Hi there! As an online privacy and cybersecurity guru, people often ask me about the explosion of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and want to understand why digital artworks are selling for millions of dollars. I‘m here to provide an insider perspective.
NFTs are essentially digital certificates of ownership stored on a blockchain. This allows all kinds of digital creations from memes to digital art to be tracked and traded with clear rights and royalties. NFTs have opened the floodgates to assigning big financial value to digital media.
To show you how much of a disruptive force NFTs have become in the art world, I‘ll overview the 10 most expensive NFT sales so far and what made them draw such astounding price tags. Get ready to see dollar figures usually reserved for masterpieces by Picasso or Basquiat!
1. Everydays: The First 5000 Days by Beeple – $69.3 Million
In March 2021, American digital artist Mike Winkelmann (better known by his nickname Beeple) auctioned off a digital artwork collage called Everydays: The First 5000 Days for an eye-watering $69.3 million dollars at famed auction house Christie’s. This instantly made Beeple one of the top three most valuable living artists in the world.
So what exactly is this ultra-expensive NFT piece? Everydays: The First 5000 Days represents a collage of 5,000 individual digital drawings made one-per-day by Beeple since 2007. The massive digital mosaic incorporates themes around current events, politics, nature, technology over 13+ years of the artist‘s career.
According to Beeple, the artwork reflects “our stark cultural and political divide and how we might bridge it.” The buyer, crypto investor Vignesh “Metakovan” Sundaresan called it “the most valuable piece of art for this generation" – a cultural touchstone. The sale cemented Beeple and NFT artwork as worthy of institutional recognition and value.
Sale Price: $69,346,250
Date: March 11th, 2021
Buyer: Metakovan
2. CryptoPunk #7523 – $11.8 Million
Before Beeple mania, there was the original generative NFT art project that sparked it all: CryptoPunks. These pixel-art characters with algorithmically generated quirky traits were released in 2017 as 10,000 collectible punks on the Ethereum blockchain. Certain rare attributes made some punks far more prestigious and valuable.
In June 2021, “Covid Alien” CryptoPunk #7523 utterly shattered records when it sold for $11.8 million at a Sotheby‘s auction. The winning bidder was DraftKings shareholder Shalom Meckenzie.
So what makes this pixelated punk so special? Well, it‘s one of only nine extant "Alien" punks, already making it extremely rare. But it also wears a protective face mask – a zeitgeist symbol during the pandemic era. This mixture of distinctive traits plus cultural relevance is what shot its value into the stratosphere for Meckenzie.
Sale Price: $11,754,000
Date: June 10th, 2021
Buyer: Shalom Meckenzie
3. CryptoPunk #3100 – $7.58 Million
Riding high off the feeding frenzy surrounding Beeple and CryptoPunk #7523, another ultra-prestigious Alien CryptoPunk sold shortly after for big money. In March 2021, CryptoPunk #3100 went for a staggering $7.58 million.
The buyer was Figma CEO Dylan Field, who labeled his new NFT acquisition as “the Mona Lisa of the Metaverse." What puts his punk in such an elite echelon is it‘s not only 1 of 9 Aliens but also has that desirable greenish-blue palette. Out of 10,000 total punks, this extremely rare combo makes #3100 a true digital culture trophy.
Sale Price: $7,577,500
Date: March 11th, 2021
Buyer: Dylan Field
4. Right-click and Save As guy by XCOPY – $7.09 Million
In December 2021, the raging bull market for metaverse NFT assets continued with an anonymous digital artist known as XCOPY. His piece “Right-click and Save As guy” sold for over $7 million at a Christie’s auction to an unnamed Asian investor.
So what exactly is being depicted here? It shows a masked graffiti artist holding a glowing orange sign with words that provided the artwork‘s title. According to XCOPY, his goal was to provoke thought and “challenge the popular opinion that NFTs can be merely right-clicked and saved."
By selling his provocative NFT artwork for millions, XCOPY proved digital scarcity and ownership do indeed have tremendous financial value. It also demonstrated digital art‘s rising prestige in the eyes of esteemed art institutions like Christie‘s.
Sale Price: $7,079,500
Date: December 1st, 2021
Buyer: Unknown
5. Ocean Front by Beeple – $6 Million
Clearly on a hot streak, digital art pioneer Beeple racked up another multi-million dollar NFT sale concurrently to his record $69 million Christie‘s auction. Concurrent with Everydays, Beeple auctioned off another single-edition digital painting titled Ocean Front for $6 million on November 23.
Ocean Front depicts a highly stylized beachfront landscape with glowing structures. According to Beeple it encompasses “the tension between the paradise and dystopia we may choose to build from emerging technologies". Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, founder of the Tron platform and BitTorrent, snapped up Ocean Front.
To underscore the new world of crypto-fueled patronage, Beeple donated all proceeds from Ocean Front’s sale to The Open Earth Foundation, an environmental nonprofit supporting ocean conservation. This sale highlighted the burgeoning trend of charity and causes interfacing with this novel NFT digital economy.
