Someone just bought an NFT CryptoPunks for $16 million

A CryptoPunks NFT was recently sold for 4,500 ETH, approximately $16 million. This marks one of the most expensive NFT transactions to date.

Someone just bought an NFT CryptoPunks for $16 million. Image: Blockworks

A user has spent a staggering 4,500 ETH — valued at $16.03 million at the time of sale (late on March 4) — to acquire CryptoPunks #3100. The buyer's wallet was created just four days ago and appears to be dedicated solely to NFT transactions. This purchase also ranks as the second-highest price paid for a CryptoPunks, following CryptoPunks #5822, which sold for nearly $24 million in February 2022.

CryptoPunks #3100 is one of only nine Alien Punks among the entire set of 10,000 CryptoPunks. Due to their rarity, these often command extremely high auction prices. The most expensive NFT ever sold remains "Everydays - The First 5,000 Days" by artist Beeple (Mike Winkelmann), auctioned for $69.3 million at Christie's in March 2021.

The buyer of CryptoPunks #3100 had been bidding for several days. They initially started bidding on Thursday at 4,250 ETH, approximately $14.8 million, but were unsuccessful. Last night, they retracted their previous bid and increased it to 4,500 ETH.

However, both CryptoPunks #3100 and its sibling #5822 are not the highest-priced NFTs ever sold. That record belongs to Beeple's artwork. Nevertheless, today's rare transaction is a positive signal for the cryptocurrency market as a whole, with Bitcoin poised to surpass its previous high of $69,000 and ETH also surpassing $3,500 for the first time since early 2022.

CryptoPunks were created by Larva Labs and recently transferred to new ownership under Yuga Labs, the organization behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club. CryptoPunks are considered pioneers in inspiring the subsequent boom of profile picture NFTs, often playfully referred to as "JPEGs" by the community. The collection has generated over $2.75 billion in transactions since its inception, with current floor prices around 57 ETH ($200,000) per NFT.

Floor price fluctuations of CryptoPunks from September 2021 to date. Source: NFT Floor Price