We’ve clarified the latest data: NFTs from the Cryptopunks range are indeed priced very high. For example, yesterday the average selling price of such a unique token was the equivalent of $424 thousand. At the same time, the high of $492 thousand was recorded relatively recently – on October 11.

Average selling price of Cryptopunk

Although cryptopunks are trending today, some investors have failed to capitalize on them. In particular, the day before it became known about an address that owns 141 punks, which can be valued at $100 million or even more. The peculiarity is that there have been no transactions with this address for four years, so the NFT data can essentially be considered lost.

Address that owns 141 cryptocurrencies

The most expensive NFT token

Richard Chen is the co-founder of Manifold, a smart-token development company for NFT. To his 59,000-plus Twitter followers, he is a “cryptopunk” with 3D glasses, black disheveled hair and a cigarette sticking out of his mouth. Chen announced on Twitter last week that he would reject any offers to buy his avatar, and “don’t care how much money” buyers are willing to offer.

“Cryptopunk” by Richard Chen

Someone wanted to test the crypto-enthusiast’s stamina. On Friday, he received an offer for 2,500 ETH or about $9.5 million on offer day. The mystery buyer turned out to be Patricio Worthhalter, creator of the Proof-of-Attendance (POAP) protocol. Worthhalter even duplicated the request to sell the unique token from POAP’s official Twitter account. Here’s the investor’s rejoinder, in which he tried to tempt the owner of the rare NFT.

Come on, Richard. Don’t you want to be the seller of the most expensive NFT token from the CryptoPunks series in history?

To be more precise, this would not be the most expensive cryptopunk deal in cryptocurrency inside the Eth network. Previously, one of the tokens in the series was sold at a Sotheby’s auction, but the NFT transfer transaction itself was not on the Etherium blockchain. The auction took place in June, and the “cryptopunk” itself sold for 4,200 ETH. At that exchange rate, it was $7.58 million.

And the most expensive NFT overall remains the work of artist Mike Winklemann under the pseudonym Beeple. His EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS sold for the equivalent of $69.3 million at a Christie's auction in March 2021. Read more about the story in a separate piece.

EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5,000 DAYS

In any case, $9.5 million is quite a “nice” price for a blockchain-linked JPEG avatar. Be that as it may, even such a lucrative offer could not break Chen’s principle: he refused to go ahead with the deal. He argued that his avatar was already inextricably linked to himself, his brand and his company Manifold. Here’s his quote on the matter, published in Decrypt.

My identity and that of other iconic ‘punks’ and ‘monkeys’ have value outside of the NFT sphere. We have our own brands, which like other big brands have a lot of value. Since I value my personal brand and recognition, it was an easy rejection for me.

And so, in effect, for an investor selling NFT would mean selling his uniqueness, because he associates this "punk" with himself. That said, we believe that such deals should be accepted. Although if Richard is a millionaire as it is, he can really be understood.

Top 5 biggest “cryptopunk” deals in the last 24 hours

As a reminder, ‘cryptopunks’ are already more than just pixel-art pictures. It’s proof of ownership of a unique part of the digital art era, and that era is just in its infancy. As the crypto industry develops, such virtual objects will become more and more valuable – at least as long as the market allows it.


We believe that an NFT owner can only be understood if he is already a millionaire. Otherwise, such a strong attachment to the token seems unjustified: after all, with 9 million dollars one can not only live comfortably, but also develop his own company. Be that as it may, the decision is up to him.

And the overall situation is once again a reminder of the value of unique NFTs, which are produced in single copies. Their value can go up to unbelievably high if there is a demand for them.

What do you think about it? Share your opinion in our . We’ll discuss other developments in the decentralisation industry there too.