CryptoPunk Fetches $16 Million in Latest Sale

On March 20, CryptoPunk #7804, one of the nine so-called “aliens,” was sold for 4850 ETH, amounting to $16.42 million at the time of sale.

Punk 7804 bought for 4,850 ETH ($16,421,614.53 USD) by 0x9bc2d5 from 0xf4b4a5. https://t.co/PhIbbqdu5B #cryptopunks #ethereum pic.twitter.com/n7QsO74UtY

— CryptoPunks Bot (@cryptopunksbot) March 20, 2024

This marks the second-highest transaction in the collection’s history, both in dollar terms and cryptocurrency.

The sale occurred roughly two weeks after another Alien Punk — #3100 — was acquired for 4500 ETH ($16.03 million).

As with this purchase, the new owner of CryptoPunk #7804 has not publicly identified themselves. It is known only that the Ethereum wallet used for payment was funded via Coinbase.

The seller, known by the pseudonym Peruggia, bought the asset in March 2021 for 4200 ETH, which was valued at $7.57 million at the time. He commented on the transaction, calling it “the end of an era.”

“I have long felt like an impostor. Holding ‘punks’ and perhaps NFTs in general hostage, not elevating #7804 as it deserves,” wrote Peruggia.

He stated that he had been searching for a suitable buyer with the “right vision” for over a year.

The largest transaction in the collection remains the sale of CryptoPunk #5822 for 8000 ETH (~$23.7 million at the time) in February 2022. The buyer was Chain CEO Deepak Thapliyal.

The trading volume of the collection’s tokens has approached $2.8 billion over its existence. The lowest price among the 1015 NFTs available for purchase is 50.99 ETH (~$178,810). However, average bids barely exceed 1 ETH.

In 2022, Yuga Labs, the company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection, acquired the intellectual rights to CryptoPunks.