CryptoPunk, Bored Ape Sell for Over $1M Each as NFT Market Rebounds
The NFT resurgence continues with a pair of high-value trades following data showing a significant bump in recent sales activity.
CryptoPunk #5066 and Bored Ape #7090. Image: Yuga Labs
The NFT market is gaining steam again in 2023, as rising sales and trading volume data showed in January. Now there have been two more prominent signs of a rebound over the past 24 hours, as single Ethereum NFTs from the popular CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club projects each sold for more than $1 million worth of ETH.
Both sales came from prominent collectors and creators in the NFT world, and they also mark the two largest single NFT sales tracked by CryptoSlam over the past 30 days.
CryptoPunk #5066 was sold on Monday for 857 ETH, or $1.4 million worth at the time. It was sold by Kevin Rose, the co-founder of NFT startup Proof (Moonbirds) as well as a venture capitalist, serial entrepreneur, and noted NFT collector. The buyer is unknown, although the NFT was transferred into another wallet labeled bitshamed.eth shortly after the purchase.
Rose recently fell victim to a phishing attack that saw him unwittingly transfer 40 NFTs collectively valued at more than $1 million—including Art Blocks and Autoglyphs pieces—to an attacker. He said afterwards that he’s selling some assets in an effort to rebalance his portfolio and acquire more Art Blocks Squiggles NFTs after losing 25 of them in the attack.
Meanwhile, Bored Ape Yacht Club #7090 sold for 800 ETH today, or $1.3 million. Ranked the 62nd rarest NFT in the 10,000-piece collection by Rarity Tools, the NFT was sold by Web3 creator and collector Jimmy “j1mmy” McNelis to an unidentified buyer. McNelis owns the NFTs behind Universal Music Group’s Bored Ape virtual band, Kingship, and also created the early Avastars project.
