NFTs, or Non-Fungible Tokens, have blown up in popularity in the last 12 months, fuelled by investors, collectors and influencers trying to get a foothold in the latest blockchain craze which has these digital artworks changing hands for astronomical amounts of cash. The growth in demand for these digital tokens doesn’t seem to be slowing down either, with pieces being sold for millions of dollars. Marketplaces like Opensea are seeing trading volumes hit all time highs and NFT becoming the go to place to invest money in.
Collections like the Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks and Beeple have become some of the most expensive NFT art pieces in the world. In this article, we’ll explore the top ten most expensive NFTs in the world today.
Let’s jump right in!
#10. CryptoPunk #5217 — $5.59m
CryptoPunk #5217 has some pretty rare attributes when it comes to the CryptoPunk collection. It’s ranked #34 in terms of rarity, hence why it fetched so much money when it changed hands back in July 2021. Because of it’s high rarity level, there is no doubt that this CryptoPunk will increase in value over the next 12 months.
#10. XCOPY, A Coin for the Ferryman – $6 million
“A Coin For the Ferryman,” by XCOPY, has sold for $6 million in Ethereum. The one-of-a-kind coin was created by the crypto artist in 2018.
#9. Beeple, Ocean Front – $6 million
Mike Winkelmann, popularly known as Beeple, a graphic designer and Non-Fungible Token (NFT) artist, has sold another artwork for $6 million. The work that was created as an NFT is titled “Ocean Front,” and it shows a tree perched on an image of trailers and shipping containers sitting atop a platform on the ocean floor.
The artwork, part of Beeple’s “Everydays” collection, was auctioned on the Nifty Gateway marketplace with the remark “together we can solve this.” Three unique buyers, including Twitter users @3fmusic, @BabyBelugaNFT, and Justin Sun, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Tron Foundation, made consecutive offers in the auction.
Justin Sun eventually threw in the winning bid at exactly $6 million, which started at $2.77 million. Beeple announced the winner on Twitter and stated that the earnings would be donated to charity.
#8. XCOPY, Right-click and Save As guy – $6.57 million
Snoop Dogg purchased a 1/1 edition NFT from SuperRare for 1600 ETH (about $7.0 million). The artwork is by XCOPY, who created the renowned NFT meme image “Right-click and Save As guy.”
#7. Beeple, Crossroads – $6.6 million
Beeple’s Crossroad is a 10-second film that depicts people strolling through a big, fallen body with insults scrawled all over it.
#6. CryptoPunk #7804 — $7.6m
Dylan Field, the CEO of Figma, began claiming ownership of the digital Mona Lisa a few years ago. Almost everyone he told believed he was insane. After all, the artwork in question was a low-res, algorithmically created image of a blue extraterrestrial with a cap and a pipe. “CryptoPunk #7804” is the moniker, and it doesn’t exactly scream “high art.”
Field’s declaration, on the other hand, now appears to be a lot less insane. (However, he’s still a touch nuts.) As early players in the NFT space, CryptoPunks have earned a lot of respect for pioneering the kind of digital, scarce commodities that purchasers all around the world are longing for. Field sold the pipe-smoking alien for 4,200 ETH, or roughly $7.5 million.
#5. CryptoPunk #4156 – $10.2m
The second most expensive CrytpoPunk ever was sold on the Larva Lab’s native CryptoPunk marketplace for $10.2m.
#4. CryptoPunk #7523 — $11.75m
The 3rd rarest CryptoPunk sold for an eye watering $11.75m at Sotheby’s. There are 2 more rare CryptoPunks that have yet to be resold. How much more would they sell for?
#3. Beeple, HUMAN ONE – $29.8 million
Digital artist Mike Winkelmann, better known as Beeple, has sold a hybrid digital and physical artwork for $28.9 million USD.
On November 9, the generative sculpture HUMAN ONE was auctioned off as part of Christie’s 21st Century Evening Sale.
#2. Everydays: the First 5000 Days — $69.3m
Image courtesy the artist and Christie’s.
Mike Winkelmann, better known as Beeple, developed Everydays: the First 5000 Days, a digital work of art. Winkelmann made the work as a collage of 5000 digital photos for his Everydays series. Its non-fungible token (NFT) was sold for $69.3 million at Christie’s in 2021, making it the second most valuable non-fungible token on the market.
#1. Pak’s ‘The Merge’ — $91.8m
On December 2, 2021, another Pak piece, The Merge, became the most expensive NFT ever sold, with over 30,000 collectors paying in for a total of $91.8 million.
Apart from Clock, this is the only NFT on this top 10 list with many owners, as seen by the exorbitant price tag.
