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The NFT Craze: 12 Most Expensive NFTs Ever Sold

2022-12-01 Investing

NFT is all the rave today and if you’re not in, you’re missing out!

You’ve most certainly heard this phrase more than once before. And yes, the world does seem to have gone meta. With every major celebrity coming up with their own kind of NFTs and setting up Bored Apes as their Twitter profile pictures, you really get that FOMO (fear of missing out) feeling. 

You’ve probably been wondering — how much has the world gone crazy? I know we most certainly have. And upon a little research, we’ve found out exactly how much the world has gone insane — by $91.8 million. The price someone paid for a single NFT. Crazy, right? And it’s not a one-time thing. In this article, you’ll find a list of the most expensive NFTs ever sold.

12. CryptoPunk #5217 — $5.59m

If you aren't familiar with CryptoPunks — they are probably the most infamous NFTs there are. CryptoPunks are one of the earliest examples of a "Non-Fungible Token". Created by Larva Labs in 2017, they didn't take long to become a desirable object for people. 

CryptoPunks are images randomly generated using an algorithm. And, although at first they were just given away to any person interested, today the cheapest CryptoPunk is worth over $100,000. 

Some of them are worth millions, even. And CryptoPunk #5217 is one of them. What makes CryptoPunk #5217 so valuable are the generated features: it is one of 24 Ape punks and has 2 attributes — only one of 3560 with that many. The attributes include a gold chain that only 169 punks have and a knitted cap that only 419 punks have. #5217 is one of the rarest CryptoPunks on the market, ranking at 34th. And, this is not the only CryptoPunk on this list.

11. Ocean Front — $6m

Ocean Front is the creation of a digital artist, Michael Winkelmann, better known as Beeple. As you will see later, Beeple is one of the most well-known and well-respected digital artists and the prices of his work speak for themselves — he dominates in this list.

Beeple’s Ocean Front is not just a beautiful piece of art — it's a commentary on the impending disaster that is climate change. The artwork was bought on 23 March 2021 for $6 million. The proceeds from the sale went to Open Earth Foundation — an organization working to tackle climate change.

10. A Coin for the Ferryman — $6.034m

Created by XCopy, a well-known London-based crypto artist, A Coin for the Ferryman was sold for over $6million on November 4, 2021. The artwork is a GIF, showing constantly changing expressions on a person’s face. It is a unique piece and one of the earliest works of XCopy.

9. Crossroad — $6.6m

Another work of the infamous Beeple. Crossroad is a short, 10-second clip (a short movie of sorts) that shows people walking past a large, fallen body with insults written all over it. It is yet another commentary art piece, depicting the sad reality of today's world. 

8. Ringers #109 — $6.9m

Ringers, created by Art Blocks, is a project with a series of images with loops going around pegs. Just like CryptoPunks, the loops are created using an algorithm, they can be 3D images, interactive features, or static pictures. Ringers #109 is a black and white static image of a series of loops around multiple pegs. The wrap orientation, the loop, and the white background are three rare attributes in Ringers. The NFT was sold for $6.9 million in October 2021.

7. Right-click and Save As guy — $7.09m

The Right-click and Save As guy NFT was created as a joke on those people who always argue that NFTs are worthless and that they can simply be right-clicked and downloaded. It depicts a mumbling person wearing large shades and a hoodie. It was sold on the SuperRare for $7.09 million in early December 2021 to Cozomo de Medici who is speculated to be the alias of Snoop Dogg.

6. CryptoPunk #7804 — $7.6m

Another piece of CryptoPunk and certainly not the last on this list. It is an alien punk, and in a way, it reminds of Sherlock Holmes. It is one of 9 Alien punks and has 3 attributes — a forward cap (254 punks have this), a pipe (317 punks have this), and small shades (378 punks have this). In March 2021, it was sold for $7.6 million.

5. CryptoPunk #3100 — $7.67m

Like #7523, the #3100 is also one of the 9 Alien punks. It has 1 feature, a headband, that only 406 other punks have. It was sold for $7.67 million and at the time of its sale, CryptoPunk #3100 was the highest-priced punk. Just one day after the #7804 was sold.

4. CryptoPunk #4156 — $10.26m

As you probably already saw, CryptoPunks are one of the most sought-after NFTs and the most expensive punk — the CryptoPunk #4156. Blowing all of its CryptoPunk fellows out of the water, #4156 was sold for $10.26 million just at the end of last year. It's one of 24 Ape punks and features a bandana — an attribute only 481 other punks have.

3. HUMAN ONE — $28.985m

Beeple's second most successful NFT sale. It was sold for $28.985 million to a Swiss entrepreneur. 

Human One is a hybrid of digital and physical artwork — a 7 feet tall human-like sculpture that appears to be walking. The sculpture is made out of four 16K resolution video screens and aluminum metal, mahogany wood frame. The sculpture was sold with a corresponding dynamic NFT.

2. Everydays: the First 5000 Days — $69.3m

The most expensive NFT sale for Beeple has been at $69.3 million for a single piece of artwork titled Everydays: The First 5000 Days. It is a collage of 5,000 individual images created by Beeple every day for more than 13 years from 2007 to 2020.

1. The Merge — $91.8m

Created by an artist with the pseudonym Pak, The Merge is the most unique piece of artwork on the NFT market. Instead of being a single piece of art, it is a fragmented workpiece. It was sold in units, or "masses", and has multiple owners — 28,983 collectors together bought a total of 266,445 masses for $91.8 million. To this day, it's the most expensive NFT ever sold.

Are all NFTs this expensive?

Don’t let this article scare you away. 

If you’ve been interested in NFTs and have been thinking about getting one for yourself, there are plenty of NFTs out there that are reasonably priced. You can find NFTs that cost from as low as $1 to an average of $900. So, don’t worry — in the NFT world, everyone can find their perfect fit.

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