We saw the start of a change in the creative and financial industries in 2021. It’s been evident throughout the year that the world of non-fungibles is only becoming greater, from NFTs gaining popular attention to self-taught artists earning millions. To put it another way, NFTs are one-of-a-kind digital items with a fixed value based on their rarity. This object could be a painting, a film, an audio clip, a collectible item from a video game, a GIF, and so on. NFTs are not interchangeable because they are unique data units on a block chain. To commemorate the NFT ecosystem’s milestones and accomplishments, we’ve produced a list of the top ten largest sales expected in 2021.
10. Stay Free
Price: $5.4 Million
When Edward Snowden leaked classified information from the National Security Agency in 2013, he became both famous and infamous. Snowden was thrust back into the spotlight eight years after the incident occurred when he sold the Stay Free NFT for $5.4 million. Per the Foundation website where the NFT was sold, Stay Free “combines the entirety of a landmark court decision ruling the National Security Agency’s mass surveillance violated the law, with the iconic portrait of the whistleblower.”
It’s the only NFT known to have been generated by Snowden, and all proceeds went to the Freedom of the Press Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to funding and supporting press freedom.
9. freeross
Price: $5.93 Million
This is a difficult one. From 2011 to 2013, Ross Ulbricht founded and maintained the darknet market website Silk Road. Ulbricht was caught at that time and later convicted of money laundering, computer hacking, and narcotics trafficking, earning him a double life sentence. Ulbricht is regarded by many in the cryptocurrency world by fueling bitcoin’s success because the site ran on bitcoin. Ulbricht built an NFT based on a collection of his writing and artworks to raise money for his release from prison and to benefit the families of detained individuals. It includes drawings from his boyhood as well as works created when he was incarcerated, such as the graphite pencil drawing Perspective.
According to CoinRivet, the winning bid came from FreeRossDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization dedicated to Ulbricht’s freedom. The auction was won by 4,000 contributors who raised 2,836 ETH ($12.2 million) and will now receive $ROSS governance tokens, which reflect their fractional interest in the NFT.
8. Ocean Front
Price: $6 Million
Beeple a term that will be featured several times on this list is another significant name in the NFT field, alongside Larva Labs. Beeple’s has sold a variety of world-record-breaking NFTs, including the Ocean Front NFT pictured above. Ocean Front was sold at auction for a tidy $6 million, although it isn’t even the most expensive Beeple production. Ocean Front is a wonderfully beautiful piece of art, even if it didn’t sell for the most money. It depicts a wooden building floating in the middle of the ocean with several cargo containers and campers/RVs atop it. A big tree and two red mushrooms may be seen at the very top.
Just weeks after his headline-grabbing Christie’s debut, Beeple minted this NFT from his “Everydays” series. The piece was created as a warning about climate change’s catastrophic potential, and the earnings were donated to the Open Earth Foundation. Justin Sun, a well-known NFT collector, won the work in a bidding war after coming up short as the underbidder on Everydays.
7. Crossroads
Price: $6.6 Million
Beeple has made many dystopian art pieces ridiculing American presidential candidates such as Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders, the most well-known of which is his Crossroads painting.
When Beeple minted his first NFTs for a Nifty Gateway sale titled “The First Drop” in October 2020, the digital art world was forever changed. Crossroads, a work related to the 2016 presidential election in the United States, was the top lot, so to speak. When Joe Biden was proclaimed the winner, the work conjured up one of two images: a bloated, graffitied Donald Trump body lying overlooked in a field by the side of the road, or a bloated, graffitied Donald Trump corpse lying disregarded in a field by the side of the road. The painting was resold for 100 times the initial price, for $6.6 million, at Beeple’s Christie’s auction in February.
6. CryptoPunk #7804
Price: $7.57 Million
The uniqueness of CryptoPunk #7804 stems from the fact that it is one of only nine Alien CryptoPunks produced by Larva Labs. Aliens, Apes, and Zombies are among the unusual CryptoPunks, in addition to the normal CryptoPunks. A pair of little shades, a smoking pipe with a few clouds of smoke rising from it, and a front-facing cap is all worn by this Alien character.
