In this essay, we will go into great detail about the 2017 publication of the CryptoPunk collection, which is the ancestor of NFTs, which became very famous in 2021. What are CryptoPunk NFTs, where can I get them, and who invented them? All of this and more may be found in our guide content.
Unique Tokens (NFTs) exploded in popularity in 2021, both among cryptocurrency enthusiasts and the general public. At the time of writing in January 2022, demand for uncommon, rare, and uncommon tokenized items was still growing. To sate their ravenous appetite for the new asset class, celebrities, innovators, and artists are launching or even purchasing various NFT ventures.
Current NFT projects are numerous, and new ones are constantly being developed. However, this mania began in 2017 with a grouping dubbed CryptoPunks. You can infer the prices at which CryptoPunks NFTs were purchased and disposed of at that time. (You’ll discover it sooner in our guide.)
One of the most well-known and pricey NFT collections in the world today is CryptoPunks. Even the claim that some CryptoPunks have sold for millions of dollars is possible. What are CryptoPunks NFTs exactly, and why are they so well-liked and pricey?
What Are CryptoPunks?
The CryptoPunks are the non-fungible token (NFT) images that are 2424 pixels in size and are designed in an 8-bit manner. They are valued significantly on the NFT market and represent a novel kind of asset tokenization, often fetching millions of dollars.
There are 10,000 of these pixelated, punky-looking photos, which include images of both male and female figures as well as those that resemble zombies, apes, and aliens. Each punk is unique and is sometimes sold for very high prices by individual owners as well as at prominent auction houses like Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
The highest-ever price was paid for CryptoPunk 5822 in February 2022 by Deepak Thapliyal, CEO of Chain, a firm providing cloud blockchain infrastructure, for a little under $24 million (at the time), or 8,000 ethers (ETH). CryptoPunk 2924 sold for roughly $4.5 million in ETH in September 2022.
The Ethereum NFT collection has generated more over $2.4 billion in trades when all sales are included. On the Ethereum network, only one person may be the owner of a CryptoPunk. The “punks,” as they are known, were initially given out by the developers before they gained popularity and value.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- A non-fungible token (NFT) called CryptoPunks has a potential market value of millions of dollars.
- The 10,000 “punks” each consist of a 24-by-24-pixel picture, a novel method of asset tokenization.
- Punks are regarded as works of art and have been auctioned by both private sellers and at auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
CryptoPunk Personas
There are several different designs in the CryptoPunk collection that include people, zombies, aliens, and monkeys. The CryptoPunk NFT is seen as being rarer the more singular the combination of distinguishing qualities.
CryptoPunk consists of 3,840 girls and 6,039 males, 24 monkeys, 88 zombies, and 9 aliens. Each of these CryptoPunks has a unique look, featuring berets, braids, lipstick, deer fangs, 3D glasses, rosy cheeks, and more.
The first 1,000 CryptoPunks, often referred to as Dev Punks, were set aside for the project’s creators. Eight Punks or so are known as “Genesis Punks” because they lack any distinctive characteristics. Contrarily, CryptoPunk #8348 has seven crucial characteristics. It is one of the most prized pieces of artwork in the CryptoPunk collection because of these unique characteristics.
Free distribution of the first punks
It’s interesting to note that the inspiration for the most well-known NFT project ever began as a test.
The founders of Larva Labs, Matt Hall and John Watkinson, created a computer program in 2017 that could generate countless variations of pixelated images of punks.
The idea, which was influenced by the 1970s London Punk movement, was to employ the program and the avatars in a smartphone app or game. But no one could have predicted that this little experiment would eventually become the industry standard for NFT.
Later, 10,000 CryptoPunks were released on the Ethereum blockchain at a period when the ERC-721 token standard was not an option.
Every owner of an Ethereum wallet has access to the NFT collection when CryptoPunks was first made available for free. The remaining 9,000 Punks were soon taken, leaving the rest in the hands of the developers.
In 2020, the NFT market has grown tremendously. The demand for blockchain-based digital photos with exclusive rights has grown, and the most sought-after NFT collection is now CryptoPunks.
Even at the greatest auction houses in the world, like as Christie’s and Sotheby’s, the CryptoPunks collection has sold for multiple million dollars in secondary NFT markets like OpenSea. High-profile investors like Jay-Z, Gary Vaynerchuk, and many others have been interested in this.
As of January 2022, CryptoPunks’ total trade volume on OpenSea alone exceeded $2.5 billion. As NFTs become more widely used, the popularity and market value of the CryptoPunks collection rises as well.
