According to Arkham Intelligence, Grammy-nominated producer and DJ, Steve Aoki is quietly exiting the crypto market. The data shows that the producer and DJ has sold off roughly $30,000 worth of Shiba Inu ($SHIB) and Ethereum ($ETH), swiftly transferring the proceeds to Gemini, the regulated exchange.
Steve Aoki is out of the market.
Steve Aoki, DJ and former $NFT Influencer, just sold $30K of $SHIB and $ETH, moving the proceeds to Gemini.
He still holds 7 Bored Ape NFTs that he paid over $800K for in 2021. They are now worth only $13.8K each. pic.twitter.com/w4boNLm60o
— Arkham (@arkham) April 13, 2026
His remaining on-chain holdings is not that significant and it includes small unknown tokens, the kind that usually stay behind in a wallet after the hype of a bull run dies down.
This is not a normal sell-off because Steve Aoki was somebody who promoted NFTs back in its prime. He was part of the 2021 boom with “to the moon” tweets, $NFT events and big name collaborations that made digital art feel like a celebrity trend.
Now, as the market is slowing down, with this news, it is clear that he is selling whatever is left and is parting his way with crypto. But the real story and the real loss is in what he still holds and that is seven Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs.
From Hype to Heavy Losses
Aoki scooped up the existing NFTs at the market’s feverish peak in 2021, dropping over $800,000 total. Each one fetched top dollar amid frenzy, with BAYC floor prices soaring past $400,000 $ETH equivalent.
Celebrities like Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and Justin Bieber piled in, fueling a cultural momentum where owning a pixelated monkey meant access to exclusive events, merch drops, and supposed “blue-chip” investment.
Fast-forward to today, those same Apes now trade at a heartbreaking $13,800 per piece on marketplaces like OpenSea. That’s a 98% wipeout on his collection, nearly $1 million evaporated.
Aoki’s not the only one, BAYC’s floor has cratered from its all-time high, mirroring the broader $NFT market’s 90%+ decline since the bull run. Trading volumes, once in the billions, now limp along in the low millions monthly.
Aoki’s journey with BAYC was peak $NFT summer. He threw Ape-themed raves, minted his own collections, and even launched “Steve Aoki Universe” $NFT tied to his music empire. In 2021 interviews, he even gushed about the tech’s revolutionary potential, blending EDM beats with blockchain bragging rights. However, as Ethereum gas fees spiked and hype deflated, the shine wore off.
Why Old $NFT Narratives Struggle to Regain Momentum
According to waleswoosh, a well-known CT personality, the Steve Aoki situation is just another example of why old $NFT metas struggle to recover.
The reason old metas never come back is that the illusion is gone.
The most common thing you hear from bagholders is “next time it trades that high, I’ll sell”.
But that’s exactly why it will never trade that high again.
It needs the illusion of “higher”.
Bored Apes reaching…
— wale.moca 🐳 (@waleswoosh) April 13, 2026
He argues that once the illusion of endless upside is broken, it’s almost impossible to recreate it. In cases like Steve Aoki, where sentiment has already cracked, the psychology shifts completely, from excitement to exit liquidity.
The most common mindset among holders becomes: “if it gets anywhere near previous highs, I’m selling.” And that ironically, is exactly what prevents prices from ever reaching those highs again.
Moreover, waleswoosh explains that major runs, like Bored Ape Yacht Club touching extreme valuations, were only possible because people believed prices could go much higher. Similarly, meme coins reaching billion-dollar valuation depended on a shared belief that the market was still early.
But in situations like Steve Aoki’s, that belief is already broken, holders are now more defensive than optimistic and any upside is likely to be met with selling pressure.
In his view, once price discovery is “done”, the speculative premium disappears. What remains is a market full of participants waiting to exit, not chase higher prices.
He also adds that this applies broadly across collections like Azuki and Doodles, where a return to all-time highs would likely trigger mass selling rather than a renewed hype.
Final Thought
Steve Aoki’s exit highlights how drastically sentiments have shifted since the $NFT boom. As waleswoosh points out, once the belief is broken, markets lose their fuel. Without fresh narratives or strong demand, even top collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club struggles to reclaim past highs.