Teller Brings BNPL to NFT Market with ‘Ape Now, Pay Later’ Loans

Decentralized finance (DeFi) lender Teller has launched a buy now, pay later (BNPL) feature to help buyers spread their non-fungible token (NFT) payments out into more manageable installments, according to a Bloomberg report Friday (July 8).

Bored Ape Yacht Club, Doodles, Meebits, Cool Cats and other NFT collections are included in Teller’s so-called Ape Now, Pay Later initiative, with the service on the Polygon blockchain network being participant-driven, allowing users to directly lend to and borrow from one another.

Ape Now, Pay Later NFT buyers must provide at least a 25% down payment to complete their purchases, then pay for the remainder in installments. The announcement comes as prices for crypto assets are continuing to plummet and lenders are working hard to stay in the game.

The NFT space has seen a similar plunge, falling from last year’s crypto-fueled bull market to sales falling to their lowest level in at least a year and prices tumbling today, the report said.

The Bored Ape Yacht Club’s NFT collection has seen its price floor drop 40% since May to about $109,000, or about 90 Ethereum tokens, according to data from NFT Price Floor in the Bloomberg report.

Ape Now, Pay Later borrowers can submit loan requests through Teller. Lenders can opt to provide funding on a case-by-case basis. The lenders can earn up to 30% in interest annually, and the market participants determine an applicant’s creditworthiness, the annual percentage rate and the loan terms.

Related: NFT Weekly: After Stablecoin Collapse, Morgan Stanley Warns NFTs Could Be Next

In May, Morgan Stanley warned of the potential for a precipitous dip in the NFT market following the $5 billion collapse of stablecoin TerraUSD.

Analyst Sheena Shah said the bank undertook a “broader re-evaluation of where many crypto prices should be trading at,” noting that the bank had been caught off guard by the depegging of TerraUSD and run to zero of its sister coin LUNA.

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