Meet Skynine.

NFTs Net Worth (Zapper): $5.5M+

If you head over to Rarity Tools and check out the rarest Bored Apes from the BAYC collection, a peculiar name pops up. Then again, and again, and again.

This anonymous wallet owns 2 of the top 5 rarest Apes and 4 of the top 25 in the entire collection

No other wallets show up more than twice in the top 25.

The account’s name is Skynine, and unlike most other super collectors of blue chip projects, Skynine has made no attempt to leverage their status in the social media sphere.

Skynine does have a Twitter, and will post about NFTs with semi-regularity, but that’s where it ends. If you came across the profile accidentally, you’d just see another BAYC PFP with a few hundred followers.

Diving into Skynine’s wallet tells a different story.

I was able to ask the mysterious BAYC holder a few questions via discord, which is listed in Skynine’s OpenSea bio.

Skynine wasn’t exactly willing to provide me with a full life history, but I’ll take what I can get.

“Entered crypto in 2017, first exposure was to bitcoin but have been more focused on ETH in the past couple of years, background in computer science and tech.”

When asked about their NFT origins, Skynine’s response was similarly concise.

“BAYC was my first NFT purchase, first learned about NFTs back in 2017 when crypto kitties congested ETH and gas fees went crazy, had been watching punks since then but never bought anything, almost minted a hashmask but they were sold out by the time I had ETH ready on MetaMask, saw BAYC and it immediately clicked for me so I finally aped in.”

I asked about the decision to remain anonymous, given the obvious potential for Web3 stardom.

“Anonymity is more of my character rather than a carefully crafted decision, NFTs are only one of my variety of interests, and laying low helps me keep a distance so I don't get too caught up in it all and spend more time/resources in the space than I'd like to. It helps me keep my life appropriately balanced.”

Skynine currently owns 17 Bored Apes (at least, those are the ones visible on OpenSea).

The first Ape (BAYC #5712) came into the wallet via transfer from Pranksy on May 16, 2021.

Pranksy minted the Ape 15 days earlier, and while the NFT currently sits in Skynine’s wallet, it has been transferred back and forth to other wallets multiple times since (whether these are separate people or simply additional wallets owned by Skynine is unknown).

This is a common theme for Skynine.

BAYC #9606, the rarest Ape in the wallet (3rd rarest overall) was minted by Pranksy and transferred to Skynine on that same 15-day timeline in May 2021.

Same thing for BAYC #4873, the 5th rarest Ape in the entire BAYC collection.

As to how Skynine views their portfolio, it’s a long-term investment.

“ I haven't really thought about selling any apes yet, so for now they're all more on the 'untouchable' end of the spectrum.”

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