NFT Round-Up: Collectable Craze Continues As Prices Soar

The world of NFTs is bursting with developments, including soaring prices for CryptoPunks and Christie’s NFT infatuation. 

Not a day goes by in the universe of NFTs without hype for the next big thing. Non-fungible tokens took the world by storm in 2021 like never before.

Piquing the interest of institutions, investors, fans, and artists alike, this is not just a fad. The digital native generation will hardly know a world without these tokenized digital assets. 

Major developments within the NFT space recently include a surge in the price of CryptoPunk NFTs, words of praise from Christie’s auction house, and new releases from some of the world’s biggest brands. 

CryptoPunks prices soar

Perhaps one of the crown jewels of the crypto NFT scene is CryptoPunks. Created by Larva Labs, the CryptoPunks were the first NFTs to pop up on the Ethereum blockchain back in 2017.

The digital art collection is a series of 24×24 pixel art pieces. Most look like punky pixelated people.

Throughout this past year, the craze around CryptoPunks NFTs skyrocketed. In June and July, two CryptoPunk pieces sold for over $1 million – #7523 and #1886. Before that, Christie’s sold two coveted CryptoPunks for $17 million. 

Fast forward to the end of July, which saw a massive 24-hour volume spike for CryptoPunks. The surge in volume topped off around $46 million. At the time, it was more than double the next big crypto project Axie Infinity.

Following the volume hike, CryptoPunk prices surged by 50%. Sales and traders both increased over the past week as well. 

Christie’s NFT excitement continues

Christie’s frequent auctioning of CryptoPunk assets also made waves in the crypto space over the weekend. The world-famous auction house hit a milestone as the first NFT auction in Asia from an international auction house.  

The auction is for “No Time Like Present.” It includes CryptoPunk art, another Larva Labs creation called Meebits, and the debut of Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). 

Christie’s continues its dominance in the crypto auction space as it partners with some top-selling artists.

Pieces that go through Christie’s have reached more than a million-dollar price tag. Some critics say auctions like this make NFT collecting only for the big leagues. 

More name brand NFTs

Musicians, artists, brands, and even real estate have a place in the NFT space. 

Over the past weekend, more major global brands and organizations stepped into the area, including Audi. The German auto manufacturer announced the release of limited-edition NFTs through cooperation with xNFT.

The world-famous Marvel Comics also released a groundbreaking NFT series that featured the famed superhero Spiderman. The drop will include 60,000 NFTs at various levels of scarcity. Fans shouldn’t expect Spidey to be the only drop, as the comic brand plans to release its own NFT marketplace.