The price of ApeCoin (APE), the native token of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection built on the Ethereum blockchain , rose and sank briefly during the European trading session on Wednesday.
The price swing is likely related to the action of the Founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, who earlier in the day changed his Twitter profile picture to what resembles a collage of the Bored Apes.
@elonmusk pic.twitter.com/KOGtjsK9MD
— db (@tier10k) May 4, 2022
According to data on CoinGecko, an independent cryptocurrency data aggregator, the price of APE rose from $14.40 to as high as $17.60 before falling back to $15.90.
CoinGecko APE price chart earlier on Wednesday. Surge and sink on extreme right.
Before the price fell to $15.90, Musk had written “I dunno... seems kinda fungible ” in another tweet, with no context.
I dunno … seems kinda fungible
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 4, 2022
In his reaction to Musk’s action, Michael Bouhanna, the Vice President of Contemporary Art Specialist & Co-Head of Digital Art at Sotheby’s, an art auction house, urged the American billionaire to remove the profile picture or credit him.
“@elonmusk, as much as I admire your work, I'd like you to remove your pfp [profile picture] that I created for our Sotheby’s sale. Or you credit me. Happy to send you the original file minted with the buyer's approval,” Bouhanna tweeted.
@elonmusk as much I admire your work I’d like you to remove your pfp that I created for our Sotheby’s sale. Or you credit me 😂. Happy to send you the original file minted with the buyer approval 🫡 pic.twitter.com/e83ZyxWGH5
— Michael Bouhanna (@michaelbouhanna) May 4, 2022
On the contrary, in a post earlier in January, the prominent entrepreneur had described as “annoying” profile pictures on Twitter showing the user’s NFT.
This is annoying pic.twitter.com/KAkDl29CTX
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 21, 2022
Musk in another tweet on Wednesday wrote that while Twitter will always be free for casual users, it may attract “a slight cost” for business organizations and government officials.
Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 3, 2022
Recent Acquisition
Musk recently signed a definitive agreement to acquire Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion.
“The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty and financing. The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders,” Bret Taylor, Twitter’s Independent Board Chairman, said in a statement.
When Musk initially acquired a 9.2% stake in Twitter last month, the purchase increased Twitter and Dogecoins' stock prices.