In 2022 NFTs experienced exponential growth as tens of thousands of investors flocked to collect digital art in various forms. Since then the NFT market has only expanded. We have witnessed some record-breaking NFT projects from Bored Ape Yacht Club to Crypto Punks.
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Lets deep first understand what exactly are NFTs, and why are they valuable.
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How do NFTs earn their value?
The market’s supply and demand determine the value of an NFT. Evaluation is typically simpler when an NFT is made as a physical asset representation. However, the majority of NFTs only exist digitally, on-chain.
Each NFT unit may have distinct attributes, rarity, and each NFT collection has a unique supply. However, a number of additional elements can impact how much an NFT is valued. For instance, limited series NFTs with particular use cases typically have a higher value. The demand for NFTs may also be influenced by the founding team, artists, and the local community.
In other words, an NFT’s value may depend on who produced it, how much it is worth in play-to-win games, or even just how the community and market feel about it. There are many examples of NFT initiatives that have been successful, but just as many have failed. Before trading or investing in NFTs, make sure to DYOR and refrain from using funds you cannot afford to lose.
Top 10 Most Expensive NFTs Ever Sold
1. The Merge – $91.8 Million
Unknown artist Pak created the virtual artwork known as The Merge. On December 6, 2021, it was put up for auction on the Nifty Gateway marketplace and sold for $91.8 million. In other words, this NFT is made up of a collection of pieces that individuals could buy, and The Merge was separated into 312,686 pieces and distributed to 28,983 investors.
The Merge is made up of three enormous white masses that have a dark background. The greater the mass of mass investors, the more they would purchase. Additionally, the piece includes a built-in mechanism for scarcity that makes sure the supply of tokens decreases over time. The receiving address’s token and each Merge token transferred combine to create a single token with a larger mass value.
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2. Everyday: The First 5000 Days – $69.3 million
Mike Winkelmann is an American graphic designer better known by his stage name Beeple. He created the digital artwork Everyday: The First 5000 Days. This NFT was sold through an auction sale at Christie’s. It was sold for $69.3 million in February 2021. The Metapurse NFT project’s founder, Vignesh Sundaresan, commonly known as MetaKovan, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency investor, purchased the NFT.
“Everyday” is the second most expensive NFT sold to date and the fourth most expensive living artist’s work ever to be sold at auction.
3. Clock – $52.7 Million
The Clock, the third most expensive NFT ever sold, has a peculiar backstory. PAK produced this with the goal of raising money for Julian Assange’s legal expenses following his contentious incarceration in 2019.
Due to accusations that he spied on the US government, notably through the WikiLeaks website he founded, Assange remains behind bars. The artwork resembles a clock that counts the days since Assange’s incarceration.
The Clock NFT was sold to AssangeDAO, a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) established to oversee the transaction, for $52.7 million (16,953 ETH) in February 2022. In addition to creating The Clock, the authors gave users permission to freely create a number of NFTs with censored inscriptions. The authors’ choice of pro-freedom organisations receives a portion of the series’ profits.
4. HUMAN ONE – $28.9 million
The first physical artwork Beeple created was the HUMAN ONE, which is another record-breaking NFT. In November 2021, it fetched $28.9 million at Christie’s.
It showcases a 3D moving sculpture with four digital screens called HUMAN ONE. It shows an astronaut travelling through several locations at various times of the day in an infinite video. The hybrid art is evidence of Beeple’s ambition to express himself artistically outside of the digital realm.
5. CryptoPunk #5822 – $23.7 million
The CryptoPunks undoubtedly tops the list of the most popular tokens, regularly selling for record-breaking prices. Select NFT collections like CryptoPunks have developed a cult following. The concept Larva Labs introduced in 2017 was influenced by the London punk scene, cyberpunk, and electronic music pioneers like Daft Punk. CryptoPunk #5822 comes in at the top of the list of most costly CryptoPunks (and it ranks fifth among the list of most valued NFTs).
In February this year, the token was sold for almost $23.7 million, and there seems to be a valid explanation for the high price: CryptoPunk #5822 is one of the series’ rarest alien editions, of which only 9 exist out of the 10,000 punks that were made. Additionally, this token has a bandana and is one of 333 in total. Deepak Thapliyal, the CEO of Chain, bought the NFT. We can anticipate that it will continue to be one of the most expensive NFT available, considering how uncommon it is.
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6. Alien Cryptopunk #7523 – $11.75 million
Alien CryptoPunk #7523 has risen to the sixth spot among the most expensive NFT ever sold because they are a scarce item in the cryptocurrency industry.
It is one of the only 9 Alien punks minted by Larva Labs and comes with an exclusive series of accessories like earrings (2459 punks have this), knitted caps (419 punks have this) and medical Mask (175 punks have this). Also known as “Covid Alien,” CryptoPunk #7523 was bought by Shalom Meckenzie, the largest shareholder of DraftKings.
7. TPunk #3442 – $10.5 Million
One blockchain that has its own version of CryptoPunks is Tron. Although TPunks don’t normally bring in large profits, Justin Sun, the co-founder of Tron, purchased TPunk #3442 for $10.5 million in August 2021. The Joker and TPunk #3442 are similar in appearance.
This TPunk isn’t obviously worth millions of dollars, but Justin Sun’s notoriety helped justify its premium price. Sun ultimately gave the NFT to APENFT, a startup built on Tron that aims to tokenize art on the blockchain.
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8. CryptoPunk #4156 – $10.26 million
There is yet another CryptoPunk among the priciest NFTs. The ape in CryptoPunk #4156 is wearing a blue bandana. The NFT was formerly owned by a person using the alias “Punk 4156,” who bought it in February 2021 for $1.25 million. However, in December of that same year, he sold the NFT for $10.26 million.
9. CryptoPunk #5577 – $7.7 million
With CryptoPunk #4156 sold for $7.7 million back in February 2022, it showed no signs of seeing a downturn in enthusiasm for CryptoPunks, even after the 2021 NFT frenzy. Robert Leshner, the creator of the Compound DeFi protocol, bought this token. He announced his purchase with a “Yeehaw” tweet as CryptoPunk #5577, which featured a cowboy hat.
10. CryptoPunk #3100 – $7.57 Million
At last, our list of the Top 10 Most Expensive NFT concludes with CryptoPunk #3100, which sold for $7.6 million on March 11, 2021.
One of the nine “Alien” CryptoPunks that make up the full collection of CryptoPunks, #3100 is the rarest sort of punk in the collection. Additionally, it has unique characteristics like a white and blue headband, which only 450 punks out of 10,000 have, which accounts for its high worth.
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