The NFT market was born when the art world and digital collectibles collided, leading to unique digital assets that anyone wishes to have. From generative NFT art to digital artwork and art ownership, the digital realm of the NFT landscape offers us artistic expression at its finest.
Moreover, the incredible demand that comes with immense value is skyrocketing the NFT space to new heights.
Also, it is known that the NFT market has increasingly grown since its inception, especially after a rocky road in the past year, leading the first quarter of 2024 with great interest, leading to a 51.5% trading volume.
But what’s the most expensive NFT ever sold? Read further and discover, as in today’s article, that we dive deeper into the most expensive NFT art pieces, discussing all the facts surrounding these digital collectibles.
What Are The Most Expensive NFTs Ever Sold?
- Since its inception in 2017, the NFT space has grown considerably, and its revenue is projected to reach $2,378.0 million by the end of 2024.
- To this day, the most expensive NFT remains The Merge, an NFT collection created by PAK, a digital artist, cryptocurrency investor, and programmer.
- The most expensive NFT art recently sold was CryptoPunk#3100, which was traded for 4,500 ETH, approximately $16 million. Yet the second most expensive NFT is CryptoPunk #7804, sold for 4,850 ETH, equivalent to over $16.95 million.
But these are only the highlights of the NFT market, so let’s explore more!
20. Stay Free, Edward Snowden: $5.27 million
For those unfamiliar with Snowden, the American computer scientist and whistleblower who leaked confidential details regarding his position at the NSA, defending the freedom of speech. So, this political NFT sold for $ 5.27 million, and its funds went to the non-profit organization Freedom of the Press Foundation, which advocates for the freedom of speech.
19. World Wide Web Source Code, Tim Berners-Lee: $5.43 million
As we all know, the World Wide Web was created in the 1990s and is an information-sharing platform that facilitates communication between users while offering easy and quick access to information globally.
Therefore, Tim Berners-Lee created this memorable NFT artwork, which draws attention to the internet’s incipient stages and lets us wonder about its evolution until today, with crypto, blockchain, NFTs, and Web 3 extensions.
18. Ringers # 879, Dmitri Cherniak: $5.9 million
Dmitri Cherniak is a contemporary NFT artist who uses tech algorithms to create art, what we call today generative art, to create unique pieces for all art enthusiasts and collectors alike.
In 2021, this NFT sold for $5.9 million and was purchased by Three Arrows Capital, a Singapore-based crypto investment company.
In August 2021, Three Arrows Capital, a cryptocurrency investment firm based in Singapore, bought NFT Ringers #879.
17. Ocean Front, Beeple: $6 million
As always, Beeple’s artwork surrounds us with an enigmatic yet powerful message, this time about climate change. As such, this NFT depicts an oily landscape, most probably with reference to the black gold big industries are greedy to get hands-on but fail to be accountable for their damage to the environment.
Then there are tiny post-apocalyptic houses, similar to the Last of Us scenery, on top of which sits a tilted tree and a mushroom, most probably representing humanity’s last chance of caring for what provided for us for millions of years.
The NFT sold for $6 million, and Tron’s founder, Justin Sun, enjoyed this conceptual artwork. Of course, all the funds were donated to the Open Earth Foundation, an organization that fights against climate change and global warming.
16. All Time High in the City, XCopy: $6.2 million
XCopy hits the top of the most expensive NFTs sold again, and this time, it brings its authentic style to new levels through All Time High in the City. The NFT sold for $6.2 million, and what is interesting is the fact that the NFT was minted in 2018 but only in 2022 was sold, whereby its value doubled in just a couple of months.
15. Crossroad, Beeple: $6.6 million
Here’s a digital art that speaks on socio-political issues, whereby this NFT represents Donald Trump’s social media messages that are hostile to him.
What is unique and breaks the traditional notions of the art world is that it was designed to be interchangeable, depending on the 2020 US presidential election.
This NFT sold for $6.6 million at Nifty Gateway ahead of Christie’s auction.
