15 Celebrities Who Are an Active Part of the NFT Community
In 2021, the NFT space is growing faster than ever. With the NFT ecosystem seeing a massive surge in sales volume in Q3 alone, investors, collectors and enthusiasts of all types are joining the community in droves.
It’s not unusual to find celebrities staking their claim in the community among these waves of newcomers entering the NFT space. Whether they join up to become a collector, member of the community, or pursue a new stream of revenue, many stars seem to be here to stay.
Here are some of the notable names that have, in one way or another, become an active part of the NFT community.
Paris Hilton
Hilton may be one of the best cases of a celebrity becoming involved in the NFT community. Long before she even announced her own project, the socialite engaged with and purchased pieces from artists and collectors. For her efforts, she received a warm welcome into the NFT community, where she continues to take an active role in helping NFTs become mainstream.
Shaquille O’Neal
Shaq publicly shared his interest in NFTs in late September by the changing his Twitter PFP to an NFT from the popular Creature World project. His involvement in the space was speculative at first, but when he hopped into the Creature World Discord to share a message with its inhabitants, it was clear he had fully jumped on the NFT bandwagon.
Justin Roiland
Roiland, creator of the beloved Rick and Morty franchise, gained the new title of crypto artist toward the beginning of 2021 when he jumped headfirst into the NFT scene. Offering up doodles and frames in his signature style, Roiland churned out a good few drops in the spring before taking a break throughout the summer while intermittently responding to both positive and negative reviews on his work from the greater NFT community.
Snoop Dogg
Considering that Snoop Dogg has achieved meme status for his wild array of appearances, endorsements, ventures and partnerships, it wasn’t a huge surprise when the rapper became a part of the NFT community. From his multiple drops to collecting and promoting influential NFTs such as CryptoPunks and Fidenzas, and even becoming the center of speculation that he is in fact (not so) secretly the human behind influential collector/investor Cozomo de’ Medici, Snoop is undoubtedly one of the most active and beloved celebrities in NFTs.
Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart was a bit of a surprise entrant into the NFT community. Paired with the announcement that she would be launching an NFT collection and her own digital boutique called FRESH Mint, the lifestyle icon recently jumped headfirst into the NFT space, immediately finding support within the communty. Although she isn’t yet much of an active member of the non-fungible community, seeing as Stewart and Snoop Dogg are friends IRL, there’s a good chance the lifestyle icon will become an NFT maximalist sooner or later.
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino made headlines in November with the announcement of his forthcoming ‘Pulp Fiction’ NFT collection. Although still relatively new to the NFT space — from speaking at NFT.NYC to hopping on a panel with some of the NFT community’s biggest proponents — the celebrated director seems to have taken quite an interest in how the NFT community is directly shaping the non-fungible industry.
Trippie Redd
When Trippie Redd began tweeting about NFTs at the beginning of October, it wasn’t clear if he had actually become involved in the space, or had simply found passing interest. But after collecting a few pieces and making a public call for someone to help him create an NFT collection of his own, the rapper has continued to engage with his newfound community.
Grimes
Grimes entered the non-fungible community early on in 2021. Even before Beeple’s $69 million sale helped fuel mainstream interest in NFTs, Grimes added her name to the short list of musicians invested in blockchain technology. And although she isn’t very active on NFT Twitter these days, her impact on the NFT space continues to be felt, with her Nifty Gateway NFTs continuing to be traded regularly.
Elon Musk
For better or for worse, the SpaceX founder remains a massively influential person in the crypto (and to a lesser extent) NFT space. Just as his tweets have been found to directly impact the price of Bitcoin, his discourse around the non-fungible ecosystem effortlessly becomes the hot topic within the greater NFT community.
Timbaland
Timbaland’s approach to entering the NFT community went over fantastically. After he put his money where his mouth is by scooping up a Bored Ape in the early fall, the non-fungible space welcomed him with open arms. His continued engagement with the community put him in a good place for his Opera Noir NFT drop to be well received.
Mark Cuban
It was no surprise when Mark Cuban jumped on the NFT bandwagon. Although he’s done most of his personal collecting in private, the billionaire has already funded numerous ventures in the space, including Lazy.com and the @NFT Twitter and Instagram accounts. While he isn’t and hasn’t really ever been that active on Twitter, when he isn’t tweeting about basketball, he’s often posting about NFTs.
Lindsay Lohan
The former child star became involved in the NFT space around the same time as Hilton. Having dropped a few collaborative NFTs throughout 2021 — including a partnership that saw her boasting a now-controversial fursona — the actress, singer and entrepreneur has continued to engage with the community, promoting various NFT projects.
Ja Rule
Ja Rule says he first got into NFTs, like many others, through NBA Top Shot. What started for him as a sports-fueled hobby earlier in 2021 has since turned into a large part of his social media presence. He now regularly engages with the NFT Twitter community, often promoting his buys into popular NFT projects, like his above tweet about Gutter Cat Gang.
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold seems to be one of the first bands who collectively took a deep dive into NFTs and came out on the other side true maximalists. From trading their Into the Ether #101 (an NFT that comes with free A7X tickets/meet-and-greets for life) for a CryptoPunk to their forthcoming Deathbats Club PFP project, the crew has continued to not only be an active part of, but active builders within the NFT community.
Stephen Curry
Possibly one of the most influential events on the 2021 NFT culture spectrum was the news of Steph Curry’s Bored Ape Yacht Club purchase. Although the NBA superstar didn’t publicly promote his buy and hasn’t been that active in the community since, changing his PFP to an Ape was the catalyst for fanfare across the BAYC, crypto and greater NFT Twitter community.
Honorable Mentions
Here are some celebrities who have found a passing interest in NFTs, but haven’t yet taken the full plunge into becoming a part of the community.
- Kings of Leon, who became the first band to have an NFT song played in space
- Jack Black and Kyle Gass, for their Tenacious D Post-Apocalypto NFTs
- Meek Mill, who asked for a free CryptoPunk on Twitter
- Emily Ratajkowski, who bought a picture of herself back
- Jay-Z, who celebrated Reasonable Doubt‘s 25th anniversary with the Heir to the Throne NFT
- Shawn Mendez, who has an avatar collection
- Lil Uzi Vert, who became involved in, then dropping out of, a PFP project
- Kate Moss, who launched three video NFTs
- Eminem, who dropped his Shady Con collection
- Cara Delevingne, who auctioned a one-of-a-kind NFT for charity
- Tony Hawk, who turned his final 540 into a video NFT