It was a night to remember at Sotheby's, the iconic auction house, when a Cryptopunk NFT sold for a staggering $11.8 million. The sale more than doubled the previous record for a digital artwork.
The buyer was a anonymous collector, who chose to remain private, but their identity was later revealed to be a prominent art collector.
Cryptopunk #7804, the NFT in question, is one of 10,000 unique digital characters created by the Larva Labs studio.
Sotheby's Virtual Gallery
Sotheby's opened its first virtual gallery in the online virtual world Decentraland. Decentraland is a blockchain-based virtual world where users can walk around with friends, visit buildings, and display their NFT artwork collections.
The virtual gallery is a replica of Sotheby's real-world building on New Bond Street in London. It's a pretty cool concept, and I can see why Sotheby's would want to explore it.
Users can walk around and explore the virtual gallery, just like they would in a real-world exhibition. It's a great way to experience digital art, and it's especially relevant given the recent surge in popularity of NFTs.
Sotheby's first NFT auction was in April, and it featured digital works by the artist known as Pak, which fetched $US16.8 million ($21.7 million).
Cryptopunks Event
Sotheby's will be offering five rare CryptoPunks in a standalone sale this month.
These prints are part of the 24 certified prints signed by co-creator John Watkinson, which is a tiny fraction of the 10,000 CryptoPunks created.
Each of the five punks to be offered - #6347, #770, #872, #1819, and #2830 - has unique characteristics, such as "crazy hair" and "luxurious beard".
The sale will take place from June 24 to July 1, and each print will come with a wax-sealed envelope containing a "paper wallet" that provides access to the Ethereum-based token.
These prints are not only rare but also highly sought after, with one CryptoPunk, "Alien" Punk #7523, fetching $11.8 million at Sotheby's in the past.
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