Beeple, Mert, and a $20K Bored Ape Bet — The NFT Revival Is No Longer Ironic

• Beeple and Solana figure mert both publicly called for NFTs to come back this week, reigniting discussion across crypto Twitter
• BAYC floor prices have doubled from roughly 5 ETH to 10 ETH over the past month as risk appetite quietly returns
• What started as jokes about buying Bored Apes is beginning to look more like early-stage market rotation

Beeple posted “BRING BACK NFTS” this week, and shortly after, Solana ecosystem figure mert followed with “we must bring back NFTs.” That combination landed differently than random timeline nostalgia because both figures carry actual weight in crypto culture.

Beeple sold a digital artwork for $69 million during the NFT boom and remained one of the few creators who never fully disappeared after the market collapsed. Mert, meanwhile, built a reputation for spotting shifts early inside the Solana ecosystem. When both start signaling the same narrative at the same time, people notice.

The Internet Immediately Turned It Into a Trade

Crypto Twitter reacted exactly how crypto Twitter always does.

Following mert’s post, trader @0xQuit joked he would buy $30,000 worth of Zcash if mert bought a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT. Mert then casually asked the floor price. The answer: around $20,000.

The exchange was mostly banter, but underneath the jokes sits a market that has quietly started moving again.

BAYC floor prices have climbed from roughly 5 ETH to around 10 ETH within a month. That is still dramatically below the collection’s peak during the 2022 mania, but the trend reversal itself matters more than the absolute number right now.

The NFT Market Never Fully Died

Yuga Labs CEO Michael Figge recently argued that NFT prices became disconnected from actual community participation during the prolonged downturn. In other words, the holders stayed while prices collapsed around them.

That thesis is starting to look more credible.

Pudgy Penguins has also rallied sharply, OpenSea token rumors continue circulating, and several older NFT communities are suddenly seeing activity spikes again after months of near silence.

The market structure feels different from the speculative frenzy of 2021. This time the attention appears more selective and culturally driven rather than pure leverage-fueled mania. At least for now.

The Bigger Rotation Might Already Be Starting

Crypto markets tend to rotate narratives in cycles. Bitcoin dominance rises first, then large caps move, then traders start looking for higher-beta sectors with stronger upside potential. NFTs historically sit near the far end of that rotation curve.

The combination of recovering crypto sentiment, renewed risk appetite, meme-driven attention, and improving NFT floor prices is creating conditions that look increasingly familiar to long-time market participants.

Nobody is saying the 2021 NFT bubble is returning tomorrow.

But the idea that NFTs are completely dead suddenly looks a lot less convincing than it did a few months ago.

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