Punk It!: All About The 104 CryptoPunks Going To Auction At Sotheby's NFT Event | Explained

Sotheby’s first dedicated evening auction for NFTs will go live on February 23 for $30 million

The event know as Punk It!, which Sotheby’s is calling the “the first NFT and cultural event of its kind”, will see a single-lot sale of 104 CryptoPunks. Image: Getty

New Delhi: The countdown has begun. Non-fungible tokens or NFTs will go under the hammer on February 23. This will be Sotheby’s first dedicated live evening auction for NFTs.

The event called Punk It!, which the leading auction house is calling the “the first NFT and cultural event of its kind”, will see a single-lot sale of 104 CryptoPunks; a single-lot sale of 104 CryptoPunks acquired simultaneously in a singular blockchain transaction by anonymous collector ‘0x650d’.

CryptoPunks At A Glance

In simple terms, CryptoPunks is an NFT collection on the Ethereum blockchain. It was launched by the Larva Labs studio, a two-person team consisting of Canadian software developers Matt Hall and John Watkinson in June 2017. Today, there are around 10,000 CryptoPunk tokens in the market. CryptoPunks are said to be some of the world’s most iconic and valuable NFTs.

According to reports, consisting of 9 Aliens, 24 Apes, 88 Zombies, 3840 Females, and 6,039 Males, the CryptoPunks are distinguished by a visual vocabulary of associated rarities and attributes. Every Punk has a unique set of attributes, with between 0 to 8 distinguishing characteristics. Notably, the 8 Punks devoid of any attributes all together have been dubbed as the ‘Genesis Punks.’

The Punks are considered as a symbol for the democratisation, demystification, and decentralisation of the mercurial world of cryptocurrency. Now they predate the road map format adopted by many brands and artists navigating today’s NFT space.

Nonfungibility cast CryptoPunks as status symbols. Together with Bored Apes, they became the avatars of the rich, a way to signal wealth on social media, and to signify clout.

According to Sotheby’s, the leading auction house, the standalone acquisition connects each of the 104 Punks with the same provenance; a now infamous wallet that significantly represents more than 1 per cent of the entire CryptoPunks collection, ascribing the group with unique value as one of the largest Punk collections held by a single wallet and collector.

Michael Bouhanna, Sotheby’s co-head of digital art, in a statement, said, “CryptoPunks are the original PFP series that created the template for other NFT projects that have followed, and which helped propel NFTs to the global stage as one of the most recognisable visual styles that have become synonymous with the digital art movement.”

PUNK IT!, which is representing the wide variety of innovative traits synonymous with the celebrated Punk visual lexicon, offers mohawk haircuts, sunglasses, cigarettes, a range of head wear, and other accessories that differentiate the characters and prescribe their unique and curious identities.

Sotheby’s, which was established in 1744, has said that it will accept cryptocurrency for the auction. The auction carries an estimate of $30 million, “the highest valued estimate for an NFT or digital art ever offered at auction”, Sotheby’s said in a release.

The winning bidder can make payment in Bitcoin, USD Coin, Ether, or in fiat currencies — all transactions subject to applicable laws and regulations. The auctioneer will also announce bids live from the New York saleroom in ETH cryptocurrency alongside US dollars.

Before the live auction, Sotheby’s will host a special live panel discussion on the history of NFTs and CryptoPunks which will focus on how Punks have gained mainstream recognition, according to reports.