The Oldest NFT Collection is CryptoPunks.
Prices will rise sharply when there is considerable demand for a good or service and little available supply. This is also true of the renowned CryptoPunk collection. The CryptoPunk collection became so well-known that Visa had to get in on the action by purchasing a Punk for $160,000.
The real concern, though, is what is actually fueling the desire for what some critics would refer to as a collection of pixel images.
While there are several causes for the rise in demand for CryptoPunks, disruption and shortages stand out as the main ones.
Because it is the oldest NFT collection
One of the first NFT initiatives, the CryptoPunk collection is regarded as being of high quality. A vintage NFT collection like CryptoPunk is worth as much as Pablo Picasso’s well-known work from 1932, “Femme nue couchée au collier,” which Justin Sun of TRON purchased and tokenized.
Being the first and oldest NFT collection, CryptoPunks is one of the most significant triggers for rising demand. This is why many investors continue to purchase CryptoPunk in order to own one of the original NFT artworks.
Jay-Z, Serena Williams, and Other Rarities
The uniqueness and scarcity of tokens contribute significantly to the value and popularity of NFTs in general. The same is true with CryptoPunks.
The scarcity of CryptoPunks that are for sale significantly raises interest and demand. The majority of CryptoPunks are extremely valuable due to their relative rarity.
Punks with an ordinary appearance are worth less than uncommon Punks. For instance, among the collection’s rarest NFTs are alien CryptoPunks. Due to their extreme rarity, Alien CryptoPunks are quite valuable.
Numerous well-known people who buy CryptoPunks, including Jay-Z and Serena Williams, are among the factors contributing to their popularity. Demand for CryptoPunk NFTs is further boosted by the use of them as profile images on social networks that are actually connected to the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Who was the original CryptoPunk?
10,000 CryptoPunks were produced by John Watkinson and Matt Hall, developers at Larva Labs, and they were made available in 2017. The two made the punks as an experiment and for entertainment, but they quickly gained value and some collectors paid millions of dollars for them.
What served as the CryptoPunks’ style’s source of inspiration?
Watkinson and Hall based the odd impact of the punks on the mid-1970s London punk scene, William Gibson’s 1984 science fiction book Neuromancer, Ridley Scott’s 1982 science fiction film Blade Runner, and the cyberpunk movement, which was influenced by the French electronic music group Daft Punk.
Which CryptoPunk has made the most money thus far?
In February 2022, Deepak Thapliyal, CEO of Chain, purchased CryptoPunk 5822 for 8,000 ETH, which was then worth $23.7 million. One of the rarest types of CryptoPunks, the digital avatar is an alien kind who wears a blue bandana; just 0.09% of punks possess this quality. Unique characteristics raise the avatar’s worth. The total value of trades generated by the Ethereum NFT collection is close to $2.4 billion.
How Can I Purchase CryptoPunk NFT?
The CryptoPunks collection is available on a number of marketplaces, including OpenSea, the biggest secondary NFT store, just like other NFT collections.
CryptoPunks, however, can only make purchases via the Larva Labs website. Here, the company offers a range of tools required to assist customers in making their avatar purchase decisions, including a tracker that shows all Punks listed and their varying pricing.
With an Ethereum-based wallet, ideally MetaMask, you must first log in. Using the Larva Labs official website, you can bid, purchase, and sell CryptoPunks after gaining access to the platform and the required permissions.
You can determine the status of each CryptoPunk NFT based on its backdrop color when you bid, buy, and sell NFTs in the market.
A CryptoPunk with a blue background is not for sale and does not have any active offers at the moment. A purple backdrop indicates that there is an active offer for the selected CryptoPunk, while a red background indicates that the owner of Punk has placed it up for sale.
Taking into account the aforementioned details, we have created a comprehensive guide on how to purchase and sell NFTs on OpenSea, which you can browse by clicking on the link here.
The Prospects for CryptoPunk
In the NFT arena, CryptoPunks has attracted a number of well-known investors and is driving the art movement. A CryptoPunk NFT is now worth several million dollars, up from nearly nothing in just four years.
One thing is certain: The oldest NFT collections will always be a crucial part of the NFT universe for years to come, regardless of whether the current desire for CryptoPunks and NFTs in general will continue.
However, more CryptoPunk NFTs are unlikely to be released given their restricted supply is one of the major factors contributing to their popularity, therefore Larva Labs is continuously looking for new methods to further the project.
To ensure the lifespan and durability of CryptoPunk investments, Larva Labs revealed that it has chained all CryptoPunk properties and images to the Ethereum blockchain.
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