In MoonPay’s recent funding round, celebrities from the worlds of music, sports, and entertainment backed the crypto firm with hefty investments. According to Independent, 60 stars including rappers Snoop Dogg and Drake participated in a whopping $87 million raise for the Miami-based firm. Fellow investors also included Justin Bieber, Jason Derulo, Questlove, Gwyneth Paltrow, and more. The announcement follows MoonPay’s $555 million round — bringing its valuation to $3.4 billion. The outlet discloses that many of celebrities involved already had familiarity with cryptocurrency. “Hollywood is using smart contracts and blockchain technology to assert their creative intellectual property rights,” said Ivan Soto-Wright, CEO and co-founder of MoonPay, according to Independent. He added: “Major global sports franchises have used digital tokens and NFT collectibles to transform fan engagement. And recording artists are beginning to explore how NFTs can give them more control over royalty...
Kevin Hart has just joined the Bored Ape Yacht Club. The actor and comedian purchased a Bored Ape Yacht Club non-fungible token (NFT) for 79.5 ETH or $200,401 USD. The deal was done by NFT checkout MoonPay. Kevin Hart’s NFT features an ape sporting a vibrant multicolored hat topped with a pinwheel, and he now joins a list of growing celebrities who are racing to become a part of the crypto phenomenon. JUST IN: @KevinHart4real just bought @BoredApeYC #9258 for 79.5 ETH ($200,401) a deal facilitated by @moonpay .” Source: @Helloimmorgan pic.twitter.com/oVj2LTdHCj — Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) January 24, 2022
Lil Baby is one of the latest celebrities to snag a high-end non-fungible token (NFT). Currently, the Atlanta rapper’s Twitter avatar is an NFT from the Bored Ape Yacht Club — one of the most highly sought-after collections. His NFT is named Bored Ape #129, and its unique traits include pink fur, a blue bonnet and a white tank top. It also appears that Lil Baby’s Bored Ape has gotten a makeover. A Bored Ape affiliate account named New Mutant Apes tweeted, “Bored Ape #129 just dabbed an M2 serum and altered into Mutant Ape #10259.” I mutated my ape ! Shoutout @MoonPayHQ @BoredApeYC pic.twitter.com/Gf8a1wEFrw — Lil Baby (@lilbaby4PF) November 4, 2021 Bored Ape #129 was purchased on the NFT marketplace OpenSea for 37.99 Ethereum (ETH), which equates to over $170,000, according to a TikTok posted by Mona_Vinci. According to the TikToker, the NFT was purchased for Lil Baby by an account owned by MoonPay, a platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies and digital assets. The user also...