CryptoPunk Sells For Just $140k, 87% Lower Than All Time High

In a sign that the public’s appetite for cartoonish NFT art might’ve peaked, CryptoPunk #273, a male punk with a cap and “big shades”, sold on May 8 for US$139,836, which is 87 percent lower than its October 19, 2021 purchase price of US$1.03 million. 

That’s an eye-watering loss of around US$890,000 in just over six months and is consistent with a recent downward trend in the CryptoPunks market, with eight of the last 10 NFTs changing hands at a loss:

You’re Not Feeling Lucky, Punk

The slowdown in the CryptoPunks market reflects a general weakening of interest in NFTs in the first quarter of 2022, with data from the crypto analysis site NonFungible showing a decrease in transactions volume of 47 percent quarter on quarter.

An increase in exploits and NFT thefts, such as a recent phishing scam that resulted in the loss of US$2.8 million Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs, in addition to the downturn in the wider crypto market, may partially explain the cooling of prices.

Other popular NFT collections are also seeing dramatic falls in their floor prices (the cheapest NFT in the collection): BAYC’s floor price is down around 55 percent since April 29 and Moonbirds’ floor price fell 34 percent in a single day yesterday. 

Not All Doom and Gloom

Despite the recent declining values of some collections, it’s not all bad news for the NFT market – so far this year there’s been US$16 billion worth of organic trading volume, almost two-thirds of the 2021 total of US25 billion, and we’re only in May. 

Also, many NFT owners who got in early are still up considerably on their initial investment, such as the Australian man who bought a Bored Ape NFT in 2021 for US$300 which is now valued at around US$5 million.