Top 10 Most Expensive NFTs of All Time
NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are more popular than ever, with more than $5.5 billion in trading volume since the beginning of the year. Among the most popular markets for NFT technology has been the world of fine art, with ultra-wealthy investors spending millions to diversify their portfolios with blockchain-backed artworks.
Below, find the top ten most expensive NFTs ever sold.
Suggested Reading: 3 Tips for Entering the NFT Market
10. CryptoPunk #7252: $5.3 Million
Number 10 is CryptoPunk #7252, which sold for 1,600 Ether worth around $5.3 million in August 2021.
Get used to these pixelated punks because they make up over half the list. CryptoPunks is one of the oldest and most valuable NFT projects on the market.
Part of a collection of 10,000 unique, Ethereum-based collectible characters initially launched in 2017, #7252 dons a chinstrap, red eyes, red crazy hair, and a gold earring. #7252 is particularly unique because he is one of just 88 Zombie Punks, a particular subset of CryptoPunks with green skin.
9. Source Code for the WWW: $5.43 Million
The code that permanently altered life as we know it. The Source Code for the World Wide Web is an NFT that includes an archive of the original files used to create the World Wide Web, written between October 3, 1990, and August 24, 1991.
This NFT was minted in June 2021 and sold for $5.42 Million in July 2021 at a Sotheby's live auction online.
8. CryptoPunk #5217: $5.45 Million
The eighth most expensive NFT of all time is CryptoPunk #5217. Even more rare than his Zombie Punk brethren, #5217 is one of just 24 Ape Punks and sports a knitted cap and a gold chain. This punk was bought in July 2021 for 2,250 ETH, worth $5.45 Million.
7. OCEAN FRONT: $6 Million
Ocean Front is the first of the three Beeple NFTs on the list. Beeple, AKA Mike Winkelmann, is a digital artist out of Wisconsin and the undeniable GOAT of the NFT world, with three of the world's most expensive blockchain collectibles donning his name.
Ocean Front is a piece of digital art that doubles as a commentary on the challenges of climate change. It features a tree sitting atop a careful stack of vehicles and shipping containers resting on a platform above the ocean floor.
Sold for exactly $6 million in March 2021, Beeple donated all profits to the Open Earth Foundation, a non-profit that aims to track global progress on the Paris Agreement to combat climate change.
6. CryptoPunk 8857: $6.63 Million
CryptoPunk 8857 is another of the 88 Zombie Punks with black wild hair and 3D glasses. This punk sold for 2,000 ETH worth $6.63 Million in September 2021.
5. CROSSROAD: $6.66 Million
Crossroad is a highly political statement made by Beeple and pokes fun at former President Donald Trump. The NFT is a ten-second video that depicts Trump lying naked in the grass amongst a pile of garbage after losing the 2020 election. The clip sold for $6.66 Million in February 2021.
4. CryptoPunk #7804: $7.57 Million
Another CryptoPunk, #7804 is one of just nine Alien punks - a subset of CryptoPunks with blue skin. #7804 also smokes a pipe, wears a straight forward cap and a pair of small shades. Sold for 4,200 ETH in March 2021, this punk is valued at $7.57 Million.
3. CryptoPunk #3100: $7.58 Million
The third most expensive NFT in history is yet another of the nine Alien CryptoPunks, but this one wears only a headband. This punk sold for 4,200 ETH in March 2021, worth $7.58 Million.
2. CryptoPunk #7523: $11.8 Million
CryptoPunk #7523 is yet another rare Alien CryptoPunk. #7523 wears a medical mask, a knit cap, and a gold earring. This punk was sold for $11.8 million at a Sotheby's auction in June 2021.
1. EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS: $69.3 Million
The most expensive NFT of all time is Beeple's Everydays: The First 5000 Days, which sold for a whopping $69.3 Million at Christie's first-ever digital art auction in March 2021. In a way, Everdays ushered in the new era of NFT fine art by being the first-ever purely digital NFT ever sold by a major fine art auction house.
Everydays is a collage of the 5,000 images Beeple made and shared on social media every day from May 1st, 2007 - January 7th, 2021. The NFT represents the progression of the artist's work over seven years and depicts people's obsession and fear of progressing technologies.
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