NFT’s (non-fungible tokens) are becoming an increasingly profitable investment. Both collectors and those who are looking to get their way into blockchain as an investment, are paying a fortune for these digital assets.
They grew in popularity in recent years after art collections were sold as digital photos and celebrities and influencers got on board. Our list is about some of the most expensive NFTs ever sold. Some of these are digital works of art while others are more of an online asset.
Beeple – Everydays: The First 5000 days
Beeple is a digital artist that found fame in March this year when he sold his piece called Everydays: The First 5000 days. Beeple created a new digital photo every day, for 5000 days straight documenting his life and artistic process over time.
It started in 2005 and ended in January 2021 when the collection was finished and auctioned. The auction was quite frenzied and the collage was eventually sold for $69 million. It was bought by MetaKovan. Some would argue that the most important result of this acquisition was in the fact that this is how the general public heard about NFTs.
Beeple – Human One
The second NFT on our list was also made by Beeple and it’s his first work of art actually based on physical materials. It features an astronaut “forever striding through the wastes of vaguely familiar worlds”. The image changes depending on what time of the day it is and it can also be found as a digital photo.
It was sold for $28.9 million. The overall Beeple made from their artwork is over $100 million, with the third most expensive NFT he sold worth about $6 million.
POW NFT
Unlike other NFTs on our list POW NFT can be mined by using cloud mining solutions, as is the case with Bitcoins and Ethereum digital currency. This means that the price of mining an NFT can range from something as small as $1 a day to as much as $900 a day or more.
The cost of the NFT itself is based on its market value and therefore on how rare it is, as is the case with any other NFT. Therefore, there’s no limit as to how much POW NFT can be worth at some point.
CryptoPunk 4156
CryptoPunks is an NFT token collection on the Ethereum blockchain. It started in 2017 as a two-person team and it grew to become one of the biggest and most expensive NFT collections out there. The hype reemerged when 4156 was sold due to its rarity and its price. It was sold for $10 million.
It’s 24 Ape Punk which is well known with the community interested in this type of art due to its scarcity. It’s also one of the most recognizable pieces that the community has put out so far. The difference between it and the others we mentioned was that it was sold in an open market and not in an auction.
Beeple – Ocean Front
This is the third Beeples piece of art on our list and also the third most expensive piece he ever sold. At this point, Beeple plays a big role in the market for the artistic side of NFTs and it shows. The piece was sold for $6 million.
The work depicts an “amalgamation of massive containers, a caravan, and a tree, standing tall in the middle of the ocean”. Ocean Front is strikingly beautiful and haunting. It was purchased by Justin Sun, the CEO of TRON and Rainberry.Inc.
XCopy’s A Coin for the Ferryman
It’s one of the earliest pieces created by a digital artist known as XCopy. It was created in 2018 and was sold for $6 million in 2021. The artwork is an amalgam of faces and its most striking feature is the GIF that makes it so unique.
It’s one of the rarest NFTs out there and when it was first auctioned it caused quite a stir within the community. It also put the artist on the map in the way he wasn’t before since the general public was less familiar with their work.
Beeple – Crossroad
Beeple is now a household name in the world of NFTs and this one has made history due to how it was sold and not due to its worth or artistic value. The piece features short video clips of people walking past a dead body with insults written on it.
What makes this transaction unique and interesting is the fact that the NFT was resold for $6 million. That’s the first NFT of that size that has changed hands twice before it has reached its price and place in the market.
Pak’s – The Merge
The Merge was sold in December 2021. It’s the most expensive NFT ever sold at this point. Almost 30.000 different collectors tried to bid for it and it was sold for $91.8 million. It’s also important for another reason since the most expensive NFT has multiple owners. About 28.000 collectors own the art piece collectively.
It’s not easy to say if The Merge is one piece of art or a collection in itself. It was sold in an open auction and the buyers bought tokens giving them possession of a part of the piece, as would be the case with buying digital currency. The price of the unit started at $575 and it grew from there.
The Shape of Things to Come
NFTs are a growing market that is already important for both the art and tech worlds. It will continue to grow and expand over time since there’s more of an interest for it with the younger buyers and the public in general.
At this point, it’s the cutting edge of the art auctions and it’s combined with blockchain technology due to how it’s structured. We’re going to see more and more artists working in this medium and making money in the process. It’s an exciting prospect for everyone involved.
