In 2022, American actor and comedian Kevin Hart joined a growing list of celebrities who were racing to become a part of the crypto phenomenon. He reportedly purchased a Bored Ape Yacht Club non-fungible token (NFT) for 79.5 ETH or $200,401 in a deal facilitated by MoonPay, a cryptocurrency marketplace.
Bored Ape Yacht Club launched in April 2021 as a collection of 10,000 unique ape NFTs that live on the Ethereum blockchain. In Hart’s NFT, an ape wears a rainbow headpiece and pinwheel. According to the company website, four friends founded the Bored Ape Yacht Club to “build something (ridiculous)” and make beautiful digital art.
In its inaugural year, the platform performed beyond expectations, becoming popular on the market and boasting a sales turnover of over $1 billion. However, in December 2022, the platform was hit with a class action lawsuit. The suit alleged that celebrities violated state and federal laws after promoting Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs. The suit had 37 co-defendants, including Hart, Stephen Curry, Snoop Dogg, Justin Bieber, Madonna, and more.
Yuga Labs, the company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, said the allegations were false. “In our view, these claims are opportunistic and parasitic,” a company spokesperson told Decrypt. “We strongly believe that they are without merit, and look forward to proving as much.”
On Monday, March 25, Hart sold his NFT for 13.65 ETH, which equates to $47,000 — significantly less than his original purchase of over $200,000, according to ZyCrypto. The outlet described the reported sale as an “81% discount,” meaning he made losses. Analysts are raising concerns about the long-term viability of the NFT market following Hart’s sale, the site added.
In September 2023, dappGambl analyzed over 73,000 NFT collections and stated that “the vast majority of NFTs are worthless.”
“Of the 73,257 NFT collections we identified, an eye-watering 69,795 of them have a market cap of 0 Ether (ETH),” it said. “This statistic effectively means that 95% of people holding NFT collections are currently holding onto worthless investments. Having looked into those figures, we would estimate that 95% to include over 23 million people whose investments are now worthless.”
Despite the loss, Hart remains one of the highest-earning entertainers in the world with a reported net worth of $450 million.
Born on July 6, 1979, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Hart started his career in comedy after performing at an amateur night at a Philadelphia-area club. He was also featured on ABC’s “The Big House” but his act did not resonate with his audiences leading to the cancellation of the show after six episodes.
Hart took inspiration from comedians like Chris Tucker among others. However, he reworked his act in order to get his career back on track. His career rebounded in 2006 when he released his first stand-up album “I’m a Little Grown Man.”
This cemented his career as one of the best emerging young comedians. His second album, “Seriously Funny”, was released in 2010 and proved to be even bigger. He released other series of comedies in 2011 and in 2013.
His success in comedy landed Hart several movie roles. He got movie recognition when he featured in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Soul Plane,” and “Little Fockers.” Since then, he has starred in several movies.
His success in comedy and movies also earned him a gig in event hosting. In 2012, he hosted the MTV Award show and other high-profile events. Other ventures by Hart include the launch of an underwear line with Tommy John. He also launched a comedy streaming service called Laugh Out Loud. The streaming service also includes a radio show.
He also came to have endorsement deals and/or partnerships with brands including Samsung, Wrangler, AT&T, and Mountain Dew. In 2019, he launched HartBeat Productions, which has more than 40 employers who manage Hart’s movie, television, comedy and radio productions.
