Alien CryptoPunk NFT Sold For 605 ETH At Auction

NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are unique cryptographic tokens – usually representing an artistic piece – that have been gaining attention for quite a while now.

In Australia, some NFTs have been sold to raise money for charity, such as this true blue F1 race car. The profits have gone towards reducing the impact of the bush firres that tore through Australia in early 2020.

Although they became widely known due to the CryptoKitties project, there is an older project whose artworks are becoming more and more expensive – namely CryptoPunks.

A 75x Increase In Value

Developed by Larva Labs, these unique tokens were created long before the ERC 721 standards and hearken back to the old days of retro pixel art.

Following some intense bidding, Punk #2890 has been sold for a whopping 605 ETH to a group of investors – including FlamingoDAO – who are interested in collectible NFTs.

Although each punk is unique, some are especially rare, especially the ones that are Aliens or Zombies.

This particular NFT represents a blue alien punk that has increased 75x in value since its last sale.

According to a spokesman for the investment group, the enormous valuation that the piece currently has will increase over time – especially as the world becomes more and more digitalized.

“It’s simple: Cryptopunks is a groundbreaking project; it pre-dated the ERC 721 standard and crypto kitties. Aliens are the rarest form of Cryptopunk and we believe that the acquired Alien will be prized by collectors over time and mature into an iconic digital art piece.”

@gmoneyNFT – an NFT collector who also recently purchased a Cryptopunk for 140 ETH – dismissed the criticisms regarding the artworks high price, comparing it to high-priced items found in everyday life.

“Why would someone pay millions of dollars for an original Andy Warhol screen print when you can buy the same one online for $20? Why would someone buy a pair of yeezy’s for $300 when you can buy a fake from the same factory, made with the same materials for much less? Humans like to feel special. The provenance has value.”

Whether NFTs will slowly replace physical artworks at Tate Gallery auctions is up for debate – nevertheless, the interest in them does not seem to be slowing down.