Let’s continue to discuss the hot topic of non-fungible tokens. In this article, we would like to review one of the largest and earliest NFT projects founded in the digital market in 2017, CryptoPunks.
CryptoPunks issued many unique NFT characters which all are stored on the Ethereum blockchain with proof of collectible ownerships. Each “punk” encompasses unique and specific features, has a different personality, plus a different look. Owners of these digital art pieces can use them as unique avatars or consider them just as an investment.
Many people find phenomenal the fact that quite primitive pixelated images were accidentally discovered and have formed the most popular NFT collection. However, true connoisseurs admire the 8-bit style of the well-recognized characters. Even skeptics agree that CryptoPunks not only became a highly selling NFT invention but also predetermined the trend as well as brought the digital art industry to a new level.
A great variety of CryptoPunks
If we talk about the style of CryptoPunks, they come with different shapes, colors, looks, and features. All avatars can be divided into five main groups of characters: female, male, alien, zombie, and ape (the last ones are rarer and have more value among the crypto community as a result). There are 10,000 NFTs issued by CryptoPunks in general.
The history behind the invention of CryptoPunks
CryptoPunks appeared as an experiment made by a couple of software developers from the city of New York, Matt Hall and John Watkinson. They complemented the digital trends and defined their own characters working hard in Larva labs to create these NFTs.
At first, these digital creatures were meant to be used for a cell phone game or an application. However, they were too fascinating, so John and Matt investigated how CryptoPunks could discover a spot in the digital art market. They, at last, understood that the ideal way to do so was through blockchain innovation.
Some of the most expensive NFTs issued by CryptoPunks
As we have discussed above in the article, CryptoPunks was founded by two professional software engineers in 2017. The wallet owners of Ethereum snatched almost 9,000 CryptoPunks that were released to the public. Larva Labs only held onto those remaining figures that were left. As time passed, the avatars earned the attention of people.
Thus, the rates of the punks increased as per the demand rate. Now in 2021 they are being sold for millions of dollars.
Let’s explore some examples of the most expensive CryptoPunks:
- Covid Alien Punk With Gold Earrings (CryptoPunk 7523)
This is the most expensive CryptoPunk that comes with gold earrings. Plus, it comprises a medical face mask that makes this character unique among others. The NFT was sold in June, 2021 for over $11.7 million.
- Alien Punk With White And Blue Headband (CryptoPunk 3100)
The second most expensive CryptoPunk was sold at about $7.5 million.
- Ape Punk With Red Braided Cap (CryptoPunk 5217)
This Ape punk is also among the most expensive and valuable CryptoPunks. It comes with a unique and attractive knitted cap and costs over $5.4 million.
- Zombie Punk With A Unique Hairstyle (CryptoPunk 2338)
This green crypto hero is also among the most popular and costly punks. It was sold at $4.5 million.
- Zombie Punk With Bright Red Hair (CryptoPunk 7252)
The other zombie punk has red hair and a gold earring. It was sold at a price of $2.53 million.
It seems that the demand for digital collectibles reached the sky in 2021. CryptoPunks is a great example of the NFT project that attracts the audience with its idea and gives a wide (but limited) range of options to choose an avatar. The history of the project proves that it is hard to predict the trend but if you create something unique there is a great chance that people would like it and provoke a high demand.
