Irreplaceable tokens (NFTs) are undoubtedly the “next big thing” in 2021. While we may be in a bear market for the time being, 2022 continued the momentum of last year with the announcement of new NFT partnerships and use cases.
So what’s the hype? Celebrities, brands, sports teams and gamers are minting one-of-a-kind NFTs, but you’re not alone if you’re wondering what all the fuss is about.
NFTs are unique tokens that act like collectibles (but never gather dust). They can also give you access to events, game updates, and more. NFTs herald a new era of art where digital artists can work with algorithms and code to create unique assets.
Whether you create or buy NFTs, you can simply hit the jackpot and end up owning a digital asset that is in high demand and worth millions of dollars. To help you understand the world of high-value NFTs, we have compiled this list with a breakdown of the most expensive NFTs as of 2022.
Most Expensive NFTs
10. Save thousands of lives: $4.5 million
Save Thousands of Lives is an NFT created by Noora Health. This organization serves at-risk patients in South Asia. In May 2021, a work of art sold for a staggering 1,337 ETH or $4.5 million. The proceeds went to the organization’s efforts to save the lives of babies. Noora Health estimates that every $1,235 raised can “save one life (and improve several more)”.
9 It Changed Everything: $5.4 Million
It changed everything – it’s the source code NFT of one of the first iterations of the World Wide Web. It was sold to an anonymous buyer for $5.4 million at Sotheby’s Art Market on June 30, 2021.
The NFT came with a letter from Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee, an English computer scientist and Internet pioneer. It also came with a digital poster with its code and timestamped documents documenting the history of the Internet from its earliest days.
8. Crossroads: $6.6 million
Mike Winkelmann, better known by his creative name Beeple, produced the animated NFT Crossroad. It depicts a huge former US President Donald Trump lying in a field, while passersby casually walk by. It was sold for $6.6 million at Nifty Gateway in February 2021 and the deal closed on the secondary market.
7. Ringers #109: $6.9 million
Art Blocks’ Ringers #109 is a generative collectible with black, red, and yellow circles. According to Dappradar, Ringers #109 sold for 2,100 ETH, or $6.9 million, in October 2021. There are 99,000 NFT Art Blocks in total.
6. Right click and save as boyfriend: $7.1 million.
Right click and “Save as boyfriend” is an NFT image that was traded for 1600 ETH, or $7.09 million, on Comozo de Medici’s Superrare decentralized marketplace on Dec. 10. The buyer was none other than the one and only hip-hop legend, global celebrity, and now hype and NFT owner Snoop Dogg.
5. Cryptopunk #3100: $7.6 million
CryptoPunks, an NFT collection based on the Ethereum blockchain, consists of randomly generated symbols. CryptoPunk #3100 is one of the most expensive Alien Punk sold to date. #3100 is a blue and white alien with a headband. Only 406 out of 10,000 cryptopunks wear a headband, making it a rarity. #3100 was first released in 2017 and gained popularity after a $2 million offer in March 2021. It eventually sold for $7.58 million that same month. NFT is currently being sold for 35,000 ETH, or over $100 million.
4. CryptoPunk #7523: $11.8M
CryptoPunk #7523, commonly known as “Covid Alien”, sold for $11.75 million at Sotheby’s London in June 2021. This made it the most expensive CryptoPunk ever sold at the time. This NFT was one of nine “alien punks”, a group of very unusual aliens.
3. Human 1: $29.9 million
Beeple designed the artwork Human One, a dynamic seven-foot sculpture. It features an astronaut roaming different places and can be altered by the artist. Beeple has dedicated himself to “renovating” the Human throughout his life, ensuring that art never stands still. At auction house Christie’s, the concept aroused great interest among buyers. Crypto billionaire Ryan Zurrer bought the artwork for $29,985,000 on December 9, 2021.
2. Daily: First 5,000 days: $69 million
Beeple created NFT Everydays: The First 5000 Days on February 21, 2021. Christie’s auctioned off the artwork, and regular buyers made an initial bid of around $100. Crypto aficionados quickly made higher bids, and in less than an hour, that piece soared to over $1 million. Everydays: The First 5000 Days is significant in the NFT community as it introduced the core audience to the concept of non-fungible assets. It is also the most expensive single NFT sale of all time, second only to The Merge, which is jointly owned by thousands of holders.
Fun fact: artist MetaKovan bought the artwork believing that everyone should be able to download and copy an expensive artwork. MetaKovan, pseudonym of the founder of the investment fund NFT Metapurse, believes in freedom of information.
1. Merger: $91.8 million
Park, an anonymous digital artist, created The Merge as a computer-generated work of art. It was auctioned for $91.8 million on the NFT decentralized marketplace Nifty Gateway on December 6, 2021. However, the piece was divided into 312,686 pieces and sold to 28,983 people.
These parts or “masses” can be stored and sold on the secondary market in large quantities. The entire amount spent on the transaction was $91.8 million, making it the most expensive NFT ever sold.
This article originally appeared on Wealth of Geeks.
