Non-fungible tokens blew up in 2021 after cryptocurrencies made another big push towards mainstream adoption. NFTs, so fondly called, are now gaining much-wanted attention from the crypto community. They’ve also helped onboard thousands of everyday investors into the crypto space.
But first, let’s answer a burning question: “What is an NFT?”
An NFT (aka nifty) is a digital asset representing a tangible item that exists digitally or in the real world. NFTs are tokenized and then traded on the blockchain.
However, NFTs are unique and cannot be traded for the same value, unlike fungible tokens like Bitcoin. NFTs represent various items like art, in-game assets, digital media, domain names, memes, and more.
Non-fungible tokens are the smart crypto investor’s new best friend. The NFT sector has grown rapidly into a global market worth several billions of dollars. It’s no doubt exciting times for NFTs, with the market recording jaw-dropping sale figures rivaling the traditional collectibles market.
In this article, we briefly look at the most expensive NFTs historically and take you through everything there is to know about them.
NFTs are a relatively new sector of the crypto space, which makes it difficult to maintain a list of the world’s most expensive NFTs. However, we’ve done a lot of fact-checking to ensure our list is accurate.
That said, here’s our list of the top ten NFTs in history by the sale price.
1. The Merge — Most Expensive NFT Artwork Ever at $91.8 Million
The Merge, an artwork by anonymous digital artist(s) Pak (Murat Pak) broke the record for the most expensive NFT ever when it sold for almost $92 million. Specifically, the NFT sold for $91.8 million during a 48-hour sale on Nifty Gateway in December 2021.
The Merge represents a unique twist on ownership of NFTs: it was split into ‘masses’, with 312,686 masses sold to 28,893 collectors. Instead of owning a single token, collectors could co-own the artwork by holding one or more pieces — a prime example of crowdfunding in the NFT sector.
2. Everydays: The First 5000 Days — Second Most Expensive NFT at $69.3 million and Most Expensive NFT Owned by a Single Person
Popular NFT artist Mike ‘Beeple’ Winkelmann made headlines in March 2021 when he sold this artwork for $69.3 million at a Christie’s auction, a similarly historic feat for the renowned auction house.
The First 5000 Days is a collage containing 5000 of Beeple’s earlier artworks from 2007 to 2020 called ‘Everydays.’ The compilation features computer-drawn (and some hand-drawn) photos of Donald Trump, rappers, and Jeff Bezos, among others. Vignesh ‘Metakovan’ Sundaresan owns the piece, which is put up for display in the metaverse.
Funny story: the initial bid was a measly $100 by traditional collectors. However, crypto investors burst onto the scene with humongous bids reaching $1 million within the hour. This seems fair, considering Beeple is a popular figure in the digital art community.
3. Clock NFT by Pak Sold for $52.7 Million
Digital artist Pak, alongside Beeple, is renowned for some of the most creative digital art pieces we know. In the past, Pak has frequently advocated for freedom and decentralization, telling a similar story with their works.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange began a 175-year sentence in April 2019 on counts of hacking, conspiracy, and other crimes. Pak learned about Assange’s situation from his brother Gabriel in late 2021. The enigmatic artist(s) then collaborated with Assange to create a two-part collection titled Censored towards raising Assange’s legal fees.
The Clock is a dynamic NFT, a real-time timer showing the number of days since the WikiLeaks founder was imprisoned. AssangeDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization created to support Assange financially, bid 6,593 ETH (about $52.7 million) for the piece. Pak donated the proceeds to a project working to defend Assange — the Wau Holland Foundation.
4. Beeple’s $28.9 Million HUMAN ONE NFT Combining Physical and Digital Art
HUMAN ONE is a dynamic, hybrid sculpture created by Beeple using real-world and virtual components. With a sale price of $28.9 million, Human One is one of the most expensive hybrid NFTs ever.
The HUMAN ONE piece is a 16K-resolution human(oid) sculpture made with polished aluminium, mahogany wood, and four video screens. Beeple has remote access to the NFT and has promised to evolve the piece during his lifetime.
