Bored Ape NFT is accidentally sold for $3000 instead of $300,000

A $300,000 (£222,666) non-fungible token (NFT) from the highly-prized Bored Ape Yacht Club has accidentally been sold at auction for just $3000 (£2267).

The NFT project, which launched back in April, is home to a limited collection of 10,000 Bored Ape NFTs – or “unique digital collectibles” – which live on the Ethereum blockchain. The likes of Post Malone, Jimmy Fallon and NBA star Steph Curry are among the current owners of Bored Ape NFTs.

Each NFT in the collection – the cheapest of which is currently valued at $210,000 (£158,666) – grants its owner membership to the ‘Yacht Club’ in question and access to further events and perks, while owners often display their Bored Ape NFTs as their profile picture on social media.

The $300,000-valued Bored Ape number 3,547 was sold last Saturday (December 11), but went for just $3000 after its owner made a “fat-fingered” typing error when listing the item for sale online.

The NFT was bought instantly by an automated buyer, who subsequently re-listed the collectible for sale at $248,000 (£187,395).

A seller accidentally listed the price of this Bored Ape NFT as 0.75 ETH instead of 75 ETH. It sold within seconds.

The difference between $300,000 and $3,000.

Yikes. pic.twitter.com/mxjyo7Y1Rh

— Morning Brew ☕️ (@MorningBrew) December 13, 2021

“How’d it happen? A lapse of concentration I guess,” the previous owner of the NFT, Max (who goes by the username maxnaut), told CNet.

“I list a lot of items every day and just wasn’t paying attention properly. I instantly saw the error as my finger clicked the mouse, but a bot sent a transaction with over 8 ethereum [cryptocurrency worth $34,000] of gas fees so it was instantly sniped before I could click cancel – and just like that, $250,000 was gone.”

The buyer’s additional $34,000 of “gas fees” ensured that the sale of the NFT in question went through smoothly.

“The industry is so new, bad things are going to happen whether it’s your fault or the tech,” Max said. “Once you no longer have control of the outcome, forget and move on.”

Last month, Universal Music Group teamed up with the Bored Ape Yacht Club to create music under the group name Kingship.