When news broke early Wednesday morning that Elon Musk had changed his Twitter avatar to a collage of Bored Ape NFTs, the crypto community was abuzz with excitement. ApeCoin (APE) prices immediately spiked over 20%, sending the altcoin to $17.55, its highest level intraday.
While APE has since fallen from its highs, it is still trading positively for the day at $15.88 as of this writing. The digital asset has also broken its four-day losing streak, which saw it retrace toward the April 21 lows from record highs of over $26 just a few days ago.
Clearly, Musk’s Twitter profile photo change has given the crypto asset new life and breathed fresh energy into its community. Whether this sparks even further appreciation in the future remains to be seen, but one thing is sure – this is a positive development for APE and its growing ecosystem of users.
That said, there is much speculation about whether the Tesla and SpaceX chief actually owns any assets on the blockchain. Some claim that he does hold some APE, or asset-backed tokens, while others say that he’s is trying to signal his intention to get into the NFT space, perhaps by acquiring Yuga Labs, the creator of the popular Bored Apes Yacht Club collection of NFTs. Whatever the case may be, it is undeniable that Musk has helped to fuel a renewed interest in the crypto space.
After his tweet about the ERC-20 token went viral, sales of the Bored Ape NFTs surged, with the collection seeing a price increase and even breaking 10 ETH. Some have suggested that this rise may be due to the fact that the market views Musk as a sort of crypto influencer.
Meanwhile, the billionaire’s move has already attracted controversy. Michael Bouhanna, co-head of digital art at Sotheby’s, tweeted- asking Musk to delete the avatar he had created for Sotheby’s sale, arguing that the world’s richest man had not acquired the NFTs.
@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
Elon Musk has since tweeted, “I dunno … seems kinda fungible,” to his 91 million Twitter followers.
I dunno … seems kinda fungible
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 4, 2022
Whatever the case, the cryptocurrency community is buzzing with speculation about what Musk’s avatar Twitter swap could mean for the future of ApeCoin and other digital currencies. While it’s still too early to tell, one thing is for sure: Musk has got the attention of the crypto world. What will he do next?
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