TL;DR
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are unique crypto assets generally used to represent crypto art and digital collectibles. The rise of NFTs created scarcity for digital objects and generated great value for creators and investors alike.
In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the most expensive NFTs sold to date, such as Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days ($69.3 million) and a bunch of CryptoPunks that dominated the list with ultra-high price tags.
Introduction
NFTs saw exponential growth in 2021, with tens and thousands of investors flocking to collect digital arts in different forms. Some NFT sales even generated record-breaking prices. What are NFTs, and why do they have value?
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What is an NFT?
A
non-fungible token (NFT) is a token issued on a blockchain to represent a unique asset, which could be a document, piece of art, music, or even real estate. An NFT is not
fungible because each one is a unique digital asset with a unique identifier.
Even if two NFTs look very similar, they are not interchangeable. So while one bitcoin is equal to and tradable to another bitcoin, an NFT is not. That’s why NFT technology is used to generate proof of authenticity and ownership on the blockchain. NFTs can be entire digital assets like play-to-earn gaming items and
metaverse land or tokenized versions of real-world assets.
What gives NFTs value?
An NFT’s value is defined by market supply and demand. It’s usually easier to evaluate an NFT when it’s created as a representation of a physical asset. But most NFTs only exist on-chain, in the digital world.
Each NFT collection has a different supply, and each NFT unit can have a different rarity. But there are several other factors that can determine how much an NFT is worth. For example, limited series NFTs with specific use cases tend to be more valuable. The founding team, along with the artists and community, can also affect the demand for NFTs.
In other words, the value of an NFT could be related to who created it, its value in play-to-earn games, or simply community and market sentiment. There are many cases of successful NFT projects, but there are even more that have failed. Make sure to
DYOR before trading or investing in NFTs and don’t use money you can’t afford to lose.
The most expensive NFTs ever sold
Let’s look at some of the most expensive NFTs ever sold as of May 2022. The prices mentioned below are based on the time of the sale.
1. Everydays: The First 5000 Days - $69.3 million
Everydays: The First 5000 Days is a digital artwork by American graphic designer Mike Winkelmann, better known as Beeple. This NFT was sold for $69.3 million in February 2021, purchased by NFT investor Metakovan through an auction sale at Christie’s.
The NFT is a collage of Beeple’s 5,000 earlier artworks. Since 2007, Beeple started uploading a new image to his Instagram feed every day for 13 years. His “everydays” art pieces are often set in post-apocalyptic landscapes, and usually have some relation to the current news or pop culture. This NFT collage can be considered a representation of Beeple’s development as a digital artist.
2. Clock - $52.7 million
Clock depicts a dynamic timer that counts the number of days Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has spent in prison. Assange is involved in a highly controversial case. He’s facing extradition from Britain to the US for multiple espionage charges and up to 175 years behind bars.
The NFT was curated by the digital artist Pak and Assange himself to support his legal bills. It was auctioned for 16,953 ETH in February 2022 to AssangeDAO, a
decentralized organization (DAO) established to crowdfund the NFT sale. Apart from the ETH they used to acquire Clock, AssangeDAO still holds 17,422 ETH they initially raised to purchase the NFT.
Pak and Assange not only curated Clock, they also allowed anyone to create their own NFTs. They can tokenize a censored message for any price they want or for free. The message will turn into an image showing the words struck through, as though it was being censored. The proceedings for this NFT series will go to pro-freedom organizations Assange and Pak choose.
3. HUMAN ONE - $28.9 million
Another recond-smashing NFT by Beeple,
HUMAN ONE is the first physical artwork he creates. It was auctioned at Christie’s for $28.9 million in November 2021.
HUMAN ONE is a 3D moving sculpture with 4 digital screens. It displays an endless video of an astronaut journeying through places at different times of the day. The hybrid artwork reflects Beeple’s artistic ambitions beyond the digital realm.
4. CryptoPunk #5822 - $23.7 million
As one of the first famous NFT projects, these pixelated
CryptoPunks continue to make the list of the most expensive NFTs ever sold.
CryptoPunk #5822 was sold for 8,000 ETH in February 2022 to the CEO of a blockchain technology startup. It comes from the rarest alien edition — there’re only 9 of them in the entire NFT collection. What makes it extra special is that it’s also one of the 333 with a bandana.
5. CryptoPunk #7523 - $11.75 million
The next most valuable NFT comes from the CryptoPunk family as well. Before the #5822 sale, #7523 was the most expensive CryptoPunk ever sold.
CryptoPunk #7523 was auctioned at Sotheby's for $11.75 million during the COVID pandemic in June 2021. Not only it’s part of the extremely rare alien edition, but it’s also the only mask-wearing alien, which is what the buyer loved about this particular CryptoPunk.
