Sotheby’s announces the first dedicated live evening auction for a single-lot sale of 104 CryptoPunks NFT's ..
On the 23rd February, Sotheby’s will dedicate a single-lot auction titled Punk It! to a collection of “CryptoPunks,” a group of NFT avatars designed by Larva Labs.
The landmark auction valued at $20/30 million, marks the highest valued estimate for an NFT or digital art ever offered at auction, and follows Sotheby’s record-breaking sale of CryptoPunk #7523 for $11.8 million in June 2021. The live evening auction will also bring together the physical and digital in an unprecedented showcase for NFTs and digital art with a presentation on par with the most significant and high-profile sales for Contemporary and Modern art.
CryptoPunks, which were released in 2017 by studio Larva Labs, are some of the world’s most iconic and valuable NFTs that have become a leading visual symbol of the global NFT movement. Their status in the crypto ecosystem, and more recently the fine art world, has evolved into a signifier of visual identity for their holders. The present group of 104 CryptoPunks to appear at auction were acquired together in a single blockchain transaction by anonymous collector “0x650d.” This stand-alone acquisition connects each of the 104 Punks with the same provenance—a wallet that currently represents more than 1% of the entire CryptoPunks collection— and ascribes unique value to the group as one of the largest Punk collections held by a single wallet. The buyer behind 0x650d will continue with this convention when the 104 Punks are sold together as a single lot at Sotheby’s.
“CryptoPunks are the original PFP series that created the template for other NFT projects that have followed, and which helped propel NFTs to the global stage as one of the most recognizable visual styles that have become synonymous with the digital art movement. To offer a group of 104 CryptoPunks as a single lot is a monumental occasion, and one that we are excited to present as a first-of-its-kind evening auction. Never before has there been a dedicated auction presenting NFTs on this level, and we can’t wait to invite the NFT and crypto art community to participate in this special sale.” MICHAEL BOUHANNA, SOTHEBY’S CO-HEAD OF DIGITAL ART
For the auction, Sotheby’s will accept cryptocurrency, with the winning bidder having the option to make final payment in Ether (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), USD Coin (USDC) or in fiat currencies—all cryptocurrency transactions are subject to applicable laws and regulations.
Preceding the live auction on 23 February, Sotheby’s will host a special live panel discussion on the history of NFTs and CryptoPunks, focusing on how Punks have gained mainstream recognition, with notable celebrity collectors such as JAY-Z and Jason Derulo adopting Punks as profile pictures. The panel will be livestreamed from Sotheby’s New York saleroom and feature speakers to be announced at a later date.
