CryptoPunks are often cited as being one of the first NFT (non-fungible token) on the Ethereum blockchain. These little pixel art characters are currently one of the hottest digital collectibles in the world, selling for millions of dollars. Yes, ownership of these little CryptoPunk characters, is worth millions!
CryptoPunks were created by Larva Labs, a two-person team consisting of Matt Hall and John Watkinson, two software developers from Canada. Only 10,000 CryptoPunks were created and Hall and Watkinson said that no more will ever be made. Originally, Hall and Watkinson gave away the CryptoPunks for free to anyone who had an Ethereum wallet. They were launched in June 2017 and for several years only small sales happened. Then in early 2021, the value of CryptoPunks exploded as NFTs were suddenly catching everyone’s attention.
The 10,000 CryptoPunks primarily consist of males and females with various combinations of accessories. However, there are three special series: Aliens (there are only 9), Apes (only 24), and Zombies (only 88).
Please note that this list is arranged by Ether value (the cryptocurrency used by Ethereum) and its value in USD is always changing. As of April 2021, the information on this list is as accurate as possible and will be updated as needed. CryptoPunk sales are happening quite often these days, so this list can change at any time.
- CryptoPunk #3443
- CryptoPunk #635
- CryptoPunk #5822
- CryptoPunk #7532
- CryptoPunk #6089
- CryptoPunk #5905
- CryptoPunk #2306
- CryptoPunk #2484
- CryptoPunk #3393
- CryptoPunk #6487
- CryptoPunk #2890
- CryptoPunk #4156
- CryptoPunk #3011
- CryptoPunk #2140
- CryptoPunk #6965
- CryptoPunk #7804
- CryptoPunk #3100
Date of Sale: N/A
Current Value (as of April 2021): N/A
Series: 1 of 9 Alien Punks
Accessories: Earring and Cowboy Hat
photo source: Larva Labs
For this list, we have decided that CryptoPunk #3443 is the least rare of the Alien punks because there has been no activity since it was first claimed on June 23, 2017. The current owner of CryptoPunk #3443 has not been active since back in 2017, which means it could be possible that this person has lost the password/access to their account and can’t actually do anything with CryptoPunk #3443 – this is something that happens quite often with cryptocurrency wallets. There have been numerous bids on CryptoPunk #3443, including some for several millions of dollars. Yet no bid has been accepted, leading to the plausibility that the owner of CryptoPunk #3443 can’t sale this rare Alien punk even if they want to.
Date of Sale: N/A
Current Value (as of April 2021): N/A
Series: 1 of 9 Alien Punks
Accessories: Bandana and Regular Shades
photo source: Larva Labs
Due to the way this list has been arranged – by Ether value – CryptoPunk #635 is near the bottom. However, CryptoPunk #635 is probably seen by many as one of the rarest CryptoPunks because its one of 1,000 owned by the CryptoPunk developers Matt Hall and John Watkinson. While Hall and Watkinson gave away the 10,000 CryptoPunks for free, they kept the first 1,000 for themselves just in case they turned into something.
Four years later, CryptoPunks and NFTs in general have taken the digital investment world by storm. While Hall and Watkinson have mostly held onto their 1,000 CryptoPunks, a single lot of nine of these rare punks is going to put up for sale by Christie’s on May 13, 2021. The lot is part of Christie’s 21st Century Evening Sale and it includes CryptoPunk #635. So, in a few weeks, CryptoPunk #635 and the others in the lot may just end up being more valuable than all of the other CryptoPunks on this list combined.
Date of Sale: July 10, 2017
Current Value (as of April 2021): $21,777 (8 Ether)
Series: 1 of 9 Alien Punks
Accessories: Bandana
photo source: Larva Labs
Back on July 10, 2017, user straybits.eth sold CryptoPunk #5822 along with fellow rare Alien punk, CryptoPunk #7532 for 8 Ether ($1,646 at the time) a piece. CryptoPunk #5822 is simply adorned with a bandana, which is not that rare of an accessory as it is also worn by 480 other punks. In mid-February 2021, a bid for 1,110 Ether ($2.04 million at the time) was placed on CryptoPunk #5822, but withdrawn a few days later.