14. CryptoPunk # 8857, Matt Hall and John Watkinson: $6.63 million
Here’s one of the most unique and rare digital artworks within the CryptoPunk NFT ecosystem. Its zombie-like features, 3D glasses, and wavy hair make it a standout piece among the aliens and monkeys in the collection.
Furthermore, this NFT sold for $6.63 million, yet the buyer is anonymous.
13. Ringers #109, Dmitri Cherniak: $6.93 million
Of course, generative art isn’t something new within the NFT market and the new digital age we all live in, and this is the case with the Art Blocks collection, which has 99,000 NFTs.
Moreover, since the generative is generally eye-catching, the NFT sales are growing considerably.
Specifically, the Ringers #109 artwork was sold for $6.93 million, and NarcissusGLRY, the co-founder of AKIRA, now owns it digitally.
12. Right-click and Save As Guy, XCopy: $7.09 million
This is the next most expensive NFT art piece, and it is considered a masterpiece among digital assets due to its unique decomposed aesthetics, similar to those of Jean-Michel Basquiat. In terms of artistic expression, this NFT represents new art forms of the NFT market.
XCopy, the Londoner artist, uses different creative techniques to distort, use noise, and recompose its artworks in such a way that seems similar to a computerized glitch. Thus, XCopy became a contemporaneous NFT artist, creating a craze within the NFT community and for collectors alike.
Therefore, the Right-click and Save As Guy NFT sold for $7.09 million and was bought by Snoop Dogg, which goes under the name Cozomo de Medici.
11. CryptoPunk #7804, Larva Labs: $7.56 million
Part of the 9 aliens, CryptoPunk #7804is a particular NFT as it presents unique features, such as smoking a pipe, wearing a beret, and wearing sunglasses, making it a rare piece within the digital art world. The entire collection shows only 378 pipe smokers, and 254 are wearing caps.
Due to its historical significance and cultural impact, the NFT was sold for $7.56 million and purchased by Dylan Field, Figma’s CEO.
10. CryptoPunk #5577, Larva Labs: $7.7 Million
CryptoPunk #5577 was bought with leverage in February 2022. The buyer is Robert Leshner, the founder of Compound Finance, and his $7.7 Million acquisition has the cowboy hat attribute, which may explain the NFT’s price.
9. TPunk #3442, Larva Labs: $10.5 Million
The TPunk digital art is another version of CryptoPunks, one of the most expensive NFT collections. In August 2021, the co-founder of Tron bought TPunk #3442 for $10.5 million.
The artwork has features similar to those of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, and the buyer’s status undoubtedly influences its price.
The NFT was then donated to APENFT, a Tron-based project dedicated to tokenizing artwork on the blockchain.
8. CryptoPunk #4156, Larva Labs: $10.25 Million
The CryptoPunk continues the craze for all NFT and art enthusiasts, with the ninth most expensive NFT, CryptoPunk #4156, sold from the CryptoPunk collection.
What is special about this NFT is that it was featured in one of Beeple’s artworks, and then it proceeded to launch Nouns, another renowned NFT project.
Sold on December 21, 2021, the artwork brought a tremendous profit to the last buyer, as it was initially purchased nine months earlier for $1.25 million.
7. Alien CryptoPunk #7523, Larva Labs: $11.75 Million
Larva Labs Studio created only nine alien punk types, and CryptoPunk #7523 was sold for the surprising amount of $11.75 million, becoming the third most expensive CryptoPunk NFTs
Its mask reminds of the COVID-19 pandemic, thus giving the NFT a particular social and global significance, besides the knitted cap and earrings.
Furthermore, it was bought by Shalom Meckenzie, the largest shareholder of DraftKings.
6. CryptoPunk #3100, Larva Labs: $16 Million
Sold on March 11, 2021, CryptoPunk #3100 is one of the 9 aliens from the CryptoPunks collection. It is the collection’s rarest punk type, and it has one particular attribute due to the white and blue headband.
However, in March 2024, it was sold again for 4,500 Ether, worth over $16 million, and because only 450 punks have it, it is clear that rarity impacted its high selling price.
Therefore, as some users speculated, this digital asset potentially signified the NFT ecosystem bull market.
5. CryptoPunk #5822, Larva Labs: $23.7 Million
CryptoPunk #5822 is currently the most expensive CryptoPunk ever sold and one of nine, so it is considered a rare Cryptopunk.
Furthermore, this Cryptopunk NFT was purchased in February 2022 by Deepak Thapliyal, the CEO of Chain. The NFT’s impressive price tag reached $23.7 million. It is one of the 333 punks with a bandana and the highest-selling NFT from the entire collection.
4. Human One, Beeple: $28.9 Million
Human One is another expensive NFT that sold for $28,985,000 in November 2021. It represents Beeple’s first real-world artwork, a 3D moving sculpture with four screens.
This expensive artwork shows an astronaut exploring places at different times, and it represents the artist’s determination to create artwork outside digital space.
As the artist beautifully says, this digital artwork tells the story of the first human born in the metaverse. Although Beeple does not own the NFT, he remotely accesses and updates it regularly, as this artwork could represent his changing life over time.
3. Clock, Assange, and PAK: $52.7 Million
The Clock is among the top three most expensive NFTs ever sold, with a story of 1000 words, especially within the NFT community.
In collaboration with Assange, PAK created the Clock, depicting a digital counterto raise funds for Julian Assange, WikiLeaks’ founder, defense following his 2019 conviction.
As a result, the artwork shows the days since Assange was imprisoned, and it was sold for $52,740,000 million in February 2022, becoming the third most expensive NFT. All the funds went to the Wau Holland Foundation for Assange’s court hearings.
2. Everydays: The First 5000 Days, Beeple Collection: $69.3 Million
Created by Mike Winkelmann or Beeple, Everydays: The First 5000 Days shows the artist’s creations, which he completed during 5000 days by creating one piece of art per day. We could also associate its concept with performance art.
The electronic sculpture NFT sold at Christie’s auction for $69,346,250 million in March 2021, with the first bid of approximately $100. Moreover, it was the first time in NFT history that a major auction house offered pure digital NFT art.
This is the second most expensive NFT sold, and Vignesh Sundaresan (Metakovan), the crypto investor and founder of Metapurse, acquired it.
1. The Merge, PAK’s NFT Artwork – The Most Expensive NFT Ever Sold: $91.8 Million
It’s been years since The Merge, PAK’s NFT digital art, was released on December 3 and auctioned on December 6, 2021, on the NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway. To this day, it stands as one of the most expensive NFT sales.
This digital artwork was spectacular because it was divided into 312,686 individual pieces held by 28,983 investors and collectors alike. Thus, it is fair to say that this is one of the most expensive NFT sales ever, marking an astounding sum of $91.8 Million.
With a simple design featuring three white masses on a black background, the three objects increase based on how much mass investors acquire. Furthermore, the NFT has a built-in scarcity mechanism that ensures the token supply declines over time.
What are NFTs, and Do They Work in the NFT Space?
First, Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs) are digital assets that can be transacted online with cryptocurrency. The intriguing thing about them is that they are digital art pieces in many formats that can be created online or based on real-world assets.
Usually, NFTs can be collectibles, in-game avatars, photos, videos, GIFs, music, and many more. They are stored on blockchains and differ from one another, thanks to the computational metadata used for encoding them. This is one of the most exciting facts about NFTs: no two digital assets are the same. For instance, while 1 BTC is like another, an NFT will never have a counterpart.
Furthermore, unlike cryptocurrencies, NFTs don’t act as trade digital assets since their price tags must be equal. This is quite improbable, considering the many NFT projects on the market with various features and unique details.
Why Is The NFT Market Important?
Besides revolutionizing the art industry, NFTs come with great benefits for everyone. For instance, they can be considered an evolution of the basic crypto concept, and who would have thought that our generation would buy pieces of digital art to have them stored on a blockchain?
Another advantage of NFTs is their significant contribution to market efficiency. Digital artists do not need an agent and can connect directly to their audiences, as everything is conducted online.
Certain businesses can also benefit from NFTs when talking about market efficiency. For example, physical objects with an NFT will be followed more easily. This way, a buyer can learn more about their production, provenance, and the rest of the selling process.
How Are NFTs Digital Art Valued?
Because NFTs exist based on crypto, they are also driven by supply and demand. However, these are not the only two factors determining an NFT’s value. For instance, the price can change based on information such as who developed the NFT or what artists or influencers say about a specific art piece.
Furthermore, utility, rarity, tangibility, social proof, interoperability, ownership history, speculation, and many more factors impact an NFT’s value.
Top NFT Sellers
NFTs have become so popular that more artists start their NFT-creating journey daily. However, some NFT creators are and will probably remain among the top sellers on the market.
Larva Labs Studio
Larva Labs Studio developed one of the most popular NFT collections: CryptoPunks. The two Canadian developers behind the project are Matt Hall and John Watkinson, who founded the company to write apps for T-Mobile Sidekick. The two software developers started working with blockchain technology after creating 50 such apps and 20 more for Android and iOS. Besides CryptoPunks, Matt and John founded blockchain projects such as Meebits and Autoglyphs.
Larva Labs Studio has strong client relationships with renowned companies, including Google and Microsoft.
Tron
Founded in 2017, Tron developed TPunk, another popular NFT collection. The Tron team focuses its work on accelerating the decentralization of the Internet through DApps (Decentralized Applications) and blockchain technology.
Since the MainNet was launched in May 2018, the Tron network has gained more than 113 million users and almost 4 billion transactions on the blockchain.
Beeple
Beeple, also known as Mike Winkelmann, is a graphic designer from the US who primarily focuses on creating short films, VR/AR work, and Creative Commons VJ loops. Beeple worked on various concert visuals for famous artists such as Eminem, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, and Justin Bieber. One of the most popular Beeple NFTs is The First 5000 Days.
Pak
Formerly known as Murat Pak, the digital artist preferred to keep his identity unknown. However, speculators suggest that Pak would likely be a team instead of a solo creator. Besides being well-known for creating the curation platform called Archillect, Pak is famous for working with non-fungible tokens.
Until now, Pak’s total artwork value has reached more than 200,000 ETH, with 66,529 artworks already sold.
Yuga Labs
Founded in February 2021, Yuga Labs is the creator of the world’s largest NFT project: Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). The collection consists of 10,000 NFTs with an average price of $118,000 per artwork. The identities of the Yuga Labs founders remain unknown. However, the company was spearheaded by two individuals who used the pseudonyms of Gordon Goner and Gargamel.
Chiru Labs
Chiru Labs was founded in Los Angeles and has four anonymous founders who work under the pseudonyms of Zagabond, 2pm.flow, location tba, and HoshiBoy. However, one familiar face users may see at Chiru Labs is Arnold Tsang, a conceptual artist in the gaming industry. He is working on Azuki, their NFT project. Azuki has gained much popularity since its launch and has a collection value of 129,039 ETH.
Dapper Labs
Founded in 2018 by Roham Gharegozlou (CEO), Mik Nayeem, and Dieter Shirley, Dapper Labs is based in Vancouver and currently has a valuation of $7.6 billion. One of the most popular projects ever developed by Dapper Labs is CryptoKitties, a blockchain game that allows users to purchase, breed, collect, and sell virtual cats with ETH.
Have We Seen the Peak of The NFT Prices?
The NFT industry is exceptionally profitable. It allows creators to express themselves and earn crypto based on their artwork. The impressive number of NFTs on the market is impacted by factors such as rarity, utility, tangibility, social proof, or ownership history.
Though some popular NFT creators are on the market, there are always artists who can become as popular as others, depending on their art pieces and investors’ interest in them.
While the top 10 list of the most expensive NFTs ever sold includes many creators, CryptoPunks remains dominant, covering 50% of the places and 20% of the total sale value for the 10 NFTs.
