Former Junk Bond Traders Profit 700% From The Sale Of Bored Ape NFTs

Ovie Faruq and Mike Anderson, two former bond traders for Barclays Plc, have sold a collection of legendary digital artwork that served as the catalyst for their exit from banking and pursuit of careers in nonfungible tokens.

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According to transactions logged on NFT marketplace OpenSea, Faruq and Anderson sold 72 Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs for between 78.08 and 78.18 Ether each this week, translating to around $9.25 million. According to Faruq, the initial investment was approximately $1.14 million, meaning a profit of at least 700% would result. 

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Prior to a dramatic selloff in early 2022, the value of NFTs, a type of digital art that often uses the Ethereum blockchain and is traded using the cryptocurrency Ether, skyrocketed. Nonetheless, Bitcoin has increased by more than 40% as a result of this year's boom in hazardous assets. The traders were given a window of opportunity as a result, but it may have closed given the Federal Reserve's ongoing interest rate hikes.

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According to Faruq, who worked as a high-yield bond trader for ten years, "you have to respect the liquidity while it's there and take the profit when it's available." "It's still an illiquid asset, despite feeling liquid,"

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Degenz, a research platform that intends to give new entrants information on the industry, will continue to be developed by them. After nearly a year of collecting NFTs, both traders left Barclays in December 2021.

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"Like the equity reports you get from investment banks, we have created thorough fundamental reports. Because so much institutional capital is flowing into this market, there is a tremendous opportunity, according to Faruq.

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He added that he will also try to expand his own NFT collection, "rektguy," which gained popularity after rapper Snoop Dogg purchased two of the pictures in June 2022 and used one of them as his Twitter profile photo.