CryptoPunk Sells for $23 Million, Doubles Previous Record

A CryptoPunk NFT has sold for 8,000 ETH (US$23.7 million), doubling the previous CryptoPunks record of US$11.8 million, set last June.

As announced via Twitter, Deepak Thapliyal, CEO of cloud blockchain infrastructure firm Chain, purchased CryptoPunk #5822 directly from CryptoPunks developer Larva Labs’ own online marketplace:

Thapliyal also tweeted that he leveraged DeFi protocol Compound Finance to pay for his CryptoPunk, telling Compound founder Robert Leshner: “Thanks to Compound I am able to still [hold] ETH while buying this. Basically long’d ETH to punk-in.”

Accusations of Money Laundering Erupt on Twitter

Within 24 hours of the sale, accusations erupted on Twitter of a money-laundering exercise, suggesting both buyer and seller were interchangeable:

NFT Record Price Rankings

CryptoPunk #5822 fetched the fourth-highest price ever for a single NFT. Beeple’s “Everydays: The First 5,000 Days” topped the tree at US$69.3 million last March, followed by last week’s sale of artist Pak’s “Clock” NFT to AssangeDAO, as reported by Crypto News Australia. Coming in third is Beeple’s “Human One”, which changed hands for US$29 million in November.

These rankings may well change after Sotheby’s single-lot sale of 104 CryptoPunks NFTs scheduled for live auction on February 23 in New York City.