In one of the funniest crypto stories of the year so far, it was recently reported that Seth Green, best known for his roles in Family Guy and Mass Effect, had his ape NFT stolen. Even better, he was planning to make a show based around the NFT, which he was now unable to do without the blockchain confirming he had ownership of the JPG. And yet it's somehow managed to get even funnier.Rather than just count his losses and walk away, Green got his monkey back - for a steep price. The voice actor reportedly paid $300,000 for the ape's safe return to his wallet, potentially reconfirming his NFT-based show. Green confirmed the news to Buzzfeed, saying that his ape is now "back home". This comes after Green seemingly got in contact with the new owner of the ape, who apparently bought it from the original thief. The NFT in question, Bored Ape #8398, ended up with Twitter user @DarkWing84. They run a very inactive account, having only made two tweets in over a year. Definitely not the sort of person you'd expect to be sitting on Green's prized monkey.
Blockchain records show that Green forked over 165 ETH, which is a little under $300,000. With DarkWing purchasing it for around $200,000, it gives them a tidy profit for their troubles, as well as a place in the NFT drama hall of fame.
Interestingly, Green had previously threatened to sue DarkWing if they didn't return the monkey. Yet with crypto not being regulated by a central authority (literally by design - like, that's the entire point), it's possible that he was cautioned against this. Admittedly, there is a $500,000 NFT lawsuit currently underway, but it remains to be seen if that bears any fruit.
In any case, Bored Ape #8398 is back home, and Green is very much still into NFTs. His NFT show, White Horse Tavern, is presumably still in production.