NFTs had an up-and-down 2022. Some of these still sold for seven figures
NFTs had a rollercoaster year.
After reaching a total trading volume of nearly $6 billion in January, the excitement subsided, and total trading volume hovered near $1 billion in the third quarter, according to DappRadar.
But that doesn’t mean people have stopped buying NFTs. In fact, several of the most expensive ever sold in 2022, including these:
1st Hour — Julian Assange and Pak
Sold for 16,593 ETH/$20.1 million as of December 21st
Created by anonymous digital artist Pak, this NFT was sold in February to AssangeDAO. It reflects the number of days Julian Assange has been held in London’s Belmarsh prison. Proceeds from the sale were donated to help the WikiLeaks founder’s legal defense.
And @AssangeDAO acquires Clock for 16593 ETH.
100% will go to Wau Holland Foundation that supports Julian Assange's defence. pic.twitter.com/SBqGZQ3qiR
— Pak (@muratpak) February 9, 2022
2. CryptoPunk #5822 — Larva Labs
Sold for 8000 ETH/9.7 million USD as of December 21st
Deepak Thapliya, CEO of blockchain infrastructure company Chain, bought the year’s most expensive CryptoPunk in February. The profile picture NFT has an alien with blue skin and a dark blue bandana. Among the 10,000 CryptoPunks in the collection, it is one of the only aliens. CryptoPunk NFTs are some of the oldest and most expensive on the market, with a total price floor of 63.5 ETH, or around $77,000.
— Deepak.eth ⛓ (@dt_chain) February 12, 2022
3. CryptoPunk #5577 — Larva Labs
Sold for 2501 ETH/$3.03 million as of December 21st
The CryptoPunk collection appeared again in the top-five most expensive NFTs of the year with this profile picture of a monkey wearing a cowboy hat. It was purchased in February by Robert Leshner, CEO of Compound Labs. A tiny 0.24% of the 10,000 CryptoPunks are monkeys, and only 1% of them wear cowboy hats.
Punk 5577 bought for 2,501 ETH ($7,704,080.16 USD) by 0xcfc505 from 0x9c9113. https://t.co/AteVE6ihAt #cryptopunks #ethereum pic.twitter.com/s7B7xhPIfz
— CryptoPunks Bot (@cryptopunksbot) February 9, 2022
4. Ukrainian flag NFT — UkraineDAO
Sold for 2250 ETH/$2.7M as of December 21st
More than 3,000 people contributed around $6.75 million at the time to buy an NFT of the Ukrainian flag in March, following Russia’s invasion. The effort was led by UkraineDAO, an organization formed by Russian art collector Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot, NFT studio Trippy Labs, and PleasrDAO members. The decentralized organization donated the proceeds from the auction to Come Back Alive, a group that supports the Ukrainian army.
🇺🇦 2250 ETH / $6.75M USD CONTRIBUTED TO THE UKRAINIAN FLAG NFT 🇺🇦
Thank you to all who supported our project 🙏
Next steps: POAP for all those who donated to partybid, work with Come Back Alive on safely transferring funds
You may still donate ETH directly to ukrainedao.eth pic.twitter.com/GsQBLzHIVK
— UkraineDAO.ETH (@Ukraine_DAO) March 2, 2022
5. All Time High in the City — XCOPY
Sold for 1630 ETH/$1.9M as of December 21st
Purchased by anonymous collector @rarecollector3000 in January, this NFT by XCOPY depicts a mortal figure carrying a man across the River Styx.
1/ In XCOPY's work, “All Time High in the City,” the grim reaper rows a trader through a sea of blood.
Minted on April 8th, 2018. A day when ETH is priced at $400. Just weeks earlier, it was $1400.
A bloody ride is right… pic.twitter.com/vvKAVfDj7J
— Cozomo de’ Medici (@CozomoMedici) July 7, 2022
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
More from Fortune:
People who skipped the covid vaccine have a higher risk of traffic incidents
Elon Musk says getting booed by Dave Chapelle fans “was a first for me in real life,” suggesting he’s aware of building backlash
Gen Z and young millennials have found a new way to afford luxury handbags and watches – living with mom and dad
Meghan Markle’s real sin that the British public can’t forgive – and Americans can’t understand
