One of the most successful NFT collections remains CryptoPunks, a collection of 10,000 pixelated art NFTs launched in 2017. The series has seen several sales of over $1 million for what many consider to be one of the biggest blue-chip names in the non-fungible token space.
What Happened
A potential record $9.49 million sale for CrytpoPunk #6046 was turned down late last week.“This could have been the largest ever on-chain NFT sales in USD, but I chose to reject the offer,” Punk owner Richerd (@richerd) wrote on Twitter.
The bid came from @poapxyz in a potential “put your money where your mouth is” move.
“Come on Richerd. Don’t you want to go down in history as the top CryptoPunk sale to date?” @poapxyz asked on Twitter.
“My punk is not for sale. Don’t care what anyone offers me,” Richerd said before the bid was placed.
Why It’s Important
The refusal to sell for a record amount could be the ultimate show of diamond hands, a phrase used for stocks and cryptocurrency-related purchases where the owner refuses to sell despite a declining value or the potential to lose value over time.“6046 is probably not worth 2500 ETH, it’s a mid-tier punk due to its defining 3D glasses traits,” Richerd said.
The big question of why would someone own a Punk and turn down more than market value was answered in the Twitter thread by Richerd.
“Over past 6 months I have used 6046 as my identity and have built up a significant brand around it.”
Twitter user @richerd is the co-founder of Manifold.xyz.
“Because I value my personal brand and identity, this was an easy rejection for me.”
Richerd said that there is huge conviction in the NFT space, particularly CyberPunks.
“To me, my brand, identity, and what I’m building in the NFT space will be way more valuable in the long run.”
Richerd seemed to play into the diamond hands notion with a tweet of “gm to everyone with diamond hands” after rejecting the record bid.
CryptoPunks have a current floor price of 104.8 Ethereum, or around $392,000. The top five sale prices for CryptoPunks are $7.58 million, $7.57 million, $5.45 million, $6.63 million, and $3.76 million.
CryptoPunk #6046 is a male with the traits of cigarette (one of 961), frumpy hair (one of 442), and 3D glasses (one of 286). Rarity Tools ranks CryptoPunk #6046 as #7116 in rarity out of 10,000.
Richerd paid 45 ETH on March 31 for the CryptoPunk, which was $83,209 at the time.
CryptoPunks have risen significantly in value and continue to be a top blue-chip name and potential store of value in the NFT space. Parent company Larva Labs signed a representation deal with talent agency UTA, which could monetize CryptoPunks in the future.
