly five years after predicting NFTs would become part of mainstream culture, DJ and producer Steve Aoki is liquidating most of his crypto holdings and moving funds to Gemini.
- Aoki’s remaining seven Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, purchased for more than $800,000 during the 2021 boom, are now worth about $97,000 in total, reflecting an 88% decline in value.
- His NFT-backed TV project “Dominion X” briefly sold out but failed to reach broadcast, mirroring a broader NFT market slump in which Bored Ape prices have collapsed and recent crypto bull markets have largely bypassed NFTs.
These sales are pocket change but the losses are not.
Aoki paid over $800,000 for seven Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs during the 2021 boom when he was one of the most visible celebrity advocates for the space.
Those seven Apes are now worth approximately $13,800 each, or roughly $97,000 total, an 88% decline from his purchase price. He has not sold them, but at current floor prices there is little left to recover.
At the peak of the NFT mania, Aoki secured financing for “Dominion X,” an NFT TV show produced in collaboration with Seth Green’s Stoopid Buddy Stoodios.
