- CryptoPunks surpassed 1 billion lifetime transactions earlier today.
- The NFTs recorded $140 million in transactions over the last 24 hours.
- Also, CryptoPunks signed a Hollywood deal with UTA.
CryptoPunks, the viral non-fungible token (NFT) sensation, is making waves, surpassing 1 billion lifetime transactions. According to Larva Labs, CryptoPunks recorded $140 million worth of transactions in the last 24 hours.
Several factors have contributed to the spike in CryptoPunk interest. First, CryptoPunks are currently hot among Chinese investors. As a result, several leading Chinese tycoons have invested in the NFTs.
In fact, some recent Chinese CryptoPunk buyers include Meitu founder Cai Wensheng. Wensheng notably purchased CryptoPunk #8236 for 125ETH. At the time of writing, ETH is trading at $3,367.59. Meaning, the businessman spent a whopping $420,948.75 on his CryptoPunk.
Prior to this, Meitu, which is a Hong Kong-listed photo-touch-up app, also invested in crypto. To be specific, Meitu purchased BTC and ETH worth $40 million earlier this year.
In addition, Dragonfly Capital Founder, Feng Bo, recently purchased Cryptopunk #7252 for 1600ETH (about $5.33 million).
Another reason CryptoPunk could be trending is because Larva Labs recently partnered with United Talent Agency (UTA). UTA will be taking CryptoPunks to Hollywood via film, TV, video games, publishing, and licensing. Speaking on the partnership, UTA head of Digital Assets Lesley Silverman noted,
I would say that it is one of the first opportunities for an IP that fully originated in (the) crypto-world to enter a broader entertainment space, and they earned it.
To clarify, Larva Labs created over 10,000 unique digital characters called CryptoPunks. The project launched in 2017 on Ethereum. While the NFTs were initially free, they have since appreciated in value. In fact, one of the CryptoPunk rock NFTs recently sold for over $103,000.
As such, Larva Labs views the deal with UTA as a way to help boost the value of its CryptoPunk collections over time.