Crypto billionaire Ryan Zurrer snapped up this generative piece of art on December 9, 2021. HUMAN ONE sold for $28.9 million at a Christie’s auction, far exceeding its estimated value of $15 million.
5. CryptoPunk #5822 — Largest CryptoPunks Sale at $23.7 Million
CryptoPunks is an NFT project by Larva Labs, which has managed to rank it as the mother of all NFT projects. At a whopping $23.7 million, CryptoPunk #5822 holds the record for the highest selling CryptoPunk NFT to date.
No surprise because this NFT is one of nine Alien Punks in the entire CryptoPunks collection and it only has one attribute — a blue bandana — making it rare. Although the seller who initially bought it for $1641 has remained anonymous, the buyer is known; Deepak Thapliyal, founder of chain.com bought it at 8,000 ETH on February 12, 2022.
6. CryptoPunk #7523 – Second Most Expensive CryptoPunk NFT at $11.75 Million
Before CryptoPunk #5822 was resold for about $24 million, CryptoPunk #7523 was the most expensive NFT in the entire CryptoPunks collection. Dubbed ‘Covid Alien’, it featured an Alien Punk sporting a red beanie, a gold earring, and a facemask — quite reminiscent of COVID-19 lockdown periods.
DraftKings’ largest shareholder Shalom Meckenzie bought the NFT for $11.75 million from a user named “SillyTuna” at Sotheby’s “Natively Digital” auction.
7. TPunk #3442 — $10.5 Million
TPunks is a NFT project similar in design to CryptoPunks; they both have pixelated figures. TPunks is the first project ever launched on the Tron blockchain. TPunks are generally low-priced but this particular NFT featuring a joker sold for millions of dollars.
Tron founder Justin Sun bought TPunks #3442 for 120 million TRX (Tron’s native token), about $10.5 million at the time.
8. CryptoPunk #4156 — Third Most Expensive CryptoPunk Sold for $10.26 Million
Wondering how there are so many Punks in the top ten biggest selling NFTs ever? It’s no secret that the crypto art community generally regards CryptoPunks as the OG NFT collection. We can safely say Punks paved the way for the NFT boom we’re now enjoying.
CryptoPunk #4156 became the most expensive Punk ever sold on Larva Labs’ CryptoPunk Marketplace when it sold for $10.26 million in December 2021. The seller named “Punk4156” rose to the limelight after they bought the NFT for a record-breaking $1.25 million in ETH back in February 2021.
This particular Punk featuring an ape in a bandana caused a stir in the crypto community. It’s believed that Punk4156 used the proceeds to create Nouns, an entirely new NFT project focusing on open-source intellectual property.
9. CryptoPunk #5577 — Second Most Expensive Ape NFT Sold for $7.7 Million
The crypto community sure loves apes — if there’s anything we’re confident about, it’s that. The ninth most expensive NFT on our list is an ape (wearing a brown cowboy hat) again.
At a sale price of 2,501 ETH, Punk #5577 is the second highest selling Ape Punk. Compound Finance founder Robert Leshner bought the NFT in February 2022 for about $7.7 million at the time.
10. CryptoPunk #3100 — $7.58 Million
CryptoPunk #3100 is part of the nine Alien Punk NFTs, and it sits comfortably in the list of the most expensive Alien Punks ever sold. Punk #3100 has rare features, belonging to a set of 333 Punks with only one attribute in the entire collection.
Punk #3100 is an Alien wearing a blue and white headband (only 406 Punks wear a headband). It was listed in 2017 and raised eyebrows in March 2021 with an initial bid of $2 million before it was sold for $7.58 million in the same month.
Final Thoughts
Though the NFT market has slowed substantially in recent months, don’t expect a complete retreat from the insane prices we’ve seen in 2020 and 2021. Investment in the NFT space and in future NFT projects has already hit $37 billion dollars; almost surpassing the $40 billion dollar total set in 2021 and we’re not even done with the year yet.