You’ve been punk’d: CryptoPunks takes top pricing spot from Bored Apes

Quick Take

  • The floor price of CryptoPunks is currently higher than that of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), having jostled for position over the weekend. 
  • BAYC first usurped Punks in December but market conditions have seen volumes taper, and traders appear to be favoring CryptoPunks ahead of a BendDAO liquidation threshold vote.

CryptoPunks is back on top. The Larva Labs NFT collection is the most expensive and exclusive one, taking the spot from Bored Ape Yacht Club’s (BAYC).

The floor price is the lowest price at which a type of NFT is currently available for sale; at the time of writing, BAYC was going for 65.70 ETH, and CryptoPunks for 66.30 ETH, according to Dune Analytics. 

Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, now at January lows, first overtook Larva Labs’ CryptoPunks in December. Since then Yuga Labs purchased the intellectual property rights to CryptoPunks, so either way, Yuga comes out on top.  

NFT prices have tumbled over the last few months as crypto markets endured a tumultuous period in May and June following the collapse of Terra’s blockchain and the ensuing liquidations. ETH has dropped 68% since November, hurting Ethereum-based NFTs when measured in dollar terms.  

BAYC floor prices may also be adversely affected as the BendDAO votes in coming days to lower its liquidation threshold for initial bids to 70% of floor price from 95%. The BendDAO allows users to lend to others to buy NFTs on leverage, but the DAO appears to be running low on ETH. That 95% threshold is proving to be too high and is infringing on the DAO's ability to recoup its losses from bad debtors. No CryptoPunks are currently available on BendDAO.

RELATED INDICES

The vote appears likely to pass with 98% poised to support the measure.

Over the past three months, NFT trade volumes have accompanied crypto prices lower. At the beginning of the year it was common practice for BAYC to register sales in excess of 300 pieces a week; in the first week of August, sales fell to 70.

 


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About Author

Adam Morgan is a reporter covering cryptocurrency, financial markets, and economics – anything from price movements, earnings reports, and inflation to the U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decisions and everything in between. Adam is based in London.