Non-fungible tokens (NFT) are important artifacts for anyone involved in the decentralized financial marketplace. They are unique as they are tied to the blockchain network they are part of. NFTs can represent any real-world thing like art, games, etc. Investors focussed on the online decentralized network can buy, sell, and stake NFTs as they hold any real-world assets.
The NFT market is set to reach $2,378 million in 2024. With a combined annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.10% for the 2024-2028 period, the NFT market will rise to a valuation of $3369 million in 2028. The number of NFT users will increase to 19.71 million in 2028.
With such prospective figures showing the NFT market, every investor must know about the most expensive NFTs ever sold. This article will delve into the details of a few notable NFTs that have gained high profits in the past.
The Merge
Merge is an NFT created by the famous digital artist and crypto investor Murat Pak. It is the NFT that has garnered high profits during its sales in December 2021. They were traded in the Nifty gateway for a total price of $91.8 million.
The initial selling price of a single unit was $575; this price increased by $25 every 6 hours. Raiders representing 29,983 unique addresses participated in the sale, and 312,686 tokens were collected in total.
The current market price of a Merge NFT is $184.53. This is 80.90% lower than the all-time high price of $964.83, which was recorded on April 6, 2022. However, given the future outlook of NFTs for the next four years, the price of Merge NFTs will also rise.
Also Read: How To Buy An NFT On OpenSea? All You Need to Know
Everydays: The First 5000 Days
Mike Winkelmann, better known as Beeple, is the digital artist who created Everydays: The First 5000 Days. It is a digital collage that combines 5000 images marking ordinary days. In 2021, the NFT was sold at a high rate of $69.3 million.
The artwork was purchased by a Singapore-based cryptocurrency investor and NFT collector, Vignesh Sundareshan, better known as MetaKovan, for exchanging 42,329 ETH tokens. It is the largest sale price of an NFT paid by a single seller.
Clock
Clock NFT is a joint venture of the founder of Wikileaks Julian Assange and the digital artist Pak. This NFT was created to fund the release of Julian Assange from prison. The artwork was sold for $52.7 million, making it the second largest bet on a single art piece after Beeple’s work Everydays.
The clock was sold as an open-edition artwork. It was a significant artwork because it resolved to serve the cause of freedom of expression and the right to information that Assange advocated through WikiLeaks. It is an example to prove that digital fundraising campaigns, through the sale of NFTs, are a viable method to support a cause.
Human One
Human One is said to depict the first human being born on the Metaverse. This is also an NFT by Beeple that was sold for $28,985,000 in November 2021. This is a hybridized version of both digital and physical art.
It displays the continuous evolution of art. The artwork shows an astronaut continuously walking through an ever-changing landscape. It depicts the continued evolution of the human race.
CryptoPunk #5822
CryptoPunk #5822 is one among the series of 10,000 characters that were created as NFTs, represented by pixel art. This piece of NFT was sold for $23 million on February 13, 2023.
This NFT is created by Larva Labs on the Ethereum blockchain. Deepak Thapliyal, the CEO of The Chain, a blockchain technology-based company bought CryptoPunk #5822.
Read More: Gifting NFTs: A Step-by-Step Guide
The Bottom Line
The NFT market was on a downward stride after its continuous success stories in 2021. However, the market has recuperated in 2024 and is expected to rise in the coming years. You should invest in NFTs if you are interested in the market and collecting works of art.
Do not forget that NFTs are also subject to fraud, scams, and other legal issues caused by a lack of market regulation. So make investment decisions only after analysing the wider market.
