ApeCoin (APE) prices skyrocketed on Wednesday after Tesla CEO Elon Musk changed his Twitter profile picture to a collage of several Bored Ape NFTs.
APE jumped over 15% within minutes after Musk’s move, and is now trading positive for the day at $17.25, according to data from Coinmarketcap.com. The move also helped APE break a four-day losing streak, which saw it sharply consolidate from record highs of $26.
It is unclear whether the Tesla CEO personally holds any APE. But he is reportedly the owner of a Bored Ape NFT. Sales of the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection also surged after the move, while its floor price jumped 3 Ethereum.
Commenting on the picture, Musk said it seemed “kinda fungible.”
APE was one of the best-performing cryptocurrencies through April, as traders anticipated the release of Bored Apes creator Yuga Labs’ new metaverse, Otherside. But the token fell consistently after the launch, despite efforts by Yuga to prevent it from falling.
But demand for Otherside NFTs had caused widespread disruptions across Ethereum, the network it is based on. Gas fees reached record highs during the project’s launch.
Move already attracting controversy
Michael Bouhanna, head of digital art at auction house Sothebys, said Musk had used the picture without permission. They asked the Tesla CEO to either delete the firm, or credit them for it.
APE’s current price surge is far from the Tesla head’s first crypto pump. His tweets on Dogecoin had broadly supported prices, and are also credited with bringing the token into mainstream trade. Musk had also briefly sported the Shiba Inu associated with DOGE as his profile picture on Twitter.
DOGE has rallied on hints from Musk that he could incorporate the token into Twitter after his takeover of the social media platform. In March, Musk had revealed that he personally holds DOGE, prompting a small rally in the token.
The Tesla CEO’s tweets have landed him in hot water
But while Musk’s tweeting on the crypto market has been largely overlooked by regulators, his tweets on the stock market have put him at odds with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In 2018, Musk caused Tesla’s stock to rally after he tweeted that he would take the company private at a $420.69 share price, and that he had secured funding for the deal. His Twitter poll on whether he should offload Tesla stock in 2021 had also invited a slew of shareholder lawsuits, as the stock price fell.
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