PLBY Group, Playboy’s parent company, has recorded a $4.9 million impairment loss on the Ethereum ($ETH) it held last year, which was obtained after it accepted the cryptocurrency as a payment mechanism for a non-fungible token (NFT) collection.
PLBY Group received Ethereum as payment for their “Rabbitars” NFT collection in 2021, and has since kept the cryptocurrency on its balance sheet. Last year, the value of digital assets was $327,000, a huge reduction triggered by a larger crypto market fall. The company stated in a filing that the market price of one Ethereum in our primary market ranged from $964 to $3,813 during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, but the carrying value of each Ethereum we held at the end of the reporting period reflects the lowest price of one Ethereum quoted on the active exchange at any time since its receipt.
The corporation classifies its digital assets as “indefinite-lived intangible assets” that are liable to impairment losses if their fair value falls below their carrying value at any time.
Negative swings in the market price of Ethereum could have a significant impact on the company’s earnings and carrying value, whereas only price increases will have a positive influence on the company’s profitability when the Ethereum retained on the balance sheet is sold at a profit.
While the “Rabbitar” NFT project was launched in October 2021, at the peak of the cryptocurrency market, the company first entered the NFT and blockchain space in 2021 with its NFT drop called “Liquid Summer,” which is a collection of digital artworks created in collaboration with the artist Slimesunday.
Despite this, Ethereum has positive drivers. According to CryptoGlobe, the supply of Ethereum has decreased by approximately 64,457 ETH in the 180 days following the network’s merge update, with 120,456 ETH now circulating on the market. After the Merge, Ethereum’s supply has been decreasing by 0.1% per year, when it would be increasing at a rate of 3.42% per year without it.
On April 12, the cryptocurrency will receive its widely awaited Shanghai-Capella update, also known as Shapella. With Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4895, the upgrade contains one major functionality.
EIP 4895 will enable withdrawals of staked Ether from the network, a feature that was not available when the network combined with the Beacon Chain and switched to Proof-of-Stake consensus.
