NFT project EtherRock has continued its recent record-breaking pace following the sale of EtherRock 27 for an incredible $836k.
The sale sets a new all-time high for the project and marks its impressive rise following the re-emergence of NFTs in the crypto space.
EtherRock 27 purchased for Ξ250 Ether
($836,925.00)56 mins ago (Aug-23-2021 04:35:14 AM +UTC)
Txn: https://t.co/ANnSRDYuIh #EtherRock #EtherRocks pic.twitter.com/LGVBKvmUds
— EtherRock Price (@etherrockprice) August 23, 2021
EtherRock project is one of the original projects launched in 2017 alongside CryptoPunks in 2017 on the Ethereum blockchain. Despite their simple appearance and reputation in the crypto space as a simple “rock.jpeg”, EtherRock’s value lies in its minimal intrinsic value and its scarcity.
The rocks themselves hold no inherent value other than their unique colour, with each one the same shape and size. However, only 100 EtherRocks were minted, which is the driving contributor towards both their value and popularity. As with any collectable item, the rarer and more scarce an item is, the more it’s worth.
It’s now estimated that around 20% of the original 100 rocks minted are in either dead wallets or have been forgotten about, which only adds to their popularity and scarce nature. The latest all-time high of EtherRocks smashes the previous record set just over a week ago when EtherRock #61 was purchased for $250k. Since then, both the all-time high and price floor have continued to rise at an exponential rate.
According to the EtherRock website, the latest price floor for EtherRocks is now 269 ETH which equates to approximately $900k, based on current ETH prices. Only 20 EtherRock are now available for sale, signalling their ever-growing scarcity.
The ultimate ‘flex’ for NFT owners
According to former BitMex CEO Arthur Hayes, the ownership of extremely scarce and expensive NFTs is considered a “flex” within the crypto industry and explains why a simple picture of a rock or a pixelated avatar can be worth so much.
In a recent blog post, he expanded on how the rocks were the ultimate “flex” in the crypto space due to their rarity, alongside exclusive access to the EtherRock holder community. In turn, he also said that holding an EtherRock could be seen as a status symbol and a signal of wealth on social media platforms, which is similar to the display of art and other rare collectables in galleries and museums.
In addition, he touched on the cryptographic ownership of an NFT in a wallet, which is used to prove both the ownership and scarcity of the NFT.
“The more obviously worthless and expensive the NFT, the greater the Flex,” he concluded.
Justin Sun, the founder of the Tron network, purchased EtherRock 87 over the weekend and changed his profile picture to an image of the rock sporting the now infamous laser eyes.
Just spent half million dollars on a rock 😂 pic.twitter.com/4zDmDgzERz
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) August 22, 2021
Earlier this year, Sun established the JUST NFT Fund, which aims to transfer the world’s leading art pieces onto the blockchain. The fund focuses on the world’s top artists and artworks and will only acquire work with a value higher than $1 million, with a median price of around $10 million.
“JUST NFT will build a bridge between blockchain and the world’s top artists, supporting the growth of native NFT artists in the world of crypto,” he said.
Sun was also the buyer of the Beeple piece ‘OCEAN FRONT‘, which sold for $6m. The proceeds were donated to charity.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.