In the year 2021, NFTs caused a commotion on the internet. During the infamous summer for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), we witnessed projects such as BAYC gain enormous popularity, which resulted in prices shooting through the roof and major players investing in NFTs left and right.
And while it’s wonderful to see NFTs finally taking off, it’s important to remember that they began their existence many years ago. One of the first NFT projects ever launched, CryptoPunks was first made available in 2017.
They have grown to become the most lucrative NFT project currently available on the market. Additionally, acquiring one of these pixelated punks is not an easy task at all.
But what exactly is a CryptoPunk, and how did they come to be such a prominent figure in the rapidly developing field of NFTs? You can educate yourself about this essential NFT project by reading our review of CryptoPunks.
What exactly are these CryptoPunks?
The collection known as CryptoPunks was created by NFT and features 10,000 individual pictures of pixelated humans. Each image that is 24 by 24 pixels comprises characteristics that are generated by an algorithm.
The actual art is not that complicated. You wouldn’t imagine that one of these pictures is worth more than 150,000 dollars just by taking a quick look at it. However, if you are familiar with NFTs, you are aware that purchasing these JPEG photographs could turn out to be one of the most profitable decisions about cryptocurrency investments that you ever make.
Punks come in a variety of looks, distinguishable by factors such as skin tone, hairdo, eye color, and accessories like cigarettes and earrings.
Before anyone had any idea what NFTs were, the project was already underway. Nobody could have foreseen the meteoric rise in popularity that digital artifacts on the blockchain would see in the years to come.
Back in 2017, CryptoPunks had a somewhat low-key start. But in the modern day, they have a following that is similar to a cult. Even if there are innumerable new projects appearing all the time at a fraction of the price, the goal of every NFT collector is to acquire a CryptoPunk.
If you had invested in even just one or two punks back then and kept them until now, you would be sitting on some significant profits at this point.
Rarity of the CryptoPunks
As of January 2022, the minimum amount that may be paid to acquire a CryptoPunk is around 60 ETH, which is equivalent to $190,000. However, the amount of money made through the sale of CryptoPunks can easily reach into the millions.
Why is it the case? The collection already has a sense of exclusivity built into it. Because they only appear a few times total, several characteristics of the collection are considered to be quite rare.
Because there is a decreasing supply while there is an increasing demand, the price of those will naturally go up.
For instance, the majority of punks are human. However, there are a few aliens, apes, and zombies, and because they are so uncommon, their prices are the highest.
A gold chain around the neck, a pair of surgical mask goggles, virtual reality goggles, and a tassel hat are some other examples of items that have unusual rates.
The punks in the collection with the lowest level of rarity typically do not have any other accessories save an earring. They either wear their hair in a simple style or a cap. These “common” punks are the ones that you may get for the same price as the floor price (currently 60 ETH).
One of the most valuable punks, an ape (of which there are nine), was just recently sold for $10 million, which established quite a few records in the process.
Advantages of Maintaining a Position in CryptoPunks NFTs
The majority of NFT initiatives that were released in 2021, and a significant number of those that are about to explode onto the scene in 2022, come with ownership perks. For instance, holders of BAYC have access to a digital art canvas that may be worked on collaboratively, in addition to a community online where they can communicate with other holders (which includes many celebrities and high-profile investors).
Additionally, they are given rights to the intellectual property of any NFT image that they own. In order to enable BAYC holders to print their ape on shirts and other items, which they can then sell.
What services, then, does CryptoPunks provide? Nothing of the sort. When CryptoPunks first came out, there wasn’t a lot of emphasis placed on how useful NFTs would be. It is absolutely perfect for a collector to have in their collection.
If you had the Mona Lisa, the only thing you would do with it is show it off. You are not going to be able to use it for anything else because it is such a priceless piece of art.
CryptoPunks is similar. What really matters is not just holding one of the initial NFT projects but also having ownership of it.
You do gain bragging rights, however. In addition, bragging rights are extremely valuable in the digital sphere.
Punk music’s long and storied past
In the summer of 2017, the CryptoPunks NFT project was made available to the public. It was developed by a team of two people that worked together in the Larva Labs studio.
Matt Hall and John Watkinson, two Canadian software developers, drew inspiration for their work from a variety of sources, including the punk culture in London and the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk.
The two developers behind the project have a significant amount of experience in the field of software development. In the past, they have been responsible for the launch of a large number of projects and have collaborated with prominent clients such as Google and Microsoft.
The group also went on to produce another project known as Meebits in the year 2021. Meebits is an NFT collection that features 20,000 pixelated 3D characters.
