CryptoPunk NFTs Sell for $16.9 Million at Christie's Famous Art Auction
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Ever Purchase: Dogecoin, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Safemoon or Cumrocket (yes, this is a coin.)? If you have, you are helping with the advancement of blockchain & NFT technology.
Take a community of people. These individuals own things but also have their own wants and needs. Let’s say I have something that you want. I may be willing to trade it to you for something valuable in return. Now you have a market.
https://www.larvalabs.com/cryptopunks/forsale for live prices of punks
Markets/Industries currently exposed to NFT Technology:
Art & Collectibles
Crypto Currency
Big Tech & Gaming
This exposure has led to the development of a brand new market known as Digital Collectibles
CryptoPunks are known as the first “OG” Digital Collectibles Project within the tech & crypto community.
Minted by Larva Labs, (Highly respected tech company who has worked with giants like google & Microsoft) were available for free to the community. They now range around $100,000 USD.
CryptoCoins were made famous by Bitcoin, but Bitcoin is designed just to transact and store ownership of Bitcoin itself. We are using a successor to Bitcoin called Ethereum which allows for arbitrary computer code to be executed on the blockchain and the results of the execution to be stored forever. This is pretty cool! Normally code is run on a server somewhere and you basically need to trust the person running the server. Ethereum lets everyone execute the code, show each other what result they got, and agree that the code was executed properly and fairly.
We have written code that lives on the blockchain that anyone can use to buy and sell Punks with anyone else in the world. An interesting aspect of this system is that we no longer have any control over the code running CryptoPunks! Once we released it onto the blockchain it became permanently embedded there and can no longer be modified by anyone. This is scary for us as developers because we worry about bugs, but it is also a very powerful feature of the system. It allows a user verify that there are indeed only 10,000 punks, check that we can't steal them from you, and basically make sure that everything we told you about the code is true.
In short, Ethereum verifies & authenticates each individual punk out of the entire 10,000. To be an official owner you must be gifted one or purchase one through the network. This general concept nullifies counterfeiting.
Quirky humor and puns are very common in tech. Software Developers are quick to use puns, code jokes or troll by implementing certain Easter Eggs and added contents to their work. Keep in mind that this is the year 2021. We have lived through a pandemic. Meme dog crypto tokens are turning millennials into millionaires. Dying public companies on their last legs have been able to short-squeeze and bankrupt institutional trading funds.
It is truly madness.
I say this to reassure you that when you see the worlds largest international art auction hosting a bit on the internet and it reselling for $17 Million it is nothing new.
NFTs are more than just a piece of art or a bit on the Internet. The concept of verification and permanent proof of ownership within a community is revolutionary and extremely useful. You can own the Lakers /1000 NFT & receive exclusive benefits. Maybe you buy your favorite music artists NFTs and receive early access to their work. They may also receive royalties upon resale for selling you their original “art”. The sky is the limit.
The art and collectibles market is a niche market. The current state of the digital sector is very dangerous. Understand that if you are buying digital art on sites like opensea.io you are taking a huge risk.
Every project has certain attributes or ramifications that considers it valuable at that certain moment (This is critical and always subject to change). The total of 9 Alien CryptoPunks out of /10,000 seem to be the highest priced when it comes to Larva Labs. A community could also accept a project today & by tomorrow be hype about the next big thing leaving you as a bag HODL’r.
It is also valuable to remember that these networks are not perfect. They compete with each other & have yet to be regulated or accepted by the big bad US of A.
Ethereums costs of use (Gas Fees) is off the charts. Environmental concerns with these technologies still persist. There are several networks trailing in market cap that claim to offer practical solutions to these problems.
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