NFTs have grown into a phenomenon, gaining mainstream attention in 2021 and continuing to do so in 2022. When the craze started there were NFT collections being “dropped” every day and their prices soared continuously. So much was the hype surrounding NFTs, that the market was soon flooded with hundreds of types of NFTs to buy and invest in.

During and after this popular surge, the original ‘OGs’ of NFTs soared even higher. CryptoPunks are touted as one of the pioneers of the NFT space.

First launched in 2017, CryptoPunks have achieved legendary status, raking in millions for a single NFT. Floor prices for NFTS can be volatile and some NFT projects have failed, but cult classics like CryptoPunks have remained largely stable. With celebrities and sports persons entering the high-power NFT league, prices of popular NFTs have soared to unprecedented heights.

In this guide we’ll cover what are CryptoPunks, why is their value so high, and where do they stand right now, four years after arriving on the market.

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What are CryptoPunks?

Let’s start with breaking down what is an NFT. An NFT or Non-Fungible Token is data added to a file that creates a unique signature. It can be in the form of an image, a file, a song, a tweet, a text posted on a website, a physical item, and various other digital formats.

What makes NFTs so valuable is that even though anyone can own a digital file, NFTs are marked with a unique code to differentiate it from any digital replicas. NFT tech is a form of decentralized certification.

Non-Fungible Tokens or NFTs are based on incredible technology. They can be referred to as a bridge that connects the real-world with the blockchain networks. This special, interlinking feature makes NFTs rare and expensive. In spite of being a novel technology, NFTs have often been tagged as fraudulent and bogus by many, especially during their early days.

Via LarvaLabs.com

Critics have even called them useless, claiming that anyone can make a digital copy of the NFT artwork by simply taking a screenshot, without buying them. Also, the digital copy would be as good as the original, some critics have alleged.

Despite the claims of the critics, NFT supporters and gaming enthusiasts are not affected by such theories. There have been reports of some gamers earning almost $2000 a month simply by gaming for two hours per day. Not just rewards, certain NFT-project owners also receive exclusive access to some VIP events, conducted only for a select few and attended by the who’s who.

For gaming aficionados, these perks may have been more than enough, but developers didn’t quite stop at that. They have now started creating unique avatars for games as Non-Fungible Tokens. In some of the games today you need to pay real money to make yourself or your avatar appear better in the online space.

Today, anyone can buy an NFT and own a bespoke avatar representing just themselves and can’t be replicated. These special features and exclusive identities are what make the idea of NFTs unique. The reason behind the immense success of CryptoPunks lies in the demand, technology, and uniqueness of NFTs in the market. One of the OG NFT collections, CryptoPunks was the one that radically changed the NFT world.

How Many CryptoPunks are there?

There are 10,000 unique collectible characters in the CryptoPunks project. The CryptoPunks NFT collection was created and developed by Larva Labs a team of two developers who have worked on a wide range of projects, ranging from mobile games to digital art and everyday design in the past. The knowledge gained from these projects helped Larva Labs create CryptoPunks and led to their huge popularity right now.

Initially, Larva Labs, the developers behind the CryptoPunks project, rolled out these NFTs for free. Fast forward a few years, each one is worth hundreds of thousands, even millions.

Questions have often been raised on the uniqueness and worth of a collection of pixels in the form of art. But CryptoPunks is more than that – in the developers’ words, investing in NFTs like CryptoPunks allows everyone to express their own self with the help of novel artwork based on characters.

One of the facts that might corroborate this theory is that people nowadays are getting increasingly conscious about their online image as the digital world expands by leaps and bounds. People are now ever more conscious about the way they look in their profile pictures, biodatas, and digital spaces.

Blockchain technology is expanding its horizons and is now accessible to anyone and everyone willing to learn about it. People have started creating NFTs of interesting and unique items on the blockchain, these include artists, musicians, and content creators as well. Among other forms, art has become one of the most popular NFTs right now, with the rise in the popularity of digital collections.

CryptoPunks Price Right Now

CryptoPunks price – NFTpricefloor.com

At the time of writing, the CryptoPunks floor price is just under 73 ETH which means the cheapest price you can buy a CryptoPunks for is over $215,000.

The current CryptoPunks prices are lower than their 2022 open of around $250,000, but the floor has risen compared to its lowest mark in February, at around $150,000. The 24 hour CryptoPunks trading volume averages $2-3 million USD.

According to the Larva Labs website, the cheapest Punk right now is available listed at just over 72 ETH. The average bid in 2021 for a Punk was 58.76 ETH or roughly $170,000 USD. There was also a mysterious sale that took place in October 2021 in which CryptoPunk #9998 was sold for a staggering $532 million.

