- CryptoPunk #3100, one of only nine Alien Punks in the 10,000-piece collection, has just sold for 4,000 ETH, or $6 million.
- This NFT was purchased at $10 million less than its cost price, as the same NFT was bought last year for around 4,500 ETH, or around $16 million.
- Ethereum’s price decline over the past year is around 57%, which means that this 500 ETH difference incurred a staggering $10 million loss.
One of the most expensive CryptoPunks NFTs has just sold for $6 million. While this amount doesn’t seem bad at first glance for a digital art piece, the sales price is $10 million less than what its previous owner paid for it just a year ago. This sale not only shows how far the market has cooled it also raises a very important question: Are NFTs dead?
A Rare Punk Changes Hands
10 April saw CryptoPunk #3100, one of only nine Alien Punks in the collection of 10,000 pieces, sell for 4,000 ETH. With Ethereum trading just above the $1,500 zone, this amounted to around $6.07 million at the time of the transaction.
What makes this particular NFT so interesting is not just its sale price but its past.
The same NFT was bought in March of last year for around 4,500 ETH, or around $16 million. This makes it the third most expensive CryptoPunks ever sold. Fast forward to today, and the seller walked away with a massive loss in both Ethereum and dollar terms.
ETH Price Drop Adds to the Blow
The loss isn’t simply a matter of reselling for a lower amount of ETH. A closer look at the deal shows that the NFT was sold at just 500 ETH lower than its sales price. However, Ethereum’s price decline over the past year sits at around 57%, which means that this 500 ETH difference racked up the staggering $10 million loss.
To further explain things, even if the seller had sold the piece for the amount they bought for initially, they would still have taken a massive loss. This loss on both ends has turned this NFT sale into not just an internet spectacle, but a show of how volatile the crypto (and NFT) space has been so far. While nobody knows the buyer’s identity, blockchain data shows that the wallet that purchased this NFT received around 4,001 ETH from an address tagged “Coinbase Prime 2” on Etherscan.
This means that the sale likely involves institutional investment from a whale or a custodial service. So far, no other on-chain activity has been recorded from the wallet.
Punk #3100’s Legacy
This isn’t the first time Punk #3100 has made headlines. It previously sold for around $7.58 million in March 2021 and then for $16.03 million last year. The latest transaction means that it now appears three times on the top CryptoPunks sales leaderboard. Its popularity comes largely from its rarity.
Alien Punks are one of the rarest types in the collection, and only nine of them exist. More interestingly, CryptoPunk #3100 is the only one of them with a headband, making it more appealing to investors looking for a one-of-a-kind asset. This puts CryptoPunk #3100 alongside the record-breaking $23.7 million paid for Punk #5822 in February 2022.
At this time, collectors seem to be focusing on rarity more than ever, which is why Alien Punks continue to fetch such high prices. However, with Ethereum’s price largely tied to their pricing, the volatility of the crypto space presents a major risk for collectors.
