CryptoPunk cashes in: NFT fetches millions in Sotheby’s auction

A non-fungible token (NFT) that is part of the ‘CryptoPunk’ series has been sold for around US$11.8mln in an auction at Sotheby’s.

The auction house said that the NFT, known as CryptoPunk #7523, was sold at a live online auction on Thursday as part of a curated NFT sale running at Sotheby’s from June 3-10.

READ: Rare NFT collection fetches millions at Christie’s auction

The 8-bit pixel artwork was created by crypto artists Larva Labs and forms part of a series of 10,000 CryptoPunks, each with their own distinct characteristics, which according to the auction house “embody an aesthetic mirroring the nostalgic punk spirit, reflecting the crypto-anarchist philosophy that brought together many of the weird and wonderful misfits that came to build the early crypto infrastructure”.

CryptoPunk 7523 is one of nine “Alien CryptoPunks”, the rarest type of ‘Punk’ in the series, and the only one wearing a facemask.

Moments ago in our #London saleroom, an extremely rare “Alien” CryptoPunk #7523 from the collection of @sillytuna sold for $11.8M as part of our #NativelyDigital NFT auction – setting a new world auction record for a single CryptoPunk. pic.twitter.com/PDVUSttI3o

— Sotheby’s (@Sothebys) June 10, 2021

The NFT was purchased by Shalom Meckenzie, an Israeli entrepreneur and majority shareholder of fantasy sports firm DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ:DKNG), who will retain proof of ownership of the NFT while the work itself will be available to view by anyone online.

NFTs have exploded in popularity in 2021 and have frequently attracted eye-watering sums at auction, with many of the tokens ranging from ownership of digital artworks to internet memes and famous YouTube videos.

CryptoPunks themselves have already fetched large sums at auction, with a rare collection of nine NFTs from the collection selling at Christie’s for around US$17mln in May.