The most expensive CryptoPunk ever sold changed hands for an undisclosed amount on Monday, amid a historic decline in the value of blue chip NFTs.
CryptoPunk #5822 – one of nine ultra-rare Alien Punks in the collection of 10,000 Ethereum NFTs – previously sold for almost $24 million to crypto manager Deepak Thapliyal in February 2022. Beginning Monday, Thapliyal announced he had finally said goodbye to his Punk, without revealing who he sold it to, or for what price.
Declutter contacted Thapliyal about the sale but did not immediately receive a response. Data from the chain confirms that CryptoPunk #5822 was sent from the director’s address to an anonymous Ethereum wallet which contains nothing other than the NFT.
The sell-off comes at a time when NFT collections — even once-untouchable brands like CryptoPunks — are plummeting to lows not seen since the new token format launched in 2021.
End of an era.
#5822, Enjoy your new
— Deepak (@dt_nfts) August 19, 2024
At the time of Thapliyal’s multi-million dollar punk purchase at the height of the NFT bull run, even the cheapest listed CryptoPunk cost over $200,000. That figure – known as a project’s price floor – has since fallen for CryptoPunks to around $59,000 at the time of writing, according to data from NFT price floor.
Earlier this month, CryptoPunks’ price floor fell below $44,000 – a grim milestone that appears not to have been reached since collections’ initial surge to eye-popping valuations in 2021.
Given the cult status of CryptoPunks, perhaps so the first NFT collection Defining the promise of the entire asset class, punks have received a lot of attention from mainstream cultural gatekeepers museums, luxury brandsAnd auction houses.
But even in the art world, the once unwavering hold of the collection may now be disappearing. Last weekend, a Sotheby’s digital art sale involving two CryptoPunks failed to attract bids for the NFTs above the minimum asking price of $60,000.
Punk #491 feels unloved with 0 bid.
Reserve for $60k not yet satisfied https://t.co/0q8CiNesW2 pic.twitter.com/95wigyKBIQ
— Michael Bouhanna (@michaelbouhanna) August 17, 2024
On Monday, Michael Bouhanna, head of digital art at Sotheby’s, said: announced that the minimum asking price for both CryptoPunks, or reserves, had been reduced to $45,000 each. At the time of writing, both still appear to have received zero bids.
Despite the recent declines, it wasn’t until last spring that three Alien Punks raked in at least $12 million each over the course of several weeks, with the top sale reaching $16.42 million on Ethereum at the time of the transaction.
Edited by Andrew Hayward