Ozzy Osbourne’s death at 76 on Tuesday sparked a surge in the non-fungible token (NFT) market as fans rushed to own a piece of the heavy metal icon’s legacy through his CryptoBatz collection.
Within hours of the announcement of his passing, the floor price of his CryptoBatz NFTs briefly surged by more than 400%, from under 0.02 Ether (ETH) to as high as 0.08 ETH, according to OpenSea data.
At current market prices, the peak floor price for a CryptoBatz NFT was $295 at 8:00 pm UTC on Tuesday, according to CoinGecko.
Osbourne made a historic entry into the NFT industry about four years ago, unveiling his CryptoBatz collection featuring 9,666 unique digital bats in December 2021.
Why the bat?
Osbourne’s choice of a bat as the NFT mascot was no accident but rather a deliberate nod to one of the most infamous moments of his career.
In 1982, the heavy metal icon made headlines when he bit the head off a bat during a live performance on stage, marking a moment in rock history, evolving into both legend and meme over the decades.
Echoing the iconic moment, each Cryptobat in Osbourne’s NFT collection offers users a unique opportunity to “bite” another NFT from a digital wallet and generate a hybrid image.
The list of supported collections for the “bite” includes major NFTs such as Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Alien Frenz and more.
Trading soars with 100,000% volume surge
In addition to a rising floor price, Ozzy Osbourne’s CryptoBatz NFTs have experienced a dramatic spike in trading volumes.
According to data from DappRadar, the trading volume of CryptoBatz has skyrocketed by 100,000%, reaching $281,200 within just 24 hours.
The 24-hour trading volume accounted for nearly 80% of CryptoBatz’s total market cap, which is estimated at $355,000, with the current floor price sitting at $36.80, according to DappRadar
The trades involved about 402 sellers and 327 buyers, a notable level of activity considering the total CryptoBatz supply of 9,666 NFTs.
CryptoBatz surge falls short of record highs at launch
While Osbourne’s passing sparked a notable revival in NFT activity, the latest spike has yet to eclipse the peak metrics recorded during the project’s launch.
According to OpenSea data, the moving average price for CryptoBatz hit an all-time high above 5 ETH amid the collection’s launch in January 2022.
At the time of writing, the most expensive CryptoBatz listed is the Megadragon bat, priced at a staggering 99 ETH, while the lowest-priced token available is CryptoBat #5892, valued at around 0.4 ETH.
Related: NFT sales hit $2.8B in first half of 2025 as trading volumes tank
Though modest compared to 2022 levels, the latest spike in Osbourne’s NFTs could signal a potential NFT market rebound, with industry leaders anticipating a revival after a long period of market downturn.
In related news, Spotify recently drew criticism after an investigation by digital media outlet 404 Media alleged on Monday that the audio streaming platform was publishing AI-generated songs under the names of deceased artists without permission.
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