But getting back to CryptoPunks, the punks themselves were made freely available. Paying the Ethereum gas fees was all that was required of you in order to receive your punk(s).
In the year 2022, the gas expenses associated with a single transaction on Ethereum frequently exceed $100. On the other hand, in 2017, there was very little traffic on the Ethereum network, therefore gas fees were nearly nonexistent.
The group decided to keep 1,000 CryptoPunks for themselves while distributing the remaining 9,000 to the general public. It took some time before the 9,000 NFTs were collected, despite what you might have expected to happen.
After that, however, the website Mashable published an article on the endeavor, and within twenty-four hours, all of the remaining punks had been taken.
They believe that the rest is history now because the initiative finally became extremely popular over the internet. In the most recent several months, it has become increasingly usual for auctions to be held at Christie’s, celebrities to use punks as their profile pictures, and even huge corporations to purchase punks.
NFTs that were in existence before ERC-721
CryptoPunks was released long before the ERC-721 token standard was even conceived of, despite the fact that the vast majority of new NFTs being created today adhere to it. Therefore, CryptoPunk is one of the few non-ERC-721 tokens that can be purchased as a non-fungible token project.
If you’re a digital collector, then just that fact might be enough to convince you to buy the product. Purchasing this item is similar to investing in the painting’s original sketches.
CryptoPunks, on the other hand, was an important step along the way and served as the impetus for the development of the ERC-721 token standard, which all of us NFT collectors use on a regular basis now.
A Look Back at the Price of CryptoPunks
As was just said, at the time of the debut, you were able to get a free CryptoPunk if you claimed one. Because the cost of gas was low, it was simple for someone interested in collecting punks to amass a significant number of them.
But as of right now, the entire collection has a market valuation that is greater than $5 billion, despite having a floor price of only 60 ETH. for a group of JPEGS with a grainy appearance.
However, it took a few of years for CryptoPunks to evolve into what it is today. When the idea was first introduced to the public in June of 2017, the typical secondary market price was somewhere about $60.
The month of July and August of 2017 showed an increase in the average sales price, which reached $140 before beginning a decline that continued until the year 2020.
Punks might have been purchased for somewhere between $200 and $500 in most of the year 2020. Beginning in September of the year 2020, the price began an upward trend that caused it to break through an average sales price of $1,000.
By February 2021, the typical transaction had reached over $40,000 by that point. Then, as NFT summer took over the internet like a storm, the average selling of CryptoPunks reached around $500,000 before slowing down to a manageable $200,000 in the following months.
It goes without saying that anyone who purchased a CryptoPunk in 2017, 2018, 2019, or 2020 and is still holding onto it is in a very strong financial position now.
Hype from CryptoPunks
The excitement that has surrounded the CryptoPunks initiative in recent weeks has attracted a large number of prominent investors. There are a lot of anonymous investors out there who have dozens or even hundreds of CryptoPunks, but there are also a lot of people who are in the public eye who are wearing CryptoPunks.
Gary Vaynerchuck, a well-known entrepreneur, is bullish on the long-term potential of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and owns at least one CryptoPunk.
Jay-Z invested in the company during the pre-punk rally of 2021 and utilized an image of his NFT as his profile picture on several internet platforms. At least nine CryptoPunks, including two zombies, are in Snoop Dogg’s possession at this time. Jason Derulo, Marshmello, 3LAU, and Steve Aoki are among other names in the music industry who own punks in addition to themselves.
In addition to athletes Odell Beckham Jr., Serena Williams, and Logan Paul, several punks are owned by these athletes. Even large corporations like Visa are getting in on the action, as seen by their recent purchase of a CryptoPunk for approximately $150,000.
The phrase “fine art collecting” is now almost always used interchangeably with “cryptopunks.”
The group from Larva Labs held an auction at the renowned Christie’s auction house to sell off some CryptoPunks. In the month of May 2021, a total of nine punks were acquired for the price of $16.9 million.
In June of 2021, CryptoPunk 7523 was put up for sale at Sotheby’s, which is widely regarded as being among the most prestigious art auction houses on the planet.
The fact that this specific punk is an alien that is disguised as a medical professional led to it being given the name “COVID Punk.” This particular piece of punk was purchased for $11.7 million.
The Prospects for the Future of CryptoPunks
The question now is, what does the future hold for CryptoPunks? Where do we plan to take the project? Nobody actually is aware of it.
It is normal practice for new NFT ventures to incorporate roadmaps, plans for future utility, and strategies to continue the progression of the brand into the foreseeable future. However, development of CryptoPunks began well before this became the industry standard.
