CryptoPunks

What Is the CryptoPunks NFT Collection?

CryptoPunks is an Ethereum-based NFT collection of 10,000 unique art characters. Out of the 10,000 Punks – there are 6,039 males, 3,840 females, 88 zombies, 24 apes, and 9 alien punks. Due to their rarity, the zombie, ape, and alien punks are priced significantly higher.

The CryptoPunks collection is one of the earliest and most popular collections in the NFT space, with some high-profile celebrities owning their own Punk. Some of these celebrities include Serena Williams, Logan Paul, Mark Cuban, and SnoopDogg. The CryptoPunks NFT collection was so highly sought after by art collectors that they were even sold at Sotheby's and Christie's, which are international auction houses. 

Launched in June 2017, 9,000 of the 10,000 NFTs were free for mint, while the other remaining 1,000 NFTs were held by Larva Labs. Four years later, by 2021, the same NFTs were sold for millions of dollars. 

The CryptoPunks NFT collection was algorithmically generated by a pixelated character generator that assigned each individual character their unique traits. The algorithm ensures that no two NFTs in the collection are the same, making each of them unique. Generally speaking, the CryptoPunks that do not have many unique features have a lower floor price.

Who Is the Team Behind CryptoPunks?

The NFT collection was actually released as an experiment by two Canadian software developers from Larva Labs studio. At the time of the release, the ERC-721 token standard did not exist, and the two software developers, Matt Hall and John Watkinson, released the CryptoPunks collection as an experiment as custom contract NFTs. 

According to the team, the CryptoPunks collection drew inspiration from the 1970s London Punk scene, the sci-fi cyberpunk movement, the popular movie Blade Runner, and the book Neuromancer.

In 2022, the team behind Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT, Yuga Labs, acquired CryptoPunks along with Meebits, another popular NFT collection. Now that they own three of the most popular NFT collections in the NFT space, Yuga Labs has established itself as a big player in the NFT space. 

What Is the Utility of the CryptoPunks Collection?

Being a holder of the CryptoPunks NFT collection gives holders exclusive access to member-only events where users are required to hold a CryptoPunk NFT to participate. This helps holders to interact with other holders and get access to new features. Having been one of the pioneers in the NFT space, the CryptoPunks collection has built up a pretty strong sense of community. As such, some holders actually purchase the CryptoPunks NFT to gain access to the community and new releases. 

As the CrytoPunks collection is one of the most iconic and popular in the NFT space, the CryptoPunk NFTs are also often regarded as a symbol of prestige and wealth. Therefore, oftentimes many owners of the CryptoPunks NFT collection will use their NFT as their profile picture or avatar on social media.

Some of the owners will also rent their NFTs out or use their CryptoPunks collection as collateral to borrow ETH. This is part of Blur’s lending program, Blend, where users are able to borrow and lend NFTs through a peer-to-peer platform. 

As the NFT space continues to grow, it is likely that the utility of the NFT collection will continue to expand.

What makes CryptoPunks special?

The CryptoPunks collection is known for its culture significance in the history of Ethereum and NFT. It is touted as the first PFP project and sometimes the first NFT collection that managed to retain its value.

Wrapped CryptoPunks 

The Wrapped CryptoPunks NFT collection is a derivative of the original CryptoPunks NFT collection. As mentioned earlier, the CryptoPunks NFT collections are made on a custom contract. This means that they are only available to be traded on the Ethereum chain. 

When you wrap your CryptoPunk, it is essentially changing your NFT to an ERC-721 token standard, which is currently used to power most of the NFTs we see today. This allows your wrapped CryptoPunks to be used in other decentralized applications besides Ethereum. 

The wrapping process is reversible, and NFT holders are able to wrap and unwrap their CryptoPunks at will. However, it is important to note that the process to wrap the CryptoPunks NFT includes interacting with smart contracts via etherscan.io and that failure to complete all the steps correctly can result in a loss of the NFT.