Top 10 Most Popular Avatar PFP NFT Collections

Bored Apes, CryptoPunks, CloneX, these are the ones you should know about

Originally published Apr 8 2022, and Updated on 19 Sep 2022.

What are the most popular avatar or PFP NFT collections on the market? Why are they influential in the NFT field? Those communities that have formed around collections like Bored Apes and CryptoPunks, what do they do? In this article, we’ll reveal answers to these questions. Plus, we’ll update this Top 10 PFP NFT list regularly so you can always keep up with the hottest avatar collections.

PFP stands for picture-of-proof, or simply put, a ‘profile picture’. From the end of 2020 till mid-2021, PFP NFT collections represented by CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) have swept the top auction houses. Arguably, PFP NFTs are changing how people consume art and culture, subverting traditional business logic. 

Such trends are unstoppable.

Running a successful PFP project requires strategic planning, including marketing, community building, business model design, technical support, and more. Seeing how much innovation these projects have brought to the blockchain ecosystem is exciting. 

In this article, we will share the latest top 10 PFP NFT collections in terms of popularity with you. The figures in this article were written down at the time of this writing. Meanwhile, you can leverage DappRadar’s Portfolio Tracker to manage your NFT assets and utilize the NFT Explorer tool to view a wide range of the most updated NFT market information.

#1 Bored Ape Yacht Club

BAYC currently tops all PFP NFT collections with a market cap of $953.05 million. The project has created a members-only club, a trendy gaming brand, a commercial empire, a cultural symbol, or anything the community decides it to be.

Being a superstar in the PFP NFT field, BAYC has become the equivalent of Lamborghini in the virtual world for bragging about social status. Without any surprise, the patronage from top celebrities seems only to grow. The most updated name list of celebrities who have “aped in” includes NBA stars Stephen Curry, TV host Jimmy Fallon, music icons Eminem, super idol Justin Bieber, and billionaire Mark Cuban.

BAYC has achieved many milestones in 2022, such as releasing ApeCoin as a community incentive and governance token. Moreover, BAYC released the highly anticipated Metaverse project Otherside with the sale of its Metaverse lands, Otherdeeds.

Notably, this most expensive PFP avatar has achieved an all-time volume of $2.17 billion. To value this phenomenal NFT collection, here are some helpful links below.

#2 CryptoPunks 

On March 11, 2022, Yuga Labs (parent company and creators of the BAYC) announced the acquisition of the CryptoPunks IP. As the first-ever PFP project with a current market cap of $819.89 million, CryptoPunks started a paradigm for avatar collecting. Launched in June 2017 by Larva Labs, CryptoPunks ignited the NFT craze in late 2020. The pixelated profile pictures used to be at the pinnacle in the PFP competition. However, it was outperformed by BAYC in December 2021 for the first time.

Although BAYC is leading the current floor price (73 ETH or $95,000), CryptoPunks still ranks first with an all-time trading volume of $2.93 billion. Most importantly, the digital ownership education that CryptoPunks has given the public is indelible. Check out the links below for a more solid idea of CryptoPunks’ valuation.

#3 Mutant Ape Yacht Club

The Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) is a derivative project by BAYC, boasting a market cap of $351.67 million. The Mutant Apes were created by exposing a Bored Ape to a vial of Mutant Serum. In this way, BAYC rewarded loyal Bored Ape holders with an entirely new NFT, a mutant version of their primates. Furthermore, it also lowered barriers for novices to participate in the BAYC ecosystem.

Mutant Ape #4849 is the most expensive NFT in the collection by far. This Mutant Ape with black horns and a long-toothed livid face sold for a whopping 350 ETH. 

The collection currently has a floor price of $18,080 and an all-time volume of $1.51 billion. 

#4 CloneX

CloneX is a prominent example in the world of virtual street fashion. The creator of CloneX, RTKFT Studios, has been rising quickly in virtual streetwear and sneakers. With an ambition for the metaverse, NIKE Inc. acquired RTFKT in December 2021, recognizing the next-generation collectibles for its cutting-edge innovation to merge culture and gaming.

This hotly-anticipated PFP project teamed up with the top contemporary artist Takashi Murakami last year to jointly release the avatar collection. Undoubtedly, the collection sold out immediately, even starting at 3 ETH.

#5 Moonbirds

Moonbirds is the new face on our Top 10 PFP NFT list. It is an NFT collection by PROOF Collective,  a small but influential and relatively wealthy community of NFT collectors and artists. Impressively, these pixel birds set some remarkable records within two days after the official mint. 