On March 11, 2021, CryptoPunk #7804 was one of two large alien Punk sales. Purchased in ETH for the equivalent of $7.5 million at the time, the 4200 ETH price tag would amount to nearly $17 million at 2021 year-end. However, the impact of this purchase extends far beyond the cost. We saw the creation of NFT collector/influencer Peruggia almost soon after the Punk changed hands that has been heavily speculated to be the alternate account of prominent investor Robert Leshner.
5. CryptoPunk #3100
Price: $7.58 Million
One of the most expensive CryptoPunks is also one of the 9 Alien Punks, in the same vein as CryptoPunk #7804. It has a blue-greenish skin tone that resembles SpongeBob Squarepants’ frequently picked-on cephalopod Squidward. The Alien also wears a blue-and-white headband, which is worn by almost 406 out of 10,000 characters. The Punk, which was sold on March 11, 2021, began its journey at $76 in a 2017 bid, continued at $2 million, and eventually reached its current price of $7.58 million.
On March 11, 2021, CryptoPunk #3100 was the second major Punk sale. This was also the last on-chain extraterrestrial Punk sale of 2021, with another not changing hand until the Sotheby’s auction of CryptoPunk #7523. Similar to #8857, CryptoPunk #3100 is one of the influential Punks. However, no one came forward to give this high-profile NFT a social media personality.
4. CryptoPunk #7523
Price: $11.7 Million
It’s hard to argue that a computerized avatar is selling for more than $7 million. But what about a NFT that sold for almost $12 million? That’s what happened with CryptoPunk $7523, which was bought for $11.7 million by DraftKings shareholder Shalom Meckenzie.
CryptoPunk #7523 is likewise part of the Alien line, but differs from its #7804 and #3100 siblings in terms of attachments. A crimson beanie, a gold earring, and a face mask adorn this NFT. CryptoPunk #7523 becomes one of the most iconic and expensive digital creations when combined with the rare Alien skin.
3. Human One
Price: $28.9 Million
This is another Beeple NFT, and while it isn’t the artist’s most expensive work, it may be the most unusual. Human One, unlike most NFTs, is a hybrid design that incorporates both physical and digital features. It’s a 16K-resolution sculpture constructed of polished aluminum, mahogany wood, and four TV screens.
What’s the best part? Those screens will show a virtual avatar that will change over time. Beeple claims that he will continue to update the avatar for as long as he lives, making any adjustments he sees fit.
2. Beeple – Everydays: The First 5000 Days
Price: $69 Million
Christie’s sold a vast collection of Beeple’s artworks for a record-breaking price of 69 million at its first-ever digital art auction. Since May 2007, Beeple has been creating artwork every day, without missing a single day. Everydays are art pieces that differ in terms of style, medium, and theme, and frequently use dystopian or satirical situations. Beeple is the “third most expensive living artist” in terms of auction values, according to Artnet, following Jeff Koons and David Hockney.
The act of minting, collecting, and exchanging NFTs was considered marginal at best before Christie’s decided to take a bet on them through its Online Auction. But it was evident — even to Saturday Night Live — that the moment of NFTs had arrived after Beeple secured the largest bag in all of NFTs.
1. The Merge
Price: $91.8 Million
The Merge by digital artist Pak is the most costly NFT ever sold, taking the top spot for now. Pak is another well-known figure in the NFT world, having made some of the most recognizable works. The artist’s true identity is unknown, but that hasn’t stopped them from amassing a sizable following in the digital art world.
Pak’s Merge is the most inventive of all the NFTs they’ve made. The Merge was a collection of ‘masses’ that anyone could buy, rather than a single static work of art. The more money people spent, the bigger their ‘mass’ became. All of these people are grouped under the same creation, and with total revenues of $91.8 million, The Merge is by far the most expensive NFT transaction.
Final takeaway:
Do you have NFT’s? And what do you think about NFT’s after reading this article ? Let me know in the comment sections down below.
