Decrypt website reported that in 2021, crypto assets in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) had soared its transaction volume to 2.5 billion USD within the first six months. The spike in number makes many NFT fans want to check for interesting new NFT projects.
Today you will learn about one of the NFT projects that have been around for a long time. It’s been considered the most expensive and well-known one in the market. Of course, we are talking about CryptoPunk.
What are CryptoPunks?
CryptoPunk is a collection of 10,000-pixel images, each image displaying different personalities, combinations, and special unique characters created randomly. From a series of 10,000-pixel images, there are 6,039 male Punk and 3,840 female Punk.
Some of them wear red lipstick, 3D glasses, with braided hair and buck teeth, and some wear a cool beanie.
However, some punks may not have any unique features or attributes. They are known as “Genesis Punk.”As one of the very first NFT projects on Ethereum blockchain, CryptoPunk is ranked as the most popular NFT project.
Decrypt stated that as of 1st September 2021, CryptoPunk managed to reach its trading volume with more than 118 billion USD.
Who is the Creator of CryptoPunks?
CryptoPunk is one of the first NFT projects on the Ethereum blockchain launched in 2017.
This NFT project was developed by the American Larva Labs studio. Larva Labs is a company founded by Canadian software developers Matt Hall and John Watkinson.
The interesting part is this project was inspired by Punk London, a cyberpunk community including Neuronmancer novel William Gibson, the film Blade Runner, and the music artist Daft Punk.
How much is the CryptoPunk?
The price for CryptoPunk NFTs is various. The lowest price or the floor price to buy CryptoPunk NFTs from the secondary market is below 80 ETH.
Lava Labs reported that a piece of CryptoPunk, CryptoPunk #1417, was sold at 79.99 ETH. The price used to be much lower at 0.9 ETH in early 2020, which is one of the lowest prices to purchase a CryptoPunk.
In early 2020, many expensive CryptoPunk NFTs were sold within seven days. For example, on 12th September, “CryptoPunk #8857” received an offer of 2.000 ETH.
In addition, “CryptoPunk #5169”, a unique piece with a clown nose, had been sold for 205 ETH.
The most expensive CryptoPunk NFT ever sold.
One of the shareholders from a sports firm and parliament member, Shalom Meckenzie, has bought the most expensive CryptoPunk NFT for 11.8 million USD during a Sotheby’s auction.
The selling of that art piece has overtaken the previous record held by alien CryptoPunk #7804, which was sold for 7.7 million USD in March 2021.
Besides both masterpieces, the credit card mogul Visa has bought CryptoPunk with a remarkable price at 150,000 USD. It didn’t stop there. CryptoPunk returned its sales at the highest price to a China investor for 380,832 USD.
Why is Cryptopunk worth so much?
Seeing the prices above, some of you might wonder why CryptoPunk NFTs are so popular?
One of the key factors that increase CryptoPunk popularity is that this crypto asset is considered one of the very first projects on the Ethereum network.
In short, the project is the NFT pioneer and has become the inspiration for other similar art creations like Bored Ape Yacht Club, Pudgy Penguins, and many more.
Furthermore, another reason that makes CryptoPunks collection worthwhile is its charming uniqueness, like Alien Avatar, which is the rarest and has become the most expensive CryptoPunk NFT ever sold.
How to buy CryptoPunk NFTs?
If you are interested in buying and investing in CryptoPunk NFTs, you can definitely start today. Here are simple steps to buy a CryptoPunk NFT you need to know:
- Open an account in OpenSea. Opensea is the largest marketplace to trade NFTs. As of March 2022, more than 2 million NFTs have been registered and ready for trading on this platform.
- After that, you have to connect your wallet. The most common crypto wallet used in the OpenSea is Metamask. Metamask’s Google Chrome extension lets us interact with the site and transact the cryptocurrency easily. If you want to keep your NFTs safely, you probably should store them in the Ethereum wallet.
- You can immediately buy the CryptoPunk art you desire right after the setup. All 10,000 CryptoPunk arts have been stored in the Ethereum blockchain. To get one of CryptoPunks, you need to buy from someone with available collections.
OpenSea has many registered CryptoPunk for sale. The price for a collection is approximately about 1 Ethereum up to several dozen Ethereum.
