Top 11 most expensive NFTs

Top 11 most expensive NFTs sold

NFTs, we hear about them all the time these days, but few of us know precisely what they are. NFT stands for 'Non-fungible token'. "Non-fungible" simply means that it is unique and cannot be replaced by something else.

For example, a bitcoin is fungible, which means you can swap one with another and obtain the same item. On the other hand, a trading card cannot be copied. If you exchanged it with a separate card, you'd receive something completely different. This demonstrates the NFT's uniqueness.

Why is this so important? Who decides the value? NFTs are components of a blockchain. The most widely used is Etheruem. NFTs on the blockchain hold extra information that enables them to behave very differently from, for example, an ETH coin. However, they may be rather costly, which brings us to the main issue of the day... which NFT’s have sold for the most money?

Despite still being subject to strict pandemic controls, the art market returned last year, with higher sales and auctions that set new records. NFTs did even better though, with record sales figures and a widespread frenzy around this still-emerging art form. NFTs were added to the rosters of established art and auction organizations and venues, as well as new platforms.

An unprecedented sale of Beeple's “Everydays: the First 5000 Days” was one of the year's major events, selling for the mind-blowing sum of 69.3 million dollars. demonstrating that the marketplace is ready for digital artwork and isn't pushing anymore when it refers to significant purchases. 

When we evaluate the selling prices of the highest-selling NFT from earlier years to the current one, we can see how much wealth is generated in a short period using NFTs. For example, XCOPY's NFT “A Coin for the Ferryman” sold for $6 million in November, even though it was only $139, or in crypto 0.5 ETH, when it was released in 2018.

Because these are always skeptics, who are mocked in certain NFTs like XCOPY's “Right-Click, Save As guy”, the industry began to progress, diversify, and structure. Several high-scoring brands, such as Beeple and CryptoPunks, are now well known even outside the NFT market, while "conventional" artists, such as Damien Hirst, the world's most famous bad boy, are rapidly turning to NFTs, with his 10,000-piece NFT Series launched last year.

We've compiled a list of the most expensive NFT sales of 2021the preceding year, along with information about their creators, history, and other relevant details.

The top 11 most expensive NFTs are:

• Pak’s ‘The Merge’ — $91.8m

The Merge, provided by digital artist Pak, is the most valuable NFT ever auctioned, and sits at the top of this list. Pak is a well-known NFT personality, creating many of the most well-known masterpieces. Although the artist's genuine identity is secret, and is likely a group of artists and not just one person, they have amassed a considerable number of fans in the field of digital art. 

Pak's Merge is their most innovative NFT to date. The Merge is an artwork that can be broken down into many smaller pieces, with each person who purchases owning a piece, a share of the art, like the share of a company. These can all be potentially added together to form the whole artwork. The sale took place over two days with over 260,000 shares of the work purchased, for. a total revenue of $91.8 million.

• Beeple – EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS – $69.3m

When launching this landmark artwork, EVERYDAYS:THE FIRST 5000 DAYS, at top auction house Christie's in March, digital artist Beeple lit up the NFT space. Beeple established a novel digital picture every other day for 5,000 straight days from 2007 to January 2021, and the work symbolized his lifetime effort. In the style of a mosaic, the piece displays Beeple's – whose real surname is Mike Winkelmann – lifelong work.

The NFT was acquired by Vignesh Sundaresan – commonly called MetaKovan. The transaction was the third-most exclusive item ever sold by a working artist, as well as a large-scale introduction of a new form of art,, kicking off an extraordinary year for NFTs.

• Beeple – Human One – $28.9m

The sale price of 'Human One' in November, and Beeple's second entry on our ranking, was the creator's second high profile NFT and was the first foray into 'physical' NFTs. The design, which would also be available in digital format, depicts a "lone astronaut, endlessly walking across the wastelands of a strangely familiar Earth" and may change its appearance depending on the period of the day.

The artistry in Human One is highly dynamic and changes depending on the moment of the day. The sale of 'Human One,' which was also auctioned at Christie's, increased Beeple's total NFT profits in 2021 to over $100 million, after he also sold 'OCEAN FRONT,' for $6 million to Tron creator Justin Sun in March.

• CryptoPunk #7523 — $11.75m

#7523 in the famous collection, blows its CryptoPunk colleagues out of the water. This item is only the third rarest according to websites that rank rarity of items in a collection.So the question is how much the tow rarer items in the collection will sell for.

• CryptoPunk 4156 – 2,500 ETH ($10.2m)

CryptoPunks had a fantastic year with the $10 million acquisition of Punk #4156. The Punk is one of 24 so called 'Ape' Punks, and traded for an incredible 2,500 ETH back in December due to the legendary position of this early collection among the NFT network and scarcity of supply. The transaction was the highest-valued NFT ever sold on a marketplace rather than at an auction, taking the top place from two different CryptoPunks, who are next on our list.

• CryptoPunk #3100 – 4,200 ETH ($7.67m)

Punk #3100 - one of just nine 'Alien' Punks with blue skin – was bought for 4,200 ETH e in March and remained the top ranked sale until Punk 4156 joined the list. The owner of Alien' Punk 3100, is unknown. He paid $7.67 million for the highly desirable CryptoPunk. Many people believe that the Punk justified its exorbitant price tag at the time because of its extremely coveted character and rarity.

• CryptoPunk #7804 – 4,200 ETH ($7.57m)

Punk #7804 would be another 'alien' which eventually traded for 4,200 ETH in March, similar to the last Punk. It is somewhat pricier than the preceding Punk based on the value of Ethereum at the time the contract was made.

• Beeple’s Crossroad — $6.6m

Beeple's Crossroad is now a 10-second film that depicts people strolling past a big, collapsed body with obscenities scrawled all over it. Beeple's work is so well received since it provides something quite distinct from the standard NFT, and buyers pay accordingly.

• XCopy’s A Coin for the Ferryman — $6.034m

'A Coin for the Ferryman,' one of XCopy's first works, was developed in 2018, but sold for nearly $6 million on November 4, 2021. The piece is made up of sketched faces on a bright backdrop, with the GIF format ensuring that it is one-of-a-kind. 

• Beeple’s Ocean Front — $6m

The Ocean Front NFT, is one of several world-record-breaking NFTs marketed by Beeple's. It displays a drifting wooden building accompanied by freight containers sitting atop a platform on an ocean floor. A big tree and different colored mushrooms can be seen at the very top.

• CryptoPunk #5217 — $5.59m

CryptoPunk #5217 is yet another top sale from the famous collection, and a stagerring price for an item that was handed out for free when the project began back in 2017. selling for a staggering $5.45 million in July 2021, CryptoPunk #5217 has a few distinct characteristics and a hefty price tag. It features one of 419 knitted cap styles and one of 169 items with a gold chain across the neck, and also one of 24 items with an ‘ap’e characteristic.