CryptoPunks NFTs are considered the OG NFT collection, which is why they are mostly on top of the charts. On an average, they are sold for $350,000 to $500,000. In reality, though, there have been some Punks that have raked in even millions. The highest recorded sale for a CryptoPunk was on the 12th of February 2022 when Punk #5822 went for $23.7 million. Days before that, Punk #5577 was sold for 2,500 ETH, 7.7 million USD.

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Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. 

Why are CryptoPunks so expensive?

At first glance, the CryptoPunks project is simply a collection of 8-bit graphics that seems crazy. Many believe it is still an internet obsession and will quickly fade away. However, projects like CryptoPunks and BAYC have quite a  large relevance in the metaverse. These projects represent avatars, that according to companies like Microsoft and Meta, we will own and use to interact virtually in the future.

CryptoPunks are popularly known as the OGs of the NFT market. What makes them so valuable is the fact that CryptoPunks are one of the first NFT collections introduced on Ethereum in 2017. They are a series of characters represented in the form of pixels.

CryptoPunks exist in a wide variety of shapes and forms. While the majority of them depict humans, there are a few based on apes, zombies, and aliens as well. Although there are many varieties of punks in the CryptoPunks collection, human CryptoPunks are the most common. They are classified on the basis of their rarity, and the humane characters, being the most common, are sold cheaper than the rarer, hard-to-get non-human characters of CryptoPunks.

The value of CryptoPunks changes depending on their attributes. As a result, some are more expensive as compared to others. There are eight CryptoPunks in the collection which do not have any attributes, while 9 of them are aliens. Then, there are 24 that are apes, another 44 with a beanie, and 48 having a choker.

Out of the remaining, 78 have buck teeth and 128 have rosy cheeks. There is one particular CryptoPunk, the pipe-smoking alien CryptoPunk, which has several rare attributes and was sold for more than $7.5 million. But this trend does not imply that only attributes decide the value of a CryptoPunk. Their price and value are often determined by the appearance of the portrait and its popularity.

Apart from the features and attributes, it is the historical importance of CryptoPunks which makes them so valuable. CryptoPunks is one of the first NFT projects that was launched on the Ethereum blockchain, back in 2017. CryptoPunks were minted much before some famous projects such as CryptoKittes were launched in the NFT world.

This is why CryptoPunks are far more expensive than most of the other collections in the NFT space. Since it is one of the earliest NFT collectibles of its kind, CryptoPunks’ owners are referred to as the OGs of the NFT world. This is why possessing a CryptoPunk gives you a higher status in the digital world. CryptoPunks owners are greatly respected and even envied by NFT lovers.

It sounds incredible to realize that a few years ago, in 2017, CryptoPunks were being handed out for free. Today, you can meet some of the greatest celebrities and icons like Jay Z, Gary Vee, and Snoop Dogg only because you own a CryptoPunk. Some have even labelled CryptoPunks as the Bitcoin of the NFT market.

CryptoPunks Price Prediction 2022

Since CryptoPunks are so famous in the NFT world, the chances that a CryptoPunk will be sold for less than 55 Ether look bleak. The year 2022, might see an annual low of around 65 ETH.

The most expensive CryptoPunk was sold for 8,000 Ether or 23.7 million USD. Going by the projections for 2022, CryptoPunks might break its all-time high record and sell for even more than 8,000 Ether.

On the optimistic side, if the overall cryptocurrency market remains bullish, the CryptoPunks may one day sell for more than 10,000 ETH. Who knows?

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Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. 

Yuga Labs acquire CryptoPunks

Yuga Labs are the creators and makers of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, the most highly valued in the NFT industry.  Yuga Labs made an announcement on Twitter on the 12th of March that they had purchased the rights to CryptoPunks, along with Meebits NFTs, from their original creator and developer – Larva Labs. The same was also posted by Larva Labs on Twitter.

That large NFT acquisition and change of ownership did not lead to any change in the CryptoPunks, at least until now. Larva Labs appreciated this move by Yuga Labs and also made a prediction that CryptoPunks NFTs would grow under the vision and leadership of Yuga Labs.

The same day, CryptoPunks’ floor price soared once again over 70 ETH, reinforcing that confidence of investors confidence and buyers’ interest have led to an increase in Punks’ acquisition.

Bored Ape Yacht Club Metaverse Project Plans

Shortly after launching ApeCoin which was first sent to BAYC NFT holders then listed on cryptocurrency exchanges, Yuga Labs posted a teaser trailer to Twitter announcing a metaverse project they will be launching.

