MoonPay has been getting quite a bit of attention as of late, and for good reason. Stars are jumping into the NFT frenzy and the company seems to be facilitating many of the transactions. It all started when Post Malone showed a clip of himself purchasing a Bored Ape on the MoonPay app in his “One Right Now” music video, but is there more to it?
Here’s the scoop:
Celebrities Are Diving Into MoonPay’s Concierge Service
Recently, MoonPay quietly launched a concierge service aimed at helping high net worth individuals make NFT purchases. So far, we know the service has helped the following stars buy digital collectibles:
- Post Malone. Post Malone is a famous hip hop artist and the first in a series of stars that used the MoonPay services to purchase a NFT.
- Jimmy Fallon. Talk show host, Jimmy Fallon, has also reportedly used the company’s services to buy digital assets. Fallon even went as far as to mention MoonPay on his show.
- Lil Baby. Famed rapper, Lil Baby, also reportedly used MoonPay’s concierge service to purchase collectibles.
- Diplo. DJ, song writer, and music producer Diplo, is another big name that has reportedly used the company’s services to purchase an NFT.
- Dj Khaled. DJ Khaled is best known for his work as a DJ, producer, and hype man. According to various reports, he has also used MoonPay to dive into the NFT scene.
- Martin Garrix. Dutch DJ, Martin Garrix, ranked number one on DJ Mag’s top 100 DJs list for three consecutive years. He has also apparently used MoonPay’s services to purchase digital collectibles.
- Future. Finally, Future, a rapper and singer born in Atlanta, has also reportedly used the service.
However, the service has been kept relatively secret. In fact, nobody quite knows exactly what the service entails as the company hasn’t issued any details. The only people that know what MoonPay is offering are the high net worth individuals that have taken advantage of the concierge.
Fans Are Skeptical
There are messages all over social media and the metaverse pointing to the idea that none of these stars actually purchased NFTs for themselves. Instead, many believe that the stars were paid NFTs, potentially on top of cash payments, to promote the services offered by MoonPay.
We know that this is the case in at least one of the sales that took place, the sale in which Post Malone purchased two Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs. The two Apes, purchased for a combined 160 ETH, include Ape #9039, which came with a price tag of $362,000 and Ape #961, which came with a price tag of 75 ETH, which worked out to about $320,000 at the time of the purchase.
Nonetheless, the money used seemed to be provided by MoonPay. After all, the wallet that purchased the two apes received 175 ETH before the purchase. All told, that means that at the end of the transaction, Post Malone was left with two high-value Apes and 15 ETH, or about $64,000 at the time the news hit the tape.
Considering the fact that this agreement quickly became public knowledge, many are questioning whether or not any of the celebrities on the list above have chosen on their own to do business with MoonPay, or if they were simply paid for celebrity endorsements. However, these questions may be unfounded.
Believe it or not, the vast majority of celebs on the list above haven’t said they used MoonPay in a public setting. Instead, sources familiar with their purchases told reporters that MoonPay was used. I would imagine that if these stars were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to endorse a brand, they would endorse that brand publicly, a move that’s yet to be seen.
What Are the Stars Doing With the NFTs?
We all know that Post Malone used one of the NFTs that was purchased under what looks to be an endorsement agreement as part of his music video, but what are the others doing. All in all, it looks like they’re doing what most NFT collectors do, flaunting their images on social media.
In fact, Diplo recently tweeted a Spotify Wrapped image featuring Bored Ape #5348, one he reportedly purchased through the MoonPay concierge service. Future seems to have done the same, posting Ape #4672 with the caption “gm” as a tweet on his profile.
As for the rest of the celebrities on the list, it remains to be seen what they plan to do with their recently-purchased digital assets.
The Bottom Line
Sure, there’s a debate as to whether these celebrities purchased their NFTs of their own free will, or if they were paid in digital assets for endorsement deals. However, while the community is making a big debate over it, I think that regardless of what happened, these purchases are good for the NFT community.
Think about it, all of these stars would be happy to collect six or seven figure payments to endorse a company, and they may have. However, if that is the case, they accepted the payments via NFTs, which is essentially the same as buying them.
After all, if they didn’t accept the collectibles, there’s a strong chance that MoonPay would have just paid in cash anyway. A willingness to accept Bored Apes as payment shows that these stars have real interest in the Web3 industry.
So, regardless of whether we’re seeing endorsements or purchases, it’s an ode to the value of digital art.
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