From Jay Chou, Shawn Yue, Edison Chen to overseas stars, when celebrities are responsible for generating attention, who ultimately bears the cost of the NFT decline?

Written by: ChandlerZ, Foresight News

In October 2026, Hong Kong actor and singer Alex Fong recalled in the online show "Chill Good" that during the pandemic, he had just bought a property, and his entertainment work subsequently came to a halt. Without any income, he invested in the popular NFTs at that time. Alex revealed that his losses exceeded those from previous stock trading, an amount so large that he didn't dare to tell his family. His wife repeatedly asked how many digits he lost, but he never answered.

Interestingly, Alex also disclosed another expense during the interview. He stated that the more difficult his work became and the tighter his finances were, the more he wanted to use luxury watches to make others think he was doing well. He purchased watches priced from over one hundred thousand to two hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars but rarely wore them, fearing they would get scratched and worried that others would notice his lack of work.

However, four to five years ago, the scene of celebrities participating in NFTs was quite different. From 2021 to 2022, a large number of NFTs mainly featuring avatars were purchased by buyers for social accounts, with prices rising alongside the boom in collectibles. Owning a specific avatar became a way to demonstrate one's membership in a collector community. The Bored Ape Yacht Club, composed of ten thousand monkey avatars, attracted purchases from multiple singers, actors, and sports stars. Social media avatars, celebrity friend circles, and limited releases generated continuous attention, with fans needing no understanding of on-chain addresses, copyright boundaries, or liquidity, only needing to recognize the celebrity behind the avatar.

From the pandemic low recalled by Alex to the high-priced avatar purchases publicly made by overseas stars like Justin Bieber and Kevin Hart, the investment bills left by the last NFT craze have been repeatedly mentioned years later.

Phanta Bear Sold Out in 40 Minutes

In January 2022, the fashion brand PHANTACi founded by Jay Chou collaborated with Ezek to release 10,000 Phanta Bears, priced at 0.26 ETH, which sold out in 40 minutes. Jay Chou and Kunling publicly displayed related avatars, followed by artists such as Ashin from Mayday, JJ Lin, and Edison Chen joining in the promotion.

JVR Music quickly clarified that Jay Chou only received the NFT as a gift from PHANTACi and did not participate in project planning or operations, nor did he receive any earnings.

Jay Chou received a gift and did not bear any costs, while regular buyers paid in ETH, with the issuing team collecting minting income and the operating party promising concerts, merchandise, memberships, and community activities. During market upswings, several identities collaborated to create hype; after prices declined, losses primarily remained within the accounts of those still holding NFTs with no buyers available.

In 2021, Shawn Yue auctioned his private collections, including CryptoPunks, BAYC, and Meebits, at Christie's, where CryptoPunk #9997 sold for 33.85 million Hong Kong dollars. In March 2022, he was involved in the launch of ZombieClub, releasing 6,666 NFTs, each priced at 0.666 ETH, with average transaction prices exceeding 2 ETH after launch. As of October 14, 2026, according to OpenSea, the floor price for the series was approximately 0.0064 ETH, about 99% lower than the original price, with a transaction volume of zero in the last 24 hours.

Edison Chen’s 2426C involved eight creator groups, including CLOT and tattoo artist Dr. Woo, launching 8,888 RED NVLPE at a price of 0.1888 ETH. Technical controversies arose during the project release, including delays in sending images and receiving duplicate NFTs. Public reports from May 2024 indicated that his social account hasn’t been updated since April 2023.

Stephen Chow participated in the launch of 10,000 Nobody in 2024, with a reference price of about 0.195 ETH; after its release, the floor price briefly exceeded 0.8 ETH. On October 14, 2026, OpenSea showed its floor price around 0.02 ETH, about 50 USD, with zero transaction volume over 24 hours. Stars still managed to sell a batch of avatars out quickly, but subsequent prices depended on ongoing operations and actual buyer interest.

Additionally, artists from Taiwan included in the release list are Nine Chen and Show Lo. Nine Chen launched 999 YOLO Cats offering dining discounts, concert tickets, community interactions, and co-creation rights for holders; Show Lo served as the artistic director for LION HEART, issuing a total of 7,300, with the team promising to buy back if the price dropped below 0.1 ETH. Both attempted to turn NFTs into celebrity membership cards, but YOLO Cat currently shows inconsistent supply and prices across different aggregation platforms, and LION HEART lacks verifiable active market data for 2026; this article does not estimate holder losses based on these.

Buying an Avatar for 1.3 Million Dollars, Valued at About 12,000 Dollars Four Years Later

In January 2022, Justin Bieber bought Bored Ape #3001 for 500 Ether, equivalent to about 1.3 million dollars at that time. This monkey wearing a black T-shirt looked downtrodden, and its appearance attributes were not rare in the series. Even during that year's craze, this transaction was questioned due to its much higher price compared to regular avatars in the same series.

By February 2026, Decrypt estimated this avatar's price had shrunk approximately 99% from the purchase price, based on the series' floor price of about 12,000 dollars at that time. The floor price is the lowest listed price for NFTs available in the series, and Bieber's avatar did not sell at that price. Whether a star's old collection can be sold at a premium depends on whether buyers willing to pay appear.

Kevin Hart previously owned Bored Ape #9258, which has subsequent transaction records. The American comedian purchased this NFT with the help of MoonPay in January 2022 for 79.5 Ether, costing over 200,000 dollars at the time. According to The Block, the avatar changed hands multiple times within a weekend in March 2024, finally selling for approximately 13.26 Ether, or 46,200 dollars on March 25. Compared to Hart's initial purchase price, the Ether sale price of this collectible dropped about 83%.

Brazilian soccer player Neymar also bought two Bored Apes in January 2022, with Boardroom recording purchase prices of 189.6 Ether and 159.9 Ether, totaling about 1.07 million dollars at that time. He later showcased his collection on social media. For such high-priced avatars, buyers can reference the last transaction price when buying, but selling requires finding new buyers again; although the series once had million-dollar sales, it does not guarantee that every avatar can exit at similar prices.

Showing Avatars Together on Television, Each Faces Their Own Accounts When Exiting

In January 2022, Paris Hilton appeared on "The Tonight Show" hosted by Jimmy Fallon, where both showcased their Bored Apes and discussed the appearance of the avatars. Hilton also introduced her NFT collaboration with Superplastic, announcing to gift NFTs to the live audience. This TV interview featured simultaneous purchasing, showcasing, and promoting their own released works, making it easy for the audience to interpret the celebrity's involvement as an endorsement of the entire market.

For ordinary collectors who followed celebrities to buy avatars, returns primarily depend on whether they can sell at a higher price later. As the number of buyers decreases, listing prices may remain unchanged, but transactions could take a long time to occur.

In this interview, Alex Fong said that now he has a family and is more cautious with spending. In the past, if he had ten dollars, he might spend eight or nine; now he tries to keep his expenses around six dollars. Regarding that investment experience he dared not disclose to his family, he openly admitted the lesson learned: he used to always think about getting rich overnight.