It's been a bit of a bitter 'winter' these past few months, which has rapidly 'cooled' the multi-trillion dollar crypto market. Naturally, the first to be affected are the various cryptocurrencies, but the NFT market, which is closely related to cryptocurrencies, has not been spared either.
Remember this explosion of 'Bored Ape'? During this time of the cryptocurrency 'crash', the 'Bored Ape' line of NFTs also experienced a price drop. Even the 'Bored Ape Restaurant', which only opened in April this year, has sparked misunderstandings about removing its own 'crypto elements'.
▲Image via: Getty Images
It wasn't long ago that meals at the 'Bored Ape Restaurant', both meat and vegetarian, were priced in US dollars only, begging the question: does the restaurant no longer accept cryptocurrency for settlement?
But later Bored & Hungry co-founder Kevin Seo responded that the restaurant's system for accepting cryptocurrency payments was temporarily shut down due to a system upgrade and now accepts ethereum and Apecoin as payment methods.
▲ Image from: Twitter
In April 2022, Bored & Hungry, the world's first 'Bored Ape'-themed restaurant, opened in Long Beach, California, an NFT-themed restaurant with a 'Web3' element, naturally.
In addition to the "Bored Ape" that can be seen all over the décor and food packaging, the restaurant stated at the time of opening that customers can pay in cryptocurrency ETH (Ether) or $APE (ApeCoin), in addition to US dollars. "Bored & Hungry is also the first restaurant to include $APE cryptocurrency as a payment method.
▲ Photo from: Los Angeles Times
When the 'Bored Ape Restaurant' was first set up it was envisioned as a 90-day flash store, but given the success that has followed, it has now turned into a restaurant that plans to live on forever. The excitement of initially listing cryptocurrency as a payment method still remains on the social media site's page, but now only about two months later, the euphoria seems to have worn off.
It's actually pretty clear why people are speculating that 'Bored Ape Restaurant' has abandoned cryptocurrency payments, as both ETH (Ether) and $APE tokens, which are included in the restaurant's payment methods, have fallen by more than 60% since April, with a wide range of intra-day fluctuations.
▲Image from: Twitter
In this case, the restaurant won't risk accepting virtual currency without knowing what the future holds (after all, owner Andy Nguyen says he paid over $330,000 for the different ape-themed NFTs that form the basis of the restaurant's brand).
Holders are also afraid to let go of the currency at the risk of the 'what-if' that its value might go back up in the future. Both sides have their own concerns about virtual currencies, and the only option left at this point is the 'reliable' US dollar.
▲ Image from: justboredandhungry
It is worth mentioning that although the 'Bored Ape Restaurant' seems to be closely related to Web3, the cascading effect caused by the turmoil in the cryptocurrency market does not seem to affect it as much as one might think. That's because in addition to the customers who come here with a curiosity about the crypto market, there are quite a few who are attracted by the restaurant's food.
▲ Image from: yelp
To some customers, it doesn't matter if the restaurant has cryptocurrency in its payment options, it's the actual food that matters to them. Andy Nguyen, the owner of the restaurant, initially wanted to use the restaurant to unravel the 'mystery' of Web3 and make the public more aware of this.
▲ Image from: justboredandhungry
Nowadays, it does seem that some customers will be attracted by its concept, and as a result, become interested in learning about the crypto market as well as Web3. But beneath the 'veil of secrecy' of Web3, it is probably better to have a physical presence, even if it's just a burger and fries, than nothing at all.