Category: CryptoPunks

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CryptoPunks Surges Amid $55 Million in Bored Ape NFTs at Risk of Liquidation

The Ethereum floor price of the world’s largest NFT collection, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), dropped to its lowest level since the start of the year but has since managed to rally slightly. Yet for a brief moment, the second-largest NFT collection, CryptoPunks – also owned by Yuga Labs – saw its floor price top that of BAYC:

Debt Crisis Prompts Liquidation Fear

Many owners of BAYC and CryptoPunk NFTs, who used the collectibles as collateral to take out loans in Ether, have failed to repay their debts. The situation could trigger the NFT sector’s first massive liquidation. As BAYC struggles, CryptoPunks topped the floor price of the veteran NFT collection for the first time since March, according to NFT Price Floor.

Lending service BendDAO could liquidate up to US$55 million worth of NFTs to recover its loans, in fears that the so-called “health factor” of its debts could dip below one. (An NFT collection’s floor price is a key facet in determining a collection’s health factor.)

CryptoPunks Soldiers On

The past couple of weeks have been good for CryptoPunks, with exciting projects in its view. Early this month, famed jewellery brand Tiffany and Co announced the release of limited edition CryptoPunk pendants. In the midst of the crypto winter, a rare NFT from the collection sold for 2,500 ETH, or approximately US$2.6 million.

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Jewellery Brand ‘Tiffany and Co’ Releases Limited Edition CryptoPunk Pendants

NFTiff – the newest collaboration transforming CryptoPunks into jewellery – marks high-end brand Tiffany and Co’s latest partnership, with the new project renewing interest in CryptoPunks and driving a 248 percent spike in sales volume:

CryptoPunk Owners Can Buy Up to Three Diamond Necklaces at $50k Apiece

The partnership will enable CryptoPunk owners to purchase up to three diamond-encrusted necklaces for 30 ETH (approximately US$50,000) each from August 5. Each Punk pendant will be set in 18-carat gold (yellow or rose) with 87 different attributes and 159 colours available for the custom designs.

The project was first promoted in April by Tiffany & Co vice president Alexandre Arnault, who revealed his own rose gold and enamel CryptoPunk to the delight of onlookers. The Punk featured sapphire and Mozambique ruby-coloured glasses, and yellow diamond earrings:

Based on the social media reaction, the community appears genuinely excited about the partnership following details of its launch, regardless of the hefty price tags.

The announcement of NFTiff appears to have rekindled interest in CryptoPunks. A 1,400 ETH (US$2.3 million) trade volume was recorded in the wake of the news, representing a 248 percent increase on the previous day, according to OpenSea data. The value of the broader CryptoPunks collection had also risen by 5 percent in the previous 24 hours at the time of writing.

CryptoPunks’ Recent Successes

CryptoPunks had been gaining a small amount of collector interest prior to the Tiffany and Co collaboration. CryptoPunk #4464 notably reversed NFT market trends in mid-July by selling for a massive 2,500 ETH (approximately US$2.6 million). CryptoSlam identified this as the single-largest NFT sale from the previous 30 days, despite typical winter market lows.

CryptoPunks also proved they make good loan collateral as MetaStreet, a liquidity routing and scaling solution for the NFT collateralisation platform, allowed a loan of US$8 million to be collateralised by 101 CryptoPunks.

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Crypto News CryptoPunks NFTs

Rare CryptoPunk NFT Defies Crypto Winter, Sells for 2,500 ETH

Reversing recent NFT market trends, CryptoPunk #4464 this week changed hands for a massive 2,500 ETH (approximately US$2.6 million). According to CryptoSlam, this marks the single-largest NFT sale of the past 30 days, in defiance of typical winter market lows:

CryptoPunk Does the Unexpected

Despite the malaise of the wider crypto market and commensurate NFT trading volumes, one rare CryptoPunk seems to have achieved the impossible. Punk #4464, an eye mask/durag-wearing, vaping pixelated character, has notched the fourth-ranked CryptoPunks NFT sale of all time, sharing that status with two other Apes. (It should be noted, however, that as ETH has a fluctuating price, the USD value of each sale fluctuates significantly.)

https://cryptopunks.app/cryptopunks/details/4464
Transaction history of CryptoPunk #4464.

The record CryptoPunk sale for both ETH and USD is #5822, an 8,000 ETH (US$23.7 million) alien that was sold in February.

