CryptoPunks, the original on-chain digital collectibles have seen a massive surge in volume, traders, and sales as world-famous auction house Christie’s announced on Thursday 8th April its intention to sell a collection of 9 of the rarest CryptoPunks.
In the last 7-days, CryptoPunks have seen a 202% or $28 million increase in transaction volume while the number of sales increased over 125% to 480 and traders surged 100% to 407. Furthermore, the surge catapulted CryptoPunks to the top of the NFT leaderboard, overtaking NBA Top Shot who have seen a decrease in activity over the last 7-days as tracked by DappRadar.
Moreover, the floor price of a CryptoPunk has now increased exponentially amidst these high-priced sales and growing demand. The average price over the last 7-days has now risen to over $58,000. Considering you could pick up a CryptoPunk NFT just 18 months ago for around $800 – the rise is impressive.
Developed by American studio Larva Labs in 2017. CryptoPunks is regarded as one of the first NFTs created on the Ethereum blockchain. There are only 10,000 unique CryptoPunks in circulation, which were randomly generated 8-bit characters originally offered up for free.
Looking at individual sales in the last 7-days reveals more detail about which CrypoPunks are selling and what value they are commanding. Looking at a handful of top sales in the top 50 according to DappRadar data shows that the most expensive NFT sold in the last 7-days was a CryptoPunk for over $759,000 with further sales range from $180,000 to $320,000. Scrolling through the entire breakdown of top sales in the last 7-days reveals several CryptoPunks have changed hands as the expectation of increased value once the Christies auction occurs builds.
Real-World Value
Christie’s will sell a single lot of nine rare CryptoPunks. All of the punks featured are from the sub-1,000 series, including a rare alien. “Taken together, the set represents both the rarest possible CryptoPunks and highlights from the variety of attributes that are the signature of the project,” the creators told Christie’s. The digital characters have now become highly sought-after collectibles, with some CryptoPunks fetching over $7 million.
The set will appear in Christie’s 21st Century Evening Sale on the 13th May in New York. Last month, Christie’s auctioned off a piece of crypto art by digital artist Mike Winkelmann, aka Beeple, which sold for a record $69.3 million. Furthermore, crypto art is set to get more attention as Miami’s SaveArtSpace is launching a massive outdoor exhibition featuring a diverse selection of CryptoPunks.
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