Date of Sale: July 10, 2017
Current Value (as of April 2021): $21,777 (8 Ether)
Series: 1 of 9 Alien Punks
Accessories: Earring, Knitted Cap, and Medical Mask
photo source: Larva Labs
CryptoPunk #7532 is sporting some interesting fashion with an earring, knitted cap, and medical mask, which is very appropriate for the world’s present situation. Like most of the other Alien punks on this list, CryptoPunk #7532 was only sold once, not long after it was first claimed in 2017. It was sold for 8 Ether ($1,646 at the time) on July 10, 2017. There have been no big bids since then, but recently there has been some transfer activity for this Alien punk.
Date of Sale: July 1, 2017
Current Value (as of April 2021): $27,222 (10 Ether)
Series: 1 of 9 Alien Punks
Accessories: Earring and Knitted Cap
photo source: Larva Labs
CryptoPunk #6089 has only been sold once in its history, back on July 1, 2017 for 10 Ether ($2,610 at the time). This Alien punk has accessories that aren’t that rare, a knitted cap shared with 418 other punks and an earring, which is worn by 2,458 other punks. The owner of CryptoPunk #6089 has not put this punk up for sale and there are no active bids. However, a bid for 1,020 Ether ($1.97 million at the time) was withdrawn on February 19, 2021.
Date of Sale: July 4, 2017
Current Value (as of April 2021): $27,222 (10 Ether)
Series: 1 of 9 Alien Punks
Accessories: Do-rag and Small Shades
photo source: Larva Labs
CryptoPunk #5905 is one of the rare Alien punks that has not been sold since it was minted in 2017. In July of that year, it was sold for 10 Ether ($2,690 at the time). While there have been some bids since then, the current owner of CryptoPunk #5905 appears to be holding out for the right offer.
Date of Sale: April 18, 2021
Current Value (as of April 2021): $1.25 M (461 Ether)
Series: 1 of 88 Zombie Punks
Accessories: Cigarette, Mohawk Thin, and Earring
photo source: Larva Labs
CryptoPunk #2306 is currently the third most valuable Zombie punk and was sold for 461 Ether ($975, 130 at the time). As of the time of this writing, CryptoPunk #2306 is worth $1.25 million, but it is not up for sale by its current owner. Before this, CryptoPunk #2306 had exchanged owners several times. This Zombie punk is smoking a cigarette and has a thin mohawk and earring.
Date of Sale: April 19, 2021
Current Value (as of April 2021): $1.3 M (480 Ether)
Series: 1 of 88 Zombie Punks
Accessories: Wild Hair and Classic Shades
photo source: Larva Labs
CryptoPunk #2484 is another Zombie punk that was sold for a very pretty penny. On April 19, 2021, CryptoPunk #2484 was sold for 480 Ether ($1.08 million at the time). In February of this year, the most recent seller of CryptoPunk #2484 had picked up the rare Zombie punk for 175 Ether ($311,013 at the time) along with 18 other CryptoPunks, spending over $900,000.
Date of Sale: March 13, 2021
Current Value (as of April 2021): $1.36 M (500 Ether)
Series: 1 of 88 Zombie Punks
Accessories: Frown and Crazy Hair
photo source: Larva Labs
CryptoPunk #3393 is from the third rarest punk series, the Zombies. Currently, it is the most valuable Zombie punk, and was sold for 500 Ether ($954,650 at the time). This Zombie punk features a frown and crazy hair and had never been sold after it was claimed in 2017, until March 2021.
Date of Sale: February 22, 2021
Current Value (as of April 2021): $1.5 M (550 Ether)
Series: 1 of 3840 Female Punks
Accessories: None
photo source: Larva Labs
Date of Sale: January 23, 2021
Current Value (as of April 2021): $1.65 M (605 Ether)
Series: 1 of 9 Alien Punks
Accessories: Cap
photo source: Larva Labs
A few months before NFTs really made their mark and skyrocketed in sales, CryptoPunk #2890 was put up for sale by its owner and quickly scooped up by FlamingoDAO, a fund with roughly 40 members and 4,800 Ether in pooled capital. According to its representative Priyanka Desai, FlamingoDAO has hundreds of NFTs in its growing collection, including rare Autoglyphs, NBA Top Shot cards, and land plots in various metaverses. FlamingoDAO shelled out 605 Ether for CryptoPunk #2890, which was about $761,890 at the time and this investment has paid off as its value has more than doubled in just a few months.
