CryptoPunk #635 Smashes Records with $12.5M Sale, Signaling Enduring NFT Demand

CryptoPunk #635, an NFT from the CryptoPunks collection, has been sold for an impressive $12.5 million, propelling the total alien CryptoPunk sales this year to a staggering $45 million. While the NFT market has seen a decline in volumes and floor prices, rare and coveted NFTs like CryptoPunks continue to command high valuations, as evidenced by this recent sale.

CryptoPunk #635 Fetches Record-Breaking $12.5 Million, Signaling Continued Demand for Rare NFTs

In a significant development within the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), CryptoPunk #635 has been sold for an astounding 4,000 Ether, translating to approximately $12.5 million. This transaction marks the third sale of an alien CryptoPunk this year, contributing to the collection's total sale value of 12,940 Ether, a hefty $45 million.

Despite a general decline in NFT trading volumes and floor prices, rare NFTs continue to command substantial interest within the market. Thursday's sale of CryptoPunk #635 was facilitated by Fountain, a prominent brokerage platform for high-value NFTs.

CryptoPunks, a collection of 10,000 unique, pixelated profile pictures created by Larva Labs, have gained immense popularity in the NFT space. Each image is linked to an NFT, a digital certificate of ownership verified by cryptography, ensuring its authenticity and establishing digital provenance.

CryptoPunk #635, previously held by Larva Labs, was last sold at auction house Christie's in May 2021 as part of a collection of nine CryptoPunks, fetching a total of 4,250 Ether, equivalent to just under $17 million at the time.

The identity of the most recent buyer remains undisclosed. This particular CryptoPunk holds significant value due to its rarity, being one of only nine featuring the coveted alien trait. Within NFT collections, rarity is often directly correlated to higher prices.

The sale of CryptoPunk #635 follows two other alien CryptoPunks sold earlier this year, contributing to the 12,940 Ether, or approximately $45 million, amassed from alien Punks in 2023.

On March 4, CryptoPunk #3100 was sold for 4,500 Ether, equivalent to around $16 million, and on March 20, CryptoPunk #7804 fetched 4,850 Ether, translating to approximately $16.5 million.

CryptoPunk #635 previously received an offer on March 5 for 4,440 Ether, roughly $16.4 million, but the offer was subsequently withdrawn on April 22. By declining this offer, the owner of CryptoPunk #635 missed out on a potential profit of approximately $4 million.

However, these sales pale in comparison to the record-setting sale of CryptoPunk #5822 in February 2022, which fetched an astonishing 8,000 Ether, a staggering $24 million at the time.

Thursday's sale of CryptoPunk #635 marks the continuation of a series of sales of alien Punks, following the sale of CryptoPunk #3100 earlier this year. This sale ended a 751-day drought since the sale of CryptoPunk #5822 in 2021.

Despite high-profile sales, the CryptoPunks collection has experienced a notable decline since its peak in 2021. The minimum asking price, or floor price, for a CryptoPunk reached its zenith at 113.9 Ether, approximately $408,000, on October 8, 2021, but has since depreciated to a mere 36.9 Ether, roughly $117,000 as of today.

The Bored Ape Yacht Club, another highly popular NFT collection, has also experienced a significant drop in value. Its floor price surged to a high of 128 Ether on April 30, 2022, but has since plummeted to a mere 15.5 Ether.

This trend of declining values extends across the broader NFT market. Trading volumes soared to an all-time high on April 30, 2022, fueled largely by NFT sales associated with Yuga Labs' Otherside metaverse project, resulting in over 200,000 Ether in trading volume on a single day.

However, trading volumes have since declined sharply. According to DefiLlama, total daily volume has plummeted by 99% to a mere 1,700 Ether as of Wednesday.

Ryan Celaj, a data correspondent for DL News, provided valuable insights into this development. For further information or inquiries, please contact him at ryan@dlnews.com.