Alexis Ohanian shows off $280,000 NFT he purchased for Serena Williams at 2021 Met Gala

NFT worn by Reddit founder depicts pixelated woman wearing sports headband

Alexis Ohanian wears NFT of his wife Serena Williams at Met Gala (Getty Images)

Alexis Ohanian showed his support for wife Serena Williams during the 2021 Met Gala by being her date, and by wearing a $283,000 NFT inspired by the tennis star on the lapel of his tuxedo.

On Monday, the couple was photographed posing on the red carpet at the Met Gala, with Williams wearing a lace full-length bodysuit and pink and black feathered cape by Gucci while the Reddit founder opted for a simple black tuxedo.

According to Ohanian’s Twitter account, he accessorised his look with a small NFT badge from the CryptoPunks collection that depicts his wife, and which he purchased for her.

“Decided to bring a #Cryptopunk of my wife (that I bought for her) to the #MetGala,” the tech entrepreneur captioned photos of the pair, including a close-up of the badge.

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are unique assets stored on the blockchain, with Mashable noting that the NFT of Williams is “among the rarest, and most expensive NFTs you can own” as it is part of the CryptoPunks collection.

According to the outlet, the NFT worn by Ohanian, which is one of 3,840 “Female” punks, and is made more rare by its “headband” trait, was last sold for 85 ETH or about $283,055.

Ohanian’s sweet gesture comes after the founder of venture capital fund Seven Seven Six previously shared his belief that the rise of NFTs and the trading card boom is “going to be HUGE for women’s sports”.

“I’ve invested big in women’s sports, but the rise of NFTs and trading card boom is going to be HUGE for women’s sports,” he tweeted in March 2021, adding that he thinks women investing in the market will “change the game”.

On Monday night, Ohanian also shared another photo of himself and Williams from the Met Gala, which he revealed was their favourite picture because the tennis pro said he resembled their four-year-old daughter Olympia Ohanian.

“Ok this is our favourite pic because @serenawilliams says I look like @olympiaohanian,” he captioned the photo of the pair posing on the red carpet.

The couple’s arrival at the high fashion event came after Williams revealed that her daughter had referred to her as a “monster” while she was preparing for the gala with a hydrating face mask.

“She can’t call me a monster now,” Williams joked on her Instagram Stories as she had her makeup done before the event. “It looks like the mask worked.”