Date of Sale: February 18, 2021
Current Value (as of April 2021): $1.77 M (650 Ether)
Series: 1 of 24 Ape Punks
Accessories: Bandana
photo source: Larva Labs
Although its record has now been surpassed many times, in mid-February 2021, the sale of CryptoPunk #4156 for 650 Ether ($1.25 million at the time) was surprising and one of the most expensive NFTs. This rare bandana wearing Ape punk had several different owners since it was minted in 2017 and it was last sold in September 2018 for only 3.29 Ether ($645). Several bids were made on CryptoPunk #4156 before the winning bid on February 18th was accepted.
Did You Know?
One of the people who bid on CryptoPunk #4156 more than once was semi-anonymous NFT collector Pranksy.
Date of Sale: April 27, 2021
Current Value (as of April 2021): $1.76 M (667 Ether)
Series: 1 of 6039 Male Punks
Accessories: Vampire Hair, Frown, Earring, Normal Beard, Pipe, and Small Shades
photo source: Larva Labs
Although CryptoPunk #3011 is a male punk, the most common type of CryptoPunk, it was very recently sold for 667 Ether ($1.76 million at the time). CryptoPunk #3011 does feature a wide array of pretty rare accessories, which most likely explains its high value. Only 11 CryptoPunks have six attributes. This punk is wearing vampire hair, a frown, an earring, a normal beard, small shades, and is smoking a pipe. CryptoPunk #3011 has changed hands several times since 2017 and it was actually sold on March 12, 2021 for 400 Ether ($726,460 at the time); this is 13th highest CryptoPunk sale.
Date of Sale: March 2, 2021
Current Value (as of April 2021): $1.98 M (750 Ether)
Series: 1 of 24 Ape Punks
Accessories: Knitted Cap and Small Shades
photo source: Larva Labs
CryptoPunk #2140 had not been sold since it was claimed in 2017 until late February 2021. The fairly rare Ape punk with knitted cap and small shades was sold to Twitter user Pranksy for 400 Ether ($731,604 at the time). A week later, Pranksy turned around and sold CryptoPunk #2140 for 750 Ether (about $1.18 million) and tweeted “Easy come, easy go.”
Did You Know?
At the time, Pranksy’s sale of CryptoPunk #2140 was the third highest single NFT ever sold and the second highest CryptoPunk sale – both records have since been broken.
Date of Sale: February 19, 2021
Current Value (as of April 2021): $2.1 M (800 Ether)
Series: 1 of 24 Ape Punks
Accessories: Fedora
photo source: Larva Labs
CryptoPunk #6965 is currently the rarest Ape punk, which is the second rarest CryptoPunk series, with only 24 Apes ever made. The fedora wearing Ape punk was sold on February 19, 2021 for 800 Ether ($1.54 million at the time), which was a record high for CryptoPunks before it was broken a month later. CryptoPunk #6965 was sold three times, prior to its record-high sale, for a few thousand dollars each time. Currently, CryptoPunk #6965 is one sale by its owner for 2,100 Ether (about $5.5 million at this time). So far, one offer was made for 2,100 Ether back on March 14th when it was worth $3.9 million. However, the owner of CryptoPunk #6965 did not accept.
Date of Sale: March 11, 2021
Current Value (as of April 2021): $11.1 M (4,200 ETH)
Series: 1 of 9 Alien Punks
Accessories: Cap Forward, Pipe, and Small Shades
photo source: Larva Labs
CryptoPunk #7804 now belongs to an anonymous investor known on Twitter as “Peruggia.”
Did You Know?
CryptoPunk #7804 features a pretty rare combination of accessories: a Cap Forward worn by 253 other punks, a Pipe used by 316 other punks, and Small Shades worn by 377 other punks.
Date of Sale: March 11, 2021
Current Value (as of April 2021): $11.1 M (4,200 ETH)
Series: 1 of 9 Alien Punks
Accessories: Headband
photo source: Larva Labs
As of the time of this writing, CryptoPunk #3100 is the rarest and most valuable CryptoPunk in the world, with a current value of $11.1 million (4,200 Ether). CryptoPunk #3100 was sold on March 11, 2021 for 4,200 Ether, which had a value back then of $7.58 million. This CryptoPunk is one of nine Alien punks, the rarest series of the 10,000 CryptoPunks that exist. CryptoPunk #3100 features a headband, which only 405 other punks have. Prior to the record-breaking sale in March, CryptoPunk #3100 had only been sold one other time in 2017 for 8 Ether ($2,127 at the time).
Did You Know?
CryptoPunk #3100 is most expensive singular NFT ever sold so far – there have been many large collections, like Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days, sold as NFTs for tens of millions of dollars.