So Why Is #4464’s Sale Impressive?

Only two months ago, there was consensus that CryptoPunks (and NFTs in general) had lost the public interest. The realisation came as CryptoPunk #273, a male punk with a cap and shades, sold on May 8 for just US$139,836. That figure was 87 percent lower than its initial purchase price of US$1.03 million, in October 2021.

With a total value loss of approximately US$890,000, an ongoing downward trend in the CryptoPunk market seemed inevitable. However, #4464 has defied the odds and is proof to the contrary.

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CryptoPunk Sells for Just $140k, 87% Lower than All-Time High

In a sign that the public’s appetite for cartoonish NFT art might’ve peaked, CryptoPunk #273, a male punk with a cap and “big shades”, sold on May 8 for US$139,836, which is 87 percent lower than its October 19, 2021 purchase price of US$1.03 million. 

That’s an eye-watering loss of around US$890,000 in just over six months and is consistent with a recent downward trend in the CryptoPunks market, with eight of the last 10 NFTs changing hands at a loss:

You’re Not Feeling Lucky, Punk

The slowdown in the CryptoPunks market reflects a general weakening of interest in NFTs in the first quarter of 2022, with data from the crypto analysis site NonFungible showing a decrease in transactions volume of 47 percent quarter on quarter.

An increase in exploits and NFT thefts, such as a recent phishing scam that resulted in the loss of US$2.8 million Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs, in addition to the downturn in the wider crypto market, may partially explain the cooling of prices.

Other popular NFT collections are also seeing dramatic falls in their floor prices (the cheapest NFT in the collection): BAYC’s floor price is down around 55 percent since April 29 and Moonbirds’ floor price fell 34 percent in a single day yesterday. 

Not All Doom and Gloom

Despite the recent declining values of some collections, it’s not all bad news for the NFT market – so far this year there’s been US$16 billion worth of organic trading volume, almost two-thirds of the 2021 total of US25 billion, and we’re only in May. 

Also, many NFT owners who got in early are still up considerably on their initial investment, such as the Australian man who bought a Bored Ape NFT in 2021 for US$300 which is now valued at around US$5 million.

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Bored Ape Creators Buy IP and Commercial Rights to NFT Rival CryptoPunks

Yuga Labs, the creator behind popular non-fungible token (NFT) project Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), has just acquired commercial rights to two of the most popular collections on the market, CryptoPunks and Meebits.

Rivals No Longer

After rumours spread like wildfire, Yuga Labs confirmed on the weekend that it had acquired the intellectual property rights, as well as all commercial rights, to CryptoPunks and Meebits.

This means that we now own the brands, copyright in the art, and other IP rights for both collections, along with 423 CryptoPunks and 1711 Meebits.

Yuga Labs announcement

The deal was said to have originated “organically” in conversations between one Yuga Labs partner and the Larva Labs founders. Apparently “one call led to another and here we are at this historic moment”.

The Larva Labs co-founders highlighted their view that Yuga Labs would be the ideal custodian of their creation, saying:

Yuga Labs are the innovators of the modern profile picture project, and the best in the world at operating these projects. They are the ideal stewards of the CryptoPunks and Meebits. In their hands, we are confident that they will continue to be vital, thriving projects in the emerging decentralised web.

Matt Hall and John Watkinson, co-founders of Larva Labs, CryptoPunks and Meebits

Two Different Approaches

In tracing the stories of the two most valuable NFT projects, it’s clear that BAYC and CryptoPunks chose very different paths. Whereas CryptoPunks took a more hands-off approach, the BAYC has come to resemble an exclusive membership club with an ever-increasing array of perks.

Aside from exclusivity of holding the NFT itself, BAYC holders seem to believe that part of its value lies in its ability to commercialise the Bored Ape image. This has translated into real-world events, partnerships, and even a play-to-earn game. And despite the proliferation of copycat projects, high-profile associations with the likes of Adidas have seen the BAYC take some of the shine away from the NFT OGs, the CryptoPunks.

Last month, CryptoPunk #5822 sold for US$24 million. Source: OpenSea

While some holders of CryptoPunks will no doubt be concerned about the direction of the project post-acquisition, others may well be looking at it as an opportunity to not only commercialise, but increase the exposure and publicity of the NFT OG. One prospect that appeared to gain support on Twitter was @Gee_Gazza’s take: