Top 10 Most Expensive NFTs Ever Sold
Non-fungible tokens are rapidly becoming a goldmine, with prices striding into millions of dollars. This creates a tendency for the occurrence of mind-blowing sales in the NFT world. NFTs have been sold for more than the price of a gold bar in recent times and there have been instances where an NFT garners more than $69 million and even what could be referred to as an ordinary tweet has been sold for more than $2.9 million.
Given the rate of adoption of NFT as a virtual currency and the number of mind-blowing sales that have been witnessed in recent times, it is safe to say that we are in for a long ride in the NFT world.
NFT has the knack for producing life-changing money. This claim is corroborated by an event in 2021 that saw Mike Winkelmann sell an NFT for a whooping sum of $69 million which invariably opened the floodgate of strings of other expensive sales, worth several million in dollars.
2022 has seen an increase in momentum, with NFT garnering so much attention from artists, collectors, and investors alike. This article is expected to give you a glance at the top 10 most expensive NFTs ever sold in human history.
1. The Merge- $91.8 million
The merge sits at the top of the ladder as the most expensive NFT that has ever been sold. Created by Pak, an artist or group of artists whose true identity remains unknown up to this day. Pak occupies a large portion of the digital art space.
The Merge is a renowned mash-up of masses that anyone can buy. Hence, it is not a static piece of art. The Merge consists of three large dots superimposed against a black background that increased in size as the number of buyers went up.
2. Everydays: the first 5000 days — $69.3 million
The next most expensive NFT ever sold is the creation of Beeple, the first 5000 days. It is an amazing collection of 5000 pieces of artwork that differs in style, medium, and content created every day, starting in 2007 by Beeple. They, however, have one thing in common. They rely heavily on dystopian or satirical settings and are highly appreciated by NFT enthusiasts and collectors. Interestingly, it remains the most expensive collage of NFT art sold to a single owner. Given the spate of amazing collections in NFT, it will only be a matter of time before this record is broken.
3. Clocks — $52.74 million
The clock was created to raise funds to defend the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange after his controversial imprisonment in 2019. Julian was facing charges of espionage due to his association with WikiLeaks and the clock showcased the number of days he had spent behind the bar.
Over 10000 supporters own a share of the NFT. The NFT had a price tag of $56 million.
4. Human One — $28.9 million
The next item on this illustrious list is another NFT artwork created by Beeple. Human One is a digital and physical hybrid artwork.
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One of the things that make Human One a Unique piece of artwork is the fact that it keeps changing over time. Beeple retains remote access to the NFT; hence, they update it periodically. Human One illustrates an astronaut ambling through the different backgrounds that change over time.
5. CryptoPunk #582 — $23.7 million
CryptoPunks stands out as one of the few NFT collections to have achieved cult status. The project was launched in 2017 and twice sold for a record-breaking price. CrpyoPunks was inspired by the London punk scenes which many believe are still alive, the cyberpunk movement, and music artists like Daft Punk. It was launched by Larva Labs and by merit is on this list as the 5th most expensive NFT ever sold.
There is a good reason for the selling price of this popular token. It is part of the series “rarest alien edition” of which only 9 exist out of the 10,000punks available. Given that this token is one out of 333 others with a bandana and how rare it is, we can expect it to remain one of the most expensive NFTs ever sold in human history. It was purchased by Deepak Thapliyal, the CEO of Chain.
6. Alien Cryptopunk #7523 — $11.75 million
Bought by Shalom Mackenzie, the largest shareholder of DraftKings, Alien CryptoPunks is one of the rarest commodities in the crypto world. It is also one of the 9 alien Punks minted by Larva Labs and does come with exclusive accessories like a medical Mask, Knitted cap, and earrings. It is dubbed the Covid Alien.
7. TPunk #3442 — $10.5 million
Given that we have seen how rare and valuable the Alien Punks are. However, there is a different breed catching the attention of investors in the NFT world and they are the TPunks. TPunks don’t usually sell for much. However, they are seen as Tron’s version of CryptoPunks. This one resembles the joker and was bought by Tron co-founder and crypto mogul, Justin Sun.
8. CryptoPunk #4156 — $10.26 million
Making the list of the most expensive NFTs ever sold to date is another Punk. However, this time it is CryptoPunk #4156. The sale is believed to have been triggered by the pseudonymous collector Punk4156 becoming disillusioned with the project and the way Larva Labs handled its communication, licensing guidance, and community engagement.
9. CrptoPunk #5577 — $7.7 million
Put up another number on the list, and another CryptoPunk makes the list. CryptoPunks experienced an NFT frenzy in 2021 and since then, there seems to be no slowing down. This token was sold for $7.7 million back in February this year and was bought by Robert Leshner, founder of the Compound DeFi protocol.
10. CryptoPunk #3100 — $7.6 million
Capping off our list of the most expensive NFT ever sold is CryptoPunk #3100. Given the number of CryptoPunks that appeared on the list, one can safely say that the token has a special place in the hearts of NFT collectors and art lovers all over the world. The token happens to be one of the rare alien avatars wearing a white and blue headband. Interestingly, there are only 450 other Punks with headbands which makes CryptoPunk rarer than can be imagined.
