Christie’s ‘No Time Like Present’ auction exceeds all expectations

The landmark Christie’s ‘No Time Like Present’ auction that included six CryptoPunks and four Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs has smashed the initial estimates set by the auction house.

The auction concluded yesterday with the six CryptoPunks, four BAYC and four MeeBit NFTs selling for an approximate combined HKD 95.9m ($12.3m).

CryptoPunks have long been the leading NFT project in the space and were expected to sell for the current floor price of a punk – $305k (105 ETH).

However, due to the premium of the auction and the rampant interest in NFTs, the punks smashed their initial estimates and proceeded to sell for at least double the highest estimate.

The lowest priced Punk sold for $610k – with the remainder selling for between $642k and $1.1m.

The most expensive NFT sold in the auction was a Zombie CryptoPunk, which sold for HKD 33,850,000 ($4.34m) – placing it in the top 10 record sales for a CryptoPunk.

The BAYC collection was prominently showcased at Christie’s Hong Kong location with full-size displays of the colourful artwork, with many NFT enthusiasts turning up to see their NFTs featured in person.

Surprisingly, three out of the four apes sold for less than the current market value of a ‘Black Suit‘ ape, which now has a price floor of 300 ETH on OpenSea. The ‘Suited Cheetah Blue Beams‘ ape – one of the rarest and sought-after apes – was expected to reach a premium price and didn’t disappoint with its final sale of $1.25m.

Other rare pieces in the collection like ‘Solid Gold Fur’ apes have also seen their price jump to record highs following the auction’s conclusion. Additionally, the interest in the project has spurred a flurry of high-profile buys including producer and DJ Marshmello and NFT Metaverse platform The Sandbox.

The next Christies auction to include NFTs is the ‘Post-War To Present’ collection, which opens on October 1. The auction will feature an array of NFTs from Art Blocks Curated and will be the first auction to use Ethereum for live bidding.