One of the most significant benefits of holding Moonbird NFT is access to the exclusive PROOF Collective resources mentioned above. Knowledge is gold in an NFT market where information is changing rapidly.

Moonbirds allows collectors to get one step ahead of the market with the latest and possibly most promising NFT collections. Such anticipation makes Moonbirds’ value skyrocket, with an average trading price of over 40 ETH in less than ten days.

This legendary collection is currently trading at $13,700 in floor price. To value this phenomenal NFT collection, here are some helpful links below.

#6 Azuki    

In late January this year, Azuki dominated in sales of the NFT sector. The anime-style NFT characters sold out in three minutes, raking over $29 million. Azuki positions itself as a high-end brand for the Metaverse, and they want the community to be the core of its future. The member-only Garden is a corner in the Azuki metaverse where art, culture, and community fuse to spark inspiration. 

The success of Azuki is not so surprising. First, the outstanding visual art of Azuki speaks for itself. Moreover, the prosperity of the global anime culture in recent years has also driven the project to the front of a broader audience. 

As one of the most popular blue-chip NFT series, Azuki has been steadily scaling up its ecosystem with various perks. This year, the project released several soundtracks, held a private garden party, and conducted a surprise airdrop for all Azuki holders.

To better understand the value of Azuki, check out the links below.

#7 CyberKongz

CyberKongz is a collection of 8,888 unique, randomly generated avatars. There are two types of Kongz in CyberKongz’s ecosystem, OG Kongz (Genesis) and Baby/Incubator Kongz.

It is worth mentioning that CyberKongz is the first avatar project to associate generative value with its PFP NFTs through a utility token, BANANA. Cyberkongz genesis holders can receive 10 BANANA daily for each Kong they hold for the next ten years. 

CyberKongz has been actively involving in building its Metaverse. The project earlier purchased parcels in The Sandbox to create a massive, multi-estate concrete jungle where they will curate gaming and social experiences involving all CyberKongz NFTs and its BANANA token. 

On March 5, 2022, CyberKongz announced a bridge to the Polygon Network, marking a crucial step toward its play-to-earn game, Play & Kollect. Shortly after that, CyberKong officially kicked off this hotly-anticipated game on Polygon.

#8 Doodles 

Doodles NFT is a darling in the NFT community. Launched last October, the Doodles NFT collection has been storming the charts and has become one of the most loved collections in the NFT industry. After all, who can say no to lovely characters in macaron colors? But, more importantly, the project’s community-first approach has completely won over fans’ hearts. 

For example, the Doodlebank, its community treasury, aims to fund products and events voted by the community. And only the Doodle holders have the privilege to decide how the funds should be spent. Since its launch, Doodle has actively collaborated with various projects, bringing the community an unrivaled experience.  

To get more in-depth insights into Doodles, check out the links below.

#9 Meebits  

Launched by Larva Labs in May 2021, Meebits are 20,000 3D voxel figures designed to look like characters from famous open-world games such as Minecraft and Roblox. This project intends to use these NFT characters in a variety of games, virtual worlds, and other applications. 

On March 11, the Meebits NFT collection joined the Yuga Labs family with its sister project CryptoPunks. Currently, starting at 3.39 ETH, Meebits are believed to have a special place in the broader Yuga Lab’s ecosystem. 

You can find more information on how to evaluate Meebits NFTs with the links below better.

#10 Bored Ape Kennel Club

Bored Ape Kennel Club consists of 9,602 cartoon Shiba dog NFTs, a collection that is part of the broader BAYC family. When launched, every BAYC holder can “adopt” a Kennel NFT as a pet for free.

For BAYC owners, the biggest utility of BAKCs right now is that they can be sold for a premium on the secondary market. Buyers, on the other hand, find Kennel NFTs very appealing as a pass for them to become a member of this exclusive club since BAYC has a distant threshold. In addition, as the Bored Ape metaverse evolves, Kennels and their owners will have access to more benefits.

Track popular NFTs on DappRadar

For those NFT faithfuls, these over-priced jpegs go far beyond cartoon images. Which one you own or you are trying to own says a lot about who you are, your beliefs, or even your fashion taste. Each PFP collection represents an entire culture, with its own visuals, tone and voice, community structure, and share of voice in the NFT circle. 

Buying one is not just following trends or reaping the flipping premium. More importantly, it’s a declaration of identity. If you want to understand better these PFP collections’ value and learn how to catch the next wave, use DappRadar’s NFT Explorer to gain real-time market data on all of them.