Hip hop icon Eminem buys his first Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT, paying nearly $500,000

• Rap artist Eminem purchased a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT for 123.45 ETH, or about $462,000.
• He opened his OpenSea wallet less than a week ago but already has collected 22 NFTs.
• Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs are one of the most popular on OpenSea, with a current floor price of about $280,000.

Award-winning hip hop artist and icon Eminem purchased a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT for the first time, joining a growing list of celebrities who have bought into the hype.

He acquired the non-fungible token, which he has since set as his Twitter profile picture, on the OpenSea platform for 123.45 ether, or about $462,000.

But this wasn't his first NFT purchase. Under the name Shady_Holdings, the rapper has loaded up on 22 NFTs, despite only opening his OpenSea wallet less than a week ago.

User GeeGaza, who sold Eminem the Bored Ape NFT, tweeted "I'm living in a simulation" after the transaction with the rap star.

Eminem has won 15 Grammy music awards in his multi-decade career, as well as the 2002 Oscar for Best Original Song.

He joins other high-profile owners of the Bored Ape NFTs -- NBA superstar Stephen Curry bought one for $180,000, and celebrities Jimmy Fallon and Post Malone have also bought in.

Bored Ape Yacht Club is one of the most popular NFT sets on OpenSea, with a current floor price of 73.5 ether, or about $280,000 each. In late January, its floor price surpassed that of CryptoPunks for the first time.