They have already also raised $450 million in seed round investing to build their metaverse. Watch the BAYC metaverse video trailer.

How to buy CryptoPunk NFTs?

Today, most of the Non-Fungible Tokens or NFTs are bought with ETH which is the native currency of Ethereum. As with most cryptocurrencies, Ether can be purchased with USD on all the major crypto exchanges.

On the other hand, Bitcoin essentially serves as a cryptocurrency as well as a payment gateway. While Solana and Ethereum let their users develop apps which can store their private data and create safety protocols to carry out sensitive financial transactions. The process of purchasing an NFT might seem confusing at first, but it is not difficult at all. To buy an NFT, you just need to follow the steps below.

Step 1 – Open an account on eToro

Though there are various cryptocurrency exchanges out there, we suggest opening account on eToro as it is regulated by authorities such as the FCA, ASIC, and CySEC.

Step 2 – Setting up a Digital Wallet

The next step is to establish a digital wallet to store your crypto. Basically, a crypto-wallet is your private address that exists on the blockchain. Even though anyone can see it but only you can access it.

A number of platforms like Binance or Coinbase offer digital wallet services. But eToro seems to be the most favorite crypto wallets in the market right now. To avoid incurring losses and facing issues, you should do proper research and analyze your decisions well. To start with, make sure you choose a wallet that suits your requirements best.

eToro wallet

Another good NFT wallet is Metamask, as it is compatible with Android, iOS, as well as Google Chrome browser. Since it is compatible with nearly all the websites on Ethereum, MetaMask is a great wallet choice.

Open eToro wallet

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. 

Step 3 – Buy Ethereum

After your digital wallet is securely set up and active, you can then buy Ethereum. We suggest buying ETH through eToro. as it’s an FCA regulated platform.

Ethereum price chart

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Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. 

Step 4- Buy CryptoPunks through NFT marketplace

Larva Lab’s official website is one of the best places to check out which CryptoPunks are available for purchase. There you can also directly connect your crypto wallet with the platform.

Once you establish the connection, you will see a “Connect” button. After clicking on it, your wallet will get connected to Larva Lab’s official website. You will then be able to make your debut NFT purchase.

Buying CryptoPunks on Opensea

While buying CryptoPunks, keep in mind that there is no need to rush and pay the list price instantly. You can also bid at a price less than the price listed and just hope that you pay lower than the price it was listed for initially. Some NFT marketplaces also have CryptoPunk clones, cheaper NFTs with a similar Punk vibe.

What’s next for CryptoPunks?

The acquisition by Yuga Labs did not lead to any change in the CryptoPunks value. Larva Labs appreciated the move by Yuga Labs and predicted that Punks would see further growth under their leadership and direction.

The floor price of CryptoPunks rose on the day this public announcement was made, soaring once again above 70 ETH, suggesting the investor confidence and buying interest have led to an increase in Punks’ acquisition.

Is CryptoPunks the best NFT to buy in 2022?

The hype around NFTs is justifiable due to the constant rise in its market value and popularity. New projects are introduced all the time, such as the best NFT Land projects.

CryptoPunks have conquered the NFT market of today. This is because they were one of the first NFT projects to be minted on Ethereum, way back in 2017. With the next Bitcoin halving due in 2024, the majority of price predictions for CryptoPunks  for 2022 are bullish.

A promising new NFT collection in 2022 is the Lucky Block Platinum Rollers club, owners of one of these NFTs get a chance to participate in daily prize draws and win cash rewards.

Via NFTLaunchpad.com

The Lucky Block NFTs collection is much cheaper than CryptoPunks NFTs ($1500 vs. $200,000 and higher).

There are several other perks – owners of this NFT have the chance to win daily prize draws. The Telegram group for the Lucky Block community currently has 44,000+ members in it.

Overall, we consider LBLOCK and their new NFT range to be a good investment. We suggest reading more about the Lucky Block NFTs. Read our 2022 NFT calendar for more info on the best NFTs to buy as they drop.

Buy Lucky Block NFTs

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. 

Summary

Most CryptoPunks holders are optimistic the bull market for NFTs will continue, especially in the run-up to the next Bitcoin halving in 2024.

Read our detailed guide on how to buy Lucky Block NFTs to begin your journey into the NFT space with a affordable investment – they are priced at 3.75 wBNB, which is about 0.5 ETH. They are currently listed for sale at a new marketplace, NFT Launchpad.

You can also start with as less as $1 via auctions on smaller marketplaces such as the Crypto.com NFT marketplace, in case you want to invest in NFTs on a budget.