A Peek Into The Most Expensive NFT Projects
Digital artworks, animated apes, and virtual properties are just some of the things that have captured the hearts of buyers across the globe. From enthusiastic collectors to seasoned investors and even just curious celebrities, non-fungible tokens have made their way around attracting sky-high prices.
By understanding what makes these projects valuable, you can make more informed decisions about which NFTs to buy or invest in. We’re going to look at 10 NFTs that have fetched some of the highest price tags in history. Why have these NFTs garnered such valuations? Let’s find out!
10. CryptoPunk #3100
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We’re moving from least to most expensive on this list and this piece sits at number ten. Don’t be mistaken though, it only comes in last compared to the other pieces ahead of it.
The NFT in question is from one of the biggest collections in NFT history, CryptoPunks. This is probably not your first run-in with these pixelated figures but the CryptoPunks are a series of 10,000 unique, algorithmically generated characters, each with distinct traits and attributes. They were created by software developers in 2017 and took the art world by storm soon after they were released.
The punks are valuable due to their rarity, historical significance, and popularity, and were instrumental in kickstarting the PFP trend in the NFT industry. Each CryptoPunk has distinct attributes, with some being extremely rare, such as the "Alien" punks.
And that's what brings us to our list of the most expensive NFTs, where we find CryptoPunk #3100, one of those elusive "Alien" punks, no wonder it sold for $7.6 million.
9. CryptoPunk #5577
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The buyer of this particular NFT was none other than Robert Lesner, the founder of decentralized crypto platform Compound Finance. Lesner no doubt believed that this Punk was worth every penny of the $7.7 million he paid to get the piece which notably, features Ape skin which only 0.24% of the collection possess. Ape Skin is the second rarest attribute, trailing right behind the extraterrestrials.
8. CryptoPunk #4156
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Unlike the punks I mentioned earlier, this iconic piece moved around quite a bit before the sale which earned it a spot on this list. Before the sale, its holder was a well-known collector named Punk4156. He had previously hinted at holding on to the NFT forever but after some drama over commercialization rights, it was sold for over $10M on December 21, 2021. 4156 originally bought the piece for $1.25 million, can you imagine him selling it nine months later for almost ten times the price?
7. TPunk #3442
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Ever heard about the Tron blockchain's version of CryptoPunks? They're called TPunks, and while they might not be as popular as their Ethereum counterparts, they’ve still managed to make a big splash in the NFT market. That’s right, one non-fungible token from the collection TPunk #3442 wheedled its way to fame after attracting a $10.5 million sale in August of 2021.
TPunks are a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) created on the Tron blockchain that share a similar aesthetic to CryptoPunks. The collection features 10,000 unique pixelated avatars, with nine aliens, 24 apes, 88 zombies, and 11 Justin (in honor of co-founder Justin Sun).
You’d probably like to know that Sun himself, purchased TPunk #3442, which fascinatingly resembles DC’s Joker character and as such is aptly named Joker. Sun paid the record-breaking $10.5M for the NFT but ultimately donated it to APENFT, a Tron-based project dedicated to tokenizing artwork on the blockchain.
6. CryptoPunk #7523
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Coming in at number 6 is CryptoPunk #7523, also known as the "COVID Alien." It is one of the rarest characters in the entire collection. With only nine Aliens, it's safe to say that this particular punk is out of this world!
The rarity of CryptoPunk #7523, combined with its special accessories such as earrings and a knitted cap, make it a highly sought-after NFT. Only 0.09% of other CryptoPunks share the Alien attribute, and only 2% of the collection have a medical mask like CryptoPunk #7523. The knitted cap is also very rare, with only 4% of the collection having it, and the earrings are found on only 2559 punks (25% of the collection).
The COVID Alien sold at auction house Sotheby’s “Natively Digital” auction and was snatched up by Shalom Meckenzie, the largest shareholder of DraftKings, who was willing to shell out $11.8 million to own this special punk.
5. CryptoPunk #5822
We’re halfway through the list and we’ve officially hit the end of the CryptoPunk streak. #5822 is the most expensive CryptoPunk NFT ever sold. Yet another Alien Punk type, featuring this time a unique accessory; a blue bandanna This non-fungible token went to Deepak Thapliyal, the CEO of blockchain-based tech company Chain, for $23.7M in February 2022. Thapliyal tweeted an image of his punk after the purchase. It came close to being the highest-selling NFT at the time of sale but missed the mark by just a few million.
