The Photographer That Made $1.4M Profit on Bored Ape NFT

On Dec. 13, Emmy nominated photographer John Knopf announced that he had sold his Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT.

The statement would not have been a thing of note if he hadn’t got 347 ETH for the piece. Knopf stated that he originally purchased the astronaut laser eyes ape number 9452 on the day it was minted for just 0.08 ETH.

The massive sale has netted him around $1.39 million in profit at current ETH prices. In response to the sale, an emotional Knopf said, “I am at a loss for words right now. I am crying so much. Thank you, BoredApeYC, for completely changing my life and everyone in the community!!!”

I bought my ape for .08 on minting night and just sold it for 347 ETH. I am at a loss for words right now. I am crying so much. Thank you @BoredApeYC for completely changing my life and everyone in the community!!!! And thank you @_jeffnicholas_ for telling us all to buy them! https://t.co/BxeexYDmM7 pic.twitter.com/FuKtrFwhdH

— John Knopf (@JohnKnopfPhotos) December 12, 2021

Some respondents did point out that if he was based in the US, there would be a hefty tax bill to face where the government could take as much as 35%.

Million Dollar Mistake

The buyer, Chain Protocol CEO Deepak Thapliyal, made a summary of the purchase, stating that he “decided to “ape” in and buy my very own, but being my first NFT I wanted to buy the right one,”

He moved 655 ETH into his wallet in preparation to buy the Astro-ape at the full asking price. Suspicions were raised regarding the transaction as 230 ETH was mistakenly sent to the seller in addition to the bid price.

“After I placed my original bid, I had to move 230 ETH to another wallet in mobile. I _thought_ the copy button for the address I was sending too was pressed properly.”

He then tried to contact Knopf to explain the mistake and agree on a price for the NFT.

“I explained my story and told him how I wanted his ape. He quickly informed me he had no intentions to keep my money and would send it back.”

Knopf returned the 230 ETH (around $920,000) after the two had agreed on the 347 ETH price tag for the piece.

Mistakes are not uncommon in the world of NFT sales. In late August, a mutant ape NFT sold for 17 USDC instead of 17 ETH.

Top Selling NFTs of The Week

Over the past seven days, there has been $275 million in total volume for NFT sales, according to the Nonfungible analytics platform. The top-selling NFT collection for the past week has been CryptoPunks, which has seen $50 million in sales.

Second to that is the Bored Ape Yacht Club, with $41 million in weekly sales.