Mahi Sall, Advisor, Fintech-Bank Partnerships, Payments and Financial Inclusivity
January 25th, 2023
Mahi Sall is the CEO & Founder of FinXpair, a Berlin-based strategic advisory boutique firm focu[...]
Crypto Punks — is it Worth Buying?
Guest Post | Jul 4, 2022
CryptoPunks are 24x24 pixel art images created algorithmically. They were conceived as an experiment in combining art and TFT. Most of them are boys and girls, but there are also rarer types: monkeys, zombies, and even aliens. Each punk has its profile page and displays attributes, ownership/point of sale.
CryptoPunks is one of the first collectible NFTs in history. They were created in total 10,000 pieces, each with its own set of attributes. Due to the limited number and different rarity, the minimum cost for which you can buy CryptoPunks is 81.5 ETH (about $ 227 thousand) and these numbers are constantly growing. But why?
Why does ordinary JPEG have any value at all?
A quirky art project called CryptoPunks was created five years ago by two software developers who asked a serious and provocative question: Can a few lines of code lead to a sense of expensive ownership?
When someone buys a Rolex in the real world, they don't spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for the functionality of the watch. A simple $5 watch can do the same thing. Rolex is brought to convey the status: “Look, I can afford this luxury watch.”
How can someone do something like this digitally today? I can't post a picture of this watch and say, “Hey, look at my expensive watch, guys!” Firstly, it's not cool, and secondly, what's the use if you can't make sure that they are mine, and they are authentic.
But it is possible with the help of NFT. Ownership and authenticity can be quickly verified in the blockchain. The effect is the same as when wearing a Rolex watch in real life, but only digitally. For example, make a post or change the main picture in your Instagram account, which will increase your popularity. Many celebrities use this way, after they have already made a “buy Instagram followers” function.
The CryptoPunks collection gained another wave of popularity when the owner of NFT #6046 refused to sell it for $9.5 million. Price seemed to the owner not attractive enough — at least, he wrote it in one of the reasons for refusal. And the second one goes like this: “I am very closely connected with this NFT, and its sale will affect my online identity.”
The Value of Cryptopanks
— Each image is unique. The developers have a code with which everyone has the opportunity to freely exchange and sell NFT. Such codes are stored on the blockchain. This leads to the fact that no one has access to it. Also, developers will not be able to modify NFT punks, pick them up or delete them.
— The hype around crypto punks. Cryptopanks are exhibited in digital museums and auctions. A lot of collections inspired by crypto punks are being created: CryptoBabyPunks, Picasso Punks, and others.
— The value of CryptoPunks. She puts the collection on a par with the works of artists who create in the real world. And the opportunity to purchase an original work increases the value of cryptograms and digital art.
Availability
Anyone and everyone can look at any of the crypto punks.
The Larva Labs website has a composite image of all 10,000 crypto punks. Anyone can save a copy of the image file on their memory card or hard disk. Each Punk also has its page with a detailed description of its capabilities and a complete transaction history. But only one person is the owner of CryptoPunk.
See: eBay acquires Manchester-based NFT marketplace KnownOrigin
Initially, CryptoPunks were distributed for free — buyers paid only for Gas. This is a commission for performing any transactions in Ethereum. In mid-2017, it was $0.11 for CryptoPunks.
CryptoPunks took off after an article on the Mashable portal. It said that crypto punks could “change the perception of digital art.” Also, the authors honestly wrote that their NFTs “do nothing” and they can only brag about it on social media pages. Despite this, within a few hours after the publication of the article, all crypto punks were sold out. Hall and Watkinson kept 1,000 NFT for themselves in case they “become something special.”
Desirability and value
As you may already know, buying works of art in the form of an NFT makes you a unique owner, with documentation of all previous owners. Uniqueness makes CryptoPunks a wise move for investors who trust the NFT market.
In general, the cost of NFT will only grow as public perception and popularity grow. However, on the other hand, the value of NFT can drop sharply at any moment, so such investments can be both very profitable and a way to lose a lot of money. However, until now, the cost of CryptoPunks has grown exponentially.
See: What do you mean NFTs can now by cloned by ‘Mimics’?
Although all crypto punks can be seen on OpenSea, the leading secondary trading platform of NFT, they can only be bought through the Larva Labs website.
You need to log in using an Ethereum cryptocurrency wallet, such as MetaMask, and then buy, place bets and sell crypto punks through the official website. Fortunately, Larva Labs has a handy tracker that allows you to see all the listed punks in ascending order of their price, from low to high.
Conclusion
It is impossible to predict how integral a part of the average person's life cryptocurrency will become in the coming years. Although the hype around NFT may have reached its peak, the cryptocurrency is not going anywhere. But this point could be higher if someone wants to make a hype around it and buy real instagram followers to promote a unique post. It's exciting to think about where the amazing world of cryptocurrencies can lead us next. Crypto Punks started as an experiment and were distributed for free, and in 2021 they became a valuable collectible. Blockchain helped protect ownership, and NFT made each Crypto Punks unique.
Cryptopanks are no longer just 10,000-pixel 24×24 pictures. These are unique works of digital art that allow their owners to demonstrate their social status and influence the art world.
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