4. Human One
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Remember Beeple? This is one of his pieces.
HUMAN ONE is a moving sculpture with four screens that shows an astronaut exploring different places at various times. Think of it like a trippy space-time travel experience, but without leaving your couch. What's fascinating about HUMAN ONE NFT is that it's not just digital artwork. Beeple actually created a physical sculpture first and then used it to make the NFT. It's the first-ever physical piece from Beeple, a real-life sculpture that you can touch and see in person.
Also, we can’t forget that this piece is a work in progress. Beeple still updates it regularly, even though he doesn't own it anymore. It's like having a piece of art that never stops evolving - it's pretty cool. So, how much did this mind-bending artwork sell for? $25 million at a Christie's auction in November 2021. And when you add in the fees, it comes to a total of $28.9 million.
3. Clock
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So, Clock is basically a fancy digital timer that counts the number of days Julian Assange has been locked up in prison. It was created by Pak and Assange and curated as part of their Censored collection to raise funds for his legal defense.
Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, was arrested in 2019 after seeking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for seven years to avoid extradition to Sweden. He faced charges in the United States for allegedly violating the Espionage Act by publishing classified information on WikiLeaks and conspiring to hack government computers. His arrest sparked controversy as some believed he was a hero for exposing government secrets and others as a dangerous criminal who endangered national security.
Here's where things get interesting. In February 2022, The Clock NFT was sold for $52.7 million to AssangeDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization made up of over 10,000 people who pooled their money to purchase the NFT and support Assange. Also, Pak, the anonymous artist behind the piece, has become one of the highest-grossing living artists while remaining completely unknown. The Clock remains ticking as Assange remains in prison.
2. The First 5000 Days
The First 5000 Days is a masterpiece NFT designed by digital artist Michael Winkelmann, better known as Beeple. The artwork depicts a collage of 5000 unique digital images, each created by Beeple over the course of 5000 consecutive days.
The NFT was sold at Christie's, with the initial bid of around $100 quickly surpassed by crypto enthusiasts eager to get their hands on a piece of digital history. And it's no wonder - Beeple had already made a name for himself in the crypto world with previous sales such as Crossroads, a ten-second animated film about the 2020 American presidential election.
Within hours of the auction opening, the bidding for The First 5000 Days had skyrocketed to over $1 million. And on February 21, 2021, the NFT was finally sold for a record-breaking $69 million to MetaKovan, the founder and CEO of Metapurse, an NFT investment fund. With this sale, Beeple cemented his status as one of the most successful and innovative artists in the digital space.
1. The Merge
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With this piece, anonymous artist Pak shows their face once again, this time at the very top. Until The Merge, Beeple’s collage was the most expensive NFT to hit the market. But The Merge broke records when it was auctioned on the Nifty Gateway marketplace on December 6, 2021, for $91.8 million, dislodging The First 5000 Days from its spot at number 1. At the time, this NFT was unlike any other as it was divided into 312,686 pieces, allowing a collection of works for people to purchase.
The piece itself is composed of circles of different sizes a black background, with the size of the masses increasing as more investors acquire them. Additionally, the NFT has an inbuilt scarcity mechanism that decreases the token supply over time. This mechanism works by merging tokens of recipient wallets, resulting in higher mass value and a single token.
The Merge also has a built-in leaderboard that allows NFT holders to follow the mass acquired by other collectors. The top 100 and top 5 of the leaderboard will be rewarded with different style classes. The largest class possible to obtain is the Alpha class, which is awarded to the top collector.
This dynamic set-up of The Merge truly sets it apart from other NFT collections, and it's likely why it sold for such a high price. However, there is some controversy over whether this is the most expensive NFT ever sold, as the funds were raised from almost 30,000 investors rather than a single person. Regardless, it's an impressive feat for Pak and the Nifty Gateway marketplace.
Conclusion
The world of NFTs (like Beeple’s Human One) is always evolving, and we can expect to see even more groundbreaking projects in the future that break the records of the most expensive NFTs to date. As you saw earlier, Beeple’s Everydays had pretty much established itself as the most expensive NFT around until The Merge swooped in and stole the title.
It's exciting to think about who could be the next owner or creator of the most expensive NFT. Who knows, it could be you that makes the next big sale or purchase that hits the headlines.