At the time of this writing, the team behind the CryptoPunks project and brand has not disclosed any upcoming plans for either the project or the brand. CryptoPunks, on the other hand, won’t disappear any time soon because they were the ones who started the NFT initiative.
It has a dedicated following of collectors, and its legacy will continue to live on for a very long time.
What else can we anticipate from Larva Labs? They’re probably whipping up something delicious right this very second. And because everything that this team produces is likely to have a high level of utility, you should be sure to follow them on social media in order to stay current. You can also join the team on a more personal level by communicating with them through their Discord server.
Possible Substitutes for the Acquisition of CryptoPunks
Because of the phenomenal growth that has occurred over the course of the previous two years, the vast majority of individuals will never be able to buy a CryptoPunk. However, this does not imply that you are required to sit out any of the excitement. There is a plethora of additional work that is deserving of financial support and accumulation.
The following are some alternative NFT projects that we see as having a lot of potential in 2022.
Derivatives of the CryptoPunks
Projects are considered to be derivative when they have been strongly impacted by an earlier one. Numerous punk-related spinoff projects have emerged as a direct result of CryptoPunks. It’s possible that some are worthwhile to collect, but most probably aren’t. There is no connection between any of them and CryptoPunks.
3D FrankenPunks stands out as one of the games with the most potential. This piece of artwork, which was created in 3D and released in January 2022, is based on CryptoPunks. The collection is comprised of 10,000 NFTs and has more than 90 different features.
And the most exciting thing is… The team behind the project is purchasing actual CryptoPunk NFTs with the monies generated from the NFT sales and putting them in community wallets. These funds come from the proceeds of the NFT sales.
The heritage of CryptoPunk can be accessed in a roundabout way through the purchase of a 3D FrankenPunk.
Dead Fellaz
Dead Fellaz is a collection of more than 10,000 undead NFTs that has developed into a robust community. Although the floor price of the project has been continuously increasing, investing in it is still very inexpensive in comparison to CryptoPunks.
Credit Towards Robotos NFTs Robotos
Robotos is a more recent project, but it has already garnered a lot of attention because to the modern yet adorable art style it employs. When you purchase a Roboto NFT, you will receive not only the original GIF files, but also a PNG file that you can use as your profile image.
Alien Frens Credit Alien Frens
Alien Frens was released in December 2021, but it has quickly risen to become one of the most well-known NFT projects in just a few short weeks. The initial price of the project was 0.02 ETH, but it reached a floor price of 3.5 ETH in a little under four weeks after it was introduced.
The project has a detailed road map for the future, which includes upcoming releases, events that will occur in real life, and a great deal more. Participating in this project at this time can turn out to be a really advantageous opportunity.
Should You Get Your Hands on Some CryptoPunk?
We do not provide advice regarding finances or investments. It is ultimately up to you to choose whether or not you want to invest in an NFT project, regardless of whether or not that project is CryptoPunks.
It is critical that you do not make a hasty purchasing decision or give in to the fear of missing out (FOMO). Always look into things on your own (DYOR).
Having said that, CryptoPunks is the first truly successful non-fiat currency project. It has established itself as the first initiative of its kind in the NFT arena, and we believe that its value will always remain stable while at the same time continuing to rise as more people start participating in the NFT market.
A lot of people compare CryptoPunks to bitcoin. It was the first item of its kind ever produced. The wider NFT sector and the community of fine art will continue to keep CryptoPunks in high respect, despite the fact that other projects with more advanced art techniques, unequaled utility, and intellectual property rights will emerge in the future.
It would not be a poor choice to put your money into a CryptoPunk if you are in the position to do so. Because there is a good chance that the value will go up over time, your investment will be worthwhile.
If you do, then you should make sure to post it as your profile image so that you can establish yourself as a true legend in the NFT community and turn all of the newcomers green with envy. OpenSea is where the vast majority of people get their punk, although Looks Rare, a more recent NFT platform, might be a better choice because it allows you to earn prizes for purchasing and selling items.
May the CryptoPunks Live Forever!
It is not true that CryptoPunks was the very first NFT ever introduced. However, there is widespread consensus that this is the very first noteworthy NFT collection to be released, which has allowed an entire industry of generative NFT projects get off the ground.
Putting money down on one right now is a significant investment. But because it is a blue-chip non-traded company, it is highly likely that your investment will keep its value over the course of the long term, and there is a good chance that it will be worth significantly more in the years to come.
We do not offer advice on investing, but we do provide news and updates on significant projects and firms operating in the blockchain technology field. You may continue your investigation and figure out which cryptocurrency projects are worthwhile investments by reading some of our other recent articles and crypto reviews, which you can find here on our site.
