NFTs are unique digital assets such as images, songs, collectibles, videos, GIFs or Memes that have a certain value based on the object’s uniqueness. In simple terms, NFTs are collectible and thematic digital materials built with blockchain technology, just like cryptocurrencies.
Each NFT is unique, like a work of art. This is the main reason why NFTs can become very expensive. Lately, the crypto community seems to be ready to invest a lot of money in NFTs.
We created a list of the ten most valuable NFTs ever sold. From pixeled photos of CryptoPunks to the original source code of the Internet, anything can be sold in this bizarre place of the crypto sphere.
Here is top 10 most expensive NFTs in 2021
10. REPLICATOR – 4.1 million dollars
REPLICATOR is an NFT that reproduces itself. It was designed to generate other digital works recorded on the blockchain, during the next year. Digital artist Micah Dowbak, also known as Mad Dog Jones, said that his work explores the diversity of technology over time.
Visually, the self-replicating NFT depicts the image of a photocopier in an office room in the suburbs of Los Angeles.
9. Save Thousands Of Lives – 5.1 million dollars
Save Thousands Of Lives is one of the few NFTs created for a noble purpose. The nonprofit group called Noora Well being is running a program in hospitals from South Asia in order to teach new mothers how to take care of their babies once they get home.
This NFT is totally different because it’s not tied to any digital asset. In the end, the person who paid 5.1 million dollars will receive a public report tracking how the money was spent and estimating the number of lives saved as a result.
8. Stay Free – 5.27 million dollars
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden sold an NFT image for the extraordinary sum of 5.5 million dollars. The digital product is called “Stay Free” and it features pages from the court ruling finding that the mass surveillance practices used by the NSA (National Security Agency) violate the law. Those pages are placed side by side to form a photo of Snowden’s face.
Edward Snowden donated the money to the Freedom of the Press Foundation, a non-profit organisation that advocates for free speech, freedom of the press and public-interest journalism.
7. World Wide Web source code – 5.43 million dollars
The original source code of the Internet – the World Wide Web (www) – was sold for 5.4 million dollars in the form of an NFT at a Sotheby’s auction. The NFT is called “This Changed Everything” and features nearly 10,000 lines of code written by Tim Berners-Lee that led to the creation of the Internet in a graphical format.
The NFT also includes an autograph of Berners-Lee, as well as a letter written by him in which he expresses his thoughts on the work. Sotheby’s Vice President Cassandra Hatton says the NFT is unique and revolutionary.
6. Ocean Front – 6 million dollars
Beeple is a famous graphic designer who sells digital artwork for millions of dollars worth. In March 2021, his NFT called Ocean Front sold for 6 million dollars. The auction was held on Nifty Gateway marketplace. The Tron founder Justin Sun made the highest bid and won the ownership of this NFT.
Ocean Front triggers an alarm regarding the current climate change challenge. This digital artwork features a tree and shipping containers sitting atop a platform on an ocean floor. Beeple announced that he will donate a significant amount of money towards combating climate change.
5. Crossroad – 6.6 million dollars
Digital artist Mike Winkelmann, also known as Beeple, has created several art pieces that mock American presidential candidates. Among his victims are Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
The Crossroad NFT features a video of a giant baby that resembles Trump. On his body is written the word “Loser.” This artwork provides a close look at Beeple’s iconic style, which tends to focus around mocking public figures with a distinct dystopian twist.
4. CryptoPunk #7804 – 7.56 million dollars
CryptoPunk #7804 is part of a series of characters created in 2017 by the American company Larva Labs, which had a major contribution to the development of the NFT market. In fact, CryptoPunks are the very first created NFTs. In recent years, many of them are selling for millions.
CryptoPunk #7804 is an alien with three accessories: cap forward, small shades and a pipe. The astounding sale price of 7.56 million dollars is due to the fact that alien punks are extremely rare.
3. CryptoPunk #3100 – 7.58 million dollars
CryptoPunk #3100 has come a long way from an offer of 76 dollars in 2017, to the final staggering sale price of 7.58 million dollars, in March 2021.
Basically, each CryptoPunk represents a face made out of pixels, reminiscent of the characters in the video games of the 1980s. Each character contains a set of features that make it unique.
2. CryptoPunk #7523 – 11.7 million dollars
Out of the 10,000 CryptoPunks created by Larva Labs, CryptoPunk #7523 was the only character to wear a surgical mask. The detail made this NFT highly appreciated by digital collectors.
According to Sotheby’s auction house, the buyer of CryptoPunk #7523 is entrepreneur Shalom MacKenzie, the main shareholder of DraftKings, an online betting operator whose fortune has been estimated at several hundred million dollars.
In total, the characters from the CryptoPunk series generated revenues of 351 million dollars obtained from transactions organized after their launch.
1.Everydays: the First 5000 Days – 69.3 million dollars
Christie’s world-renowned auction house and artist Mike Winkelmann, known as Beeple, made history in the NFT field in late February 2021. The first-ever digital art auction launched by Christie’s rose to 1 million dollars in a matter of minutes and eventually sold for 69 million dollars.
This collection of works is entitled “Everydays: The First 5000 Days“. It has been described as a cumulative piece of five thousand images – one for each day in May 2007, covering the last 13 years. The buyers are some NFT collectors from Singapore, who believe the piece will be “worth a billion dollars someday.”
Other very expensive NFTs worth mentioning:
- Fidenza #313 from the generative art collection Art Blocks – 3.3 million dollars
- Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s first tweet – 2.9 million dollars
- Ultraviolet album from musician 3LAU – 3.6 million dollars for a single NFT song and 11.6 million dollars for the entire NFT album
- Axie Infinity game on the Ethereum platform – 1.5 million dollars
- Doge meme (the image of a dog, considered to be one of the internet’s most iconic memes) – 4 million dollars
- The Best I Could Do, the NFT image developed by “Rick and Morty” co-creator Justin Roiland – 1.6 million dollars
- Forever Rose, the NFT of a rose created by Kevin Abosch, a pioneer in crypto art – 1 million dollars
