MoonPay gifted Hollywood celebs Bored Apes to promote itself

MoonPay gifted Hollywood celebrities Bored Apes to promote itself according to sources. The company said it sends out invoices and is paid by VIP clients who take advantage of MoonPay’s concierge services.

MoonPay gifted Hollywood celebs Bored Apes to promote itself

According to sources familiar with the matter, MoonPay, a crypto startup valued at $3.4 billion and supported by prominent figures from Hollywood, allegedly gave valuable NFTs to celebrities during the peak of the cryptocurrency frenzy in late 2021.

Speculation had been circulating for over a year that some celebrities who acquired Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs through MoonPay were given these digital collectibles in exchange for promoting the company and the NFT collection. Two individuals with knowledge of the situation have now claimed that MoonPay did provide Bored Ape NFTs to certain celebrities without expecting payment.

However, MoonPay has denied giving celebrities Bored Apes free of charge. A spokesperson for the company stated that they charged their celebrity clients the full price for the NFTs and that customers paid for the service. When asked about the timing of the invoices and whether all clients paid, another spokesperson declined to provide further comment.

Among the notable celebrities who publicly expressed their satisfaction after obtaining Bored Apes through MoonPay were Justin Bieber, Madonna, Jimmy Fallon, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Paris Hilton. By receiving these NFTs and subsequently endorsing MoonPay’s services, these celebrities bolstered the startup’s reputation.

Bored Apes are widely regarded as one of the premier NFT collections. The rapid succession in which numerous stars from the entertainment and sports industries acquired these NFTs had already raised suspicions.

In late 2022, a class action lawsuit alleged that celebrities had promoted Bored Apes and MoonPay on social media and television without disclosing their financial interests in the companies or whether they received compensation.

The lawsuit also accused the celebrities of colluding with MoonPay and Yuga Labs, the creator of Bored Apes, to artificially inflate the NFTs’ value. MoonPay is an investor in Yuga Labs.

The lawsuit was filed in December of the previous year in a California district court and includes names such as Bieber, Madonna, Fallon, Paltrow, Hilton, Kevin Hart, Serena Williams, and Stephen Curry. The major Hollywood talent agencies CAA, WME, and UTA, which represent most of the celebrities mentioned in the lawsuit and those who obtained Bored Apes through MoonPay, either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.

Before news of the lawsuit emerged, MoonPay had announced a significant investment of $87 million from a group of high-profile investors. Among them were Bieber, Hilton, and Paltrow. Snoop Dogg, Diplo, and Post Malone, who were also named in the lawsuit, were listed as “music, sports, and entertainment VIPs” who invested in MoonPay. Court documents reveal that Snoop Dogg is an investor in both MoonPay and Yuga Labs.

In March 2022, MoonPay’s CEO Ivan Soto-Wright stated that their A-list clients had independently approached the company to purchase NFTs. Soto-Wright also emphasized that clients were always invoiced and paid for the digital assets they received via MoonPay.

MoonPay’s $87 million investment from celebrity investors was part of its largest capital injection, a $555 million Series A financing round led by Tiger Global Management and Coatue, which contributed to the company’s $3.4 billion valuation. Shortly after, Soto-Wright purchased a $38 million mansion in Miami.

Recent reports indicate that $150 million out of the $555 million raised went to Soto-Wright and other MoonPay executives, leaving the company with $405 million in fresh capital. MoonPay has not secured additional funding since that financing round.

The controversy surrounding MoonPay’s activities began in November 2021 when Jimmy Fallon showcased a Bored Ape on “The Tonight Show” and enthusiastically mentioned that he had acquired it using MoonPay’s service.

Shortly after Fallon’s endorsement, MoonPay introduced a concierge service to assist celebrities and high-net-worth individuals in purchasing NFTs without the need to set up a crypto wallet. A MoonPay spokesperson clarified that there was no commercial relationship between the company and Fallon.

Subsequently, MoonPay attracted numerous high-profile clients, including Madonna, Snoop Dogg, DJ Khaled, Bieber, and Hilton, who acquired Bored Apes. Later in 2022, it was revealed that Snoop Dogg, Bieber, and Hilton had also become investors in MoonPay. Many have expressed skepticism about how MoonPay swiftly became the preferred NFT broker for the rich and famous, rising from relative obscurity.

Around a year ago, a YouTuber named Coffeezilla, with nearly 3 million followers, posted a video examining how much MoonPay likely paid to feature in a music video by Post Malone, in which he purchases a Bored Ape. The video has garnered nearly 300,000 views.

In the class-action lawsuit, the plaintiffs alleged that talent agent Guy Oseary, who previously managed Madonna, collaborated with Yuga Labs and MoonPay to promote Bored Apes. Oseary, through his venture capital firm Sound Ventures, which he co-founded with Ashton Kutcher, has invested in both MoonPay and Yuga Labs. However, Sound Ventures and Oseary did not respond to requests for comment.

Although the lawsuit claims that MoonPay was used by Oseary to conceal the method of payment for celebrities involved in the alleged scheme, it does not provide specific details about the transaction process or who ultimately paid for the NFTs.

Earlier this year, CNN reported that several former MoonPay employees expressed doubts about whether celebrities had actually paid for their Bored Apes since there was no evidence of these transactions on the blockchain.

Following the blockchain transactions, one online investigator pointed to data and publicly available information about Bieber, suggesting that the pop star might not have used his own funds when purchasing a Bored Ape for $1.3 million, which was significantly higher than the original price at the time.

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