Sale price: $6 million
Date: March 11th, 2021
Buyer: Justin Sun
6. Ringers #109 by Dmitri Cherniak – $6.6 Million
Beeple wasn‘t the only artist making history that fateful spring 2021 evening at Christie‘s. A hours after Beeple‘s sale, crypto and generative artist Dmitri Cherniak sold his very first NFT artwork Ringers #109 for $6.6 million after fees.
Cherniak was only 23 when he set this record, kicking off a new guard of digital creators natively using NFTs. Ringers #109 comes from Cherniak‘s algorithmically generated Ringers series, which depicts surreal humanoid forms with vibrant atmospheric colors. The unnamed winning bidder clearly saw the huge future upside for the young artist‘s style and approach.
Fun Fact: Only 5 months later Cherniak racked up another multi-million sale. In August 2021 his NFT artwork Portal sold for nearly $2.7 million!
Sale Price: $6,600,000
Date: March 11th, 2021
Buyer: Unknown
7. CryptoPunk #7252 – $6.6 million
In mid-October 2022 the ultra prestigous Alien punk community racked up another multi-million dollar sale. Annn CryptoPunk #7252, featuring one of just nine Alien faces PLUS the halohat accessory was scooped up for $6.6 million by wallet address “0x650d32d.”
Clearly this crypto whale is bent on snatching up the most elite and desirable punks in circulation. Not only does #7252 have the rare alien trait, but it‘s one of only 777 punks incuding the floating halohat accessory. This cryptopunk is practically crypto royalty for displaying a top-tier combination of attributes and prestige.
Sale Price: $6,600,000
Date: October 11, 2022
Buyer: 0x650d32d
8. CryptoPunk #4156 – $5.44 million
In the white-hot crypto art market, it seems not a month goes by without the alien cryptopunk community racking up yet another multi-million dollar sale. Case in point – only weeks after #7252‘s $6.6M purchase, ANOTHER alien punk sold for over $5 million.
In late October 2022, CryptoPunk #4156 was scooped up for a winning bid of $5.44 million at a Christie‘s auction by an unnamed bidder. This punk displays the ultra prestigious alien face PLUS a stylish headband accessory. Out of 10,000 total punks in circulation, this exclusive combination puts #4156 in the top percentile of cultural cachet and value.
Clearly Christie‘s bidders recognize that alien punks are the apex trophies within these procedurally generated characters that kicked off the entire NFT market. Their unmistakable black eyes and green skin signify maximum clout and esteem.
Sale Price: $5,441,000
Date: October 26th, 2022
Buyer: Unknown Christie’s Bidder
9. Stay Free by Edward Snowden & Plötter – $5.5 Million
Transitioning away from art and collectibles, this NFT digital artwork had deep political connotations. In April 2021, American whistleblower Edward Snowden collaborated with digital artist Plötter to create an NFT titled “Stay Free" to help fundraise for freedom of the press organizations.
The unique artwork, auctioned via Foundation, depicts a courtroom scene with Edward Snowden testifying, overlaid by a portrait of Snowden‘s iconic visage. The project pulled in around $5,436,000 in proceeds. As Snowden is President of Freedom of the Press Foundation, some funds went towards their efforts.
This sale highlighted the burgeoning trend of NFTs being leveraged for political and social impact campaigns, not just digital art and collecting. It also shows that associating with influential public figures can dramatically amplify financial returns and attention.
Sale Price: $5,436,000
Date: April 2021
Buyer: PleasrDAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization)
10. A Coin for the Ferryman by Pak – $2.9 Million
Even outside the top tier, incredible sums have been paid for standout NFT artworks as prices ballooned in 2021. That year at an April event by NFT powerhouse Nifty Gateway, cryptoartist Pak released an animated piece called “A Coin for the Ferryman” capturing a lone cyborg traveling down a river by boat. It sold for $2.9 million.
Pak is renowned for selling limited edition digital artworks called “Mass Drops”, which usually sell out instantly to ravenous fans and collectors. However, the Ferryman was a rare single-edition drop auctioned to one buyer. Clearly the patron believed in its eventual historic importance and paid 50X the usual price Pak commands.
This episode also signified the growing money and speculation flooding into NFT artwork as cryptocurrency prices soared that year. With more crypto wealth being generated, investors sought to park funds in digital culture assets with standalone value.
Sale Price: $2,922,313
Date: April, 2021
Buyer: 0x42b6
And there you have it – a rundown of the 10 most precious NFT works sold to date and why they commanded such astronomical prices. From Beeple‘s bombshell $69 million auction to special alien CryptoPunks swapping hands for millions a piece, these digital creations demonstrate how much financial value and cultural cache innovative technology artists have accrued.
Given the trajectory of money pouring into NFT platforms, more historic sales records seem destined to be topped. But for now we are witnessing a radical shift in what prestigious assets look like in the 21st century. As virtual worlds and digital ownership models continue maturing, creations built solely with code and pixels are attaining investment and influence previously unthinkable.
I hope you‘ve enjoyed this explainer on why NFT art is suddenly selling for BARBARIC prices! Let me know if you have any other questions – I‘m here to chat more about this crazy intersection between technology and culture as a seasoned tech commentator. Feel free to ping me on Twitter too.
