CryptoPunk NFT Sells for $6M Realized Loss, Highlighting the Continued Decline of the NFT Market

An investor has sold a CryptoPunk non-fungible token (NFT) at a nearly $10 million realized loss, reflecting the continued decline in the once-booming blue-chip NFT market.

A large cryptocurrency investor, known as a whale, has sold a CryptoPunk non-fungible token (NFT) for 4,000 Ether (ETH), which is valued at more than $6 million by time of press.

The investor originally purchased the NFT for 4,500 ETH, or roughly $15.7 million, a year ago, according to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain.

“Did he only lose 500 $ETH($774K)? No—he actually lost $9.73M!” Lookonchain wrote in an X post. “When he bought it, $ETH was trading at $3,509. By the time he sold, $ETH had dropped 57%,” the platform added.

CryptoPunk buy and sell. Source: Arkham Intelligence / Lookonchain

Despite the significant loss, the $6 million transaction is the largest NFT sale over the past 30 days, according to data from CryptoSlam.

Top NFT sales past 30 days. Source: CryptoSlam

The sale comes during a period of stagnation for NFTs, which have been lacking interest from traders. NFT trading volume on Ethereum is down more than 53% over the past month, while Polygon’s NFT trading volume fell 41%.

CryptoPunks saw a temporary floor price surge of 13% following rumors that its owner, Yuga Labs, might be “in the process” of selling the collection’s intellectual property, as reported by Cointelegraph on January 14.

See Also: Sentient Completes Record 650K NFT Mint For Decentralized ‘Loyal’ AI Model

Top Blue-Chip Collections See Steep Drop

The top blue-chip NFT collections remain significantly down from their 2021 highs amid a lack of trading activity.

CryptoPunks currently have a floor price of about 43 ETH, or $68,000, which is more than 61% lower than their record high of 113.9 ETH in October 2021.

CryptoPunks NFT floor price, all-time chart. Source: NFTpricefloor

The Bored Ape Yacht Club’s floor price is also down 89%, while the Mutant Ape Yacht Club collection is down 93%, NFTpricefloor data shows.

However, the Pudgy Penguin collection is an outlier. It reached a new all-time high of over 25 Ether on December 16, 2024, and amassed the highest sales volume of over $72 million in the first quarter of 2025, as reported by Cointelegraph on March 28.

Yuga Labs. Source: Yuga Labs

At the start of March, the US Securities and Exchange Commission closed its three-year investigation into Yuga Labs, which began under former Chair Gary Gensler. The SEC was probing the creators and marketplaces of NFTs to see if some NFTs, such as fractional NFTs, were actually securities.