A rare CryptoPunk has sold at a record $10.2 million

Someone purchased a rare CryptoPunk for 2,500 ETH — worth more than $10.2 million as of publication — on the Larva Lab’s native CryptoPunk marketplace. 

The Punk sold was #4156. It’s a rare Ape Punk in which there are only 24 in a collection of 10,000 items. 

CryptoPunk #4156, purchased for 2,500 ETH (over $10.2 million).

To be sure, this is not the most expensive CryptoPunk ever sold. The most expensive Punk sold for over $11.8 million in June of this year at a Sotheby’s auction. However, it is the most expensive CryptoPunk to be sold on its native CryptoPunk marketplace created by the Larva Labs, which was around before some of the more popular non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces like OpenSea.

Another remarkable feature of this sale is that it happened at all, as many owners of rare CryptoPunks are obstinate in selling their beloved NFT. In October of this year, someone bid 2,500 ETH on the rare CryptoPunk #6046 — which, had the Punk owner accepted it, would have been the most expensive sale at the time at $9.5 million. But the owner declined, citing that the rare punk was too tied to his own personal identity and brand and thus decided to decline the millions.

About Author

MK Manoylov has been a reporter for The Block since 2020 — joining just before bitcoin surpassed $20,000 for the first time. Since then, MK has written nearly 1,000 articles for the publication, covering any and all crypto news but with a penchant toward NFT, metaverse, web3 gaming, funding, crime, hack and crypto ecosystem stories. MK holds a graduate degree from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP) and has also covered health topics for WebMD and Insider. You can follow MK on X @MManoylov and on LinkedIn.