$10m CryptoPunk purchase smashes all-time NFT sales records

A CryptoPunk sale for $10.2m has smashed all previous records set for non-fungible token purchases following the ‘auction’ of one of the most recognisable and sought-after Punks on the market – PUNK #4156.

The NFT, which is one of 24 ‘Ape’ Punks, sold yesterday evening for an astonishing 2,500 ETH.

The seller of the CryptoPunk – Twitter user ‘Punk1456‘ – netted a $9.8m profit from the sale, having bought the piece back in February this year for 650 ETH ($1.25m).

The anonymous buyer has yet to come forward to reveal their identity.  Instead, Punk #4156 was instantly relisted for 4,156 ETH in homage to its ID number.

The ‘Ape’ Punk garnered a stellar reputation in the NFT community after being featured in a Beeple artwork titled “CRYPTOPUNK #4156 (APE)“. Since then, it has remained one of the most sought-after NFTs in existence due to the rarity, history and significance of the Punk.

4156’s sale now marks the highest ever sale of an NFT in dollar value – coincidentally stealing the top spot from two other CryptoPunks.

CryptoPunks #3100 and #7804 – which are two of only nine ‘Alien’ Punks – were both purchased on March 11 2021 for 4,200 ETH each and have held the top spot before yesterdays record purchase.

Other top NFT sales include the $7m purchase of ‘Right-click and Save As guy‘ by prominent collector ‘CozomoMedici’, a $6.6m ‘Zombie’ CryptoPunk sale and the highly-publicised $6.4m sale of Ross Ulbricht’s debut NFT ‘Persistence’.

Now, despite recent volume downtrends in the market, leading projects such as Bored Ape Yacht Club and the participation of brands such as Adidas and Pepsi have thrusted the burgeoning NFT space into mainstream territory.