See the five most expensive NFTs in history
3 min readTable of Contents
The non-fungible token (NFT) market racked up new records in January. According to OpenSea data, trades on this platform alone exceeded US$ 5 billion.
Part of this movement came from collections such as the famous Bored Ape Yatch Club (BAYC), which became popular with celebrities. Its more than 10 thousand copies moved more than US$ 1 billion and were the main growth engine of this market.
But even though BAYC are the most popular as a collection, their individual price is still low compared to other collections. In fact, none of the monkeys are even in the top 10 most expensive NFTs ever traded to date.
In contrast, rivals CryptoPunks own two of the best-selling NFTs to date. So check out the five most expensive NFTs in history so far. The amounts in reais are calculated according to the dollar exchange rate this Friday (4th).
5) CryptoPunk #3100
The list opens with a copy of BAYC’s biggest rival. CryptoPunk #3100 is part of the Alien Punks series which has nine copies. The blue belt alien was traded for US$7.58 million in March 2021.
NFT was first launched in 2017 and as of March 2021 it already had minimum bids of $2 million. After an intense dispute, he was eventually sold for the bid of $7.58 million.
It is open for sale, but the interested party needs to pay the trifle of 35 thousand ETH to take it. At the current price, the value is approximately US$ 100 million.
4) CryptoPunk #7523
If BAYC has the power of artists, CryptoPunks have the power of money. The fourth NFT on this list, dubbed the “Covid Alien”, was traded for a trifle of $11.75 million.
The NFT was sold in June 2021 at Sotheby’s London auction house. Like the previous example, the #7523 is part of the rare Alien Punk collection. Its price made it the Alien Punk and also the best selling CryptoPunk in history up to this point.
3) Human One
The artist who goes by the name Beeple is one of the most famous creators of NFTs in the world. According to the famous auction house Christie’s, he is the “artist of the 21st century”. And it was with this epithet that The Human One became the third best-selling NFT in history.
The work consists of an astronaut wandering through displaced environments, but these environments change as the artist wishes. Beeple himself promised to “update” the painting during his lifetime, so the art will never remain static.
The concept attracted numerous investors and also Christie’s, which held the auction for the work. In the end, billionaire Ryan Zurrer paid US$29.9 million for the work on December 9, 2021.
2) The First 5000 Days
Imagine putting together photos taken over 13 years into a single frame. It was with such a feat that Beeple also secured the second most expensive NFT in history. The work, called Everyday: The First 5000 Days was sold for US$ 69 million.
Christie’s again financed the work by auctioning the work. Interestingly, the initial bid was a measly $100 made by traditional customers. But crypto enthusiasts soon raised bids until the final bid came on February 21, 2021.
Everyday: The First 5000 Days was a game changer in the NFT market. After the auction of the work, the path of NFTs towards big markets was open. In a way, collections like BAYC owe much of their success to Beeple’s pioneering spirit.
1) The Merge
Finally, the list comes to The Merge, a digital artwork created by an anonymous artist nicknamed Pak. Sold on December 6, 2021 on the Nifty Gateway platform, the work was purchased for $91.8 million.
However, the piece was split into another 312,686 artworks, which were distributed to 28,983 buyers. According to Pak, The Merge was a unique work made up of a collection of “pasta” that users could purchase.
In this way, each of these pieces was joined and created a single art, which was sold together. The record price was obtained at the end of the sale and remains the most expensive NFT in history to this day.
