NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, have recently exploded onto the popular culture scene. They have been around since 2014, but only in the last few months have they become such a sensation, with more and more investors and collectors becoming interested in this crypto-currency digital art form.

As NFTs grow in popularity, they also grow in price. At least, the NFTs on this list do. Their prices have become so astronomical that we here at Blend Commerce have made this list of the most expensive NFTs traded so that we can all gawk together.

From highest to lowest, here are the 10 most expensive NFT artworks sold, and a little information about their creators.
 

1. CryptoPunk #9998

Price: £397,433,260.00

Date sold: October 28, 2021

Creator: Larva Labs

The most expensive NFT sold is this punk, created by Larva Labs. Sold for a whopping £397,433,260.00, this NFT stands apart from the rest. What makes it a particularly fascinating sale, and a strange one is that it was bought by its own creators. 

If you want to know what the most expensive NFT in the world looks like - not very different to thousands of others, it turns out. It’s a female punk with wild white hair, black lipstick, and clown green eyes. Her defining features are not unique, yet her owners are now looking to sell her for £490,414,518.15. We look forward to tracking this one's progress.
 

2. ‘The Merge’

Price: £68,579,649.00

Date Sold: December 2 - 4, 2021

Creator: Pak

‘The Merge’ is the most expensive NFT to be bought by multiple owners. It is owned, in fact, by almost 30,000 collectors. This might seem odd to those who aren’t familiar with the world of NFTs and crypto, but basically, it's an investment. The owners can sell their part of the ownership, and just the fact that it is such a secure investment that 30,000 people bought into it, will likely keep it stable and increase its worth.

‘The Merge’ was sold as an open edition, the opposite of a limited edition. Tokens started at £429.00 and increased by £18.00 every six hours. In the end, 28,983 bought 312,686 units of mass. Making it the second most expensive NFT ever sold.
 

3. Everydays: The First 5000 Days

Price: £51,770,911.50

Date Sold: March 11, 2021

Creator: Beeple aka Mike Winkelmann

This most expensive NFT sold to one person is this piece by Beeple, sold to Vignesh Sundaresan, AKA MetaKovan. The artwork is a collage of 5000 different digital artworks by this artist, creating a striking visual representation of the whole art form. And since Beeple is one of the leading NFT creators, a collage of so many of his works is understandably valuable.

For the last 13 years, Beeple has created a drawing every single day, which have made up part of the ‘Everyday’ series. While these started as hand-drawn sketches, they’ve since become digital masterpieces. This piece is a culmination of these drawings, with 5000 of them making up an epic collage.

4. Clock

Price: £39,369,798.50

Date Sold: February 9, 2022

Creator: Pak and Julian Assange

Just when you think things couldn’t get more interesting, here’s an NFT that was bought by a collective of 10,000 people in order to support one. This NFT, created by the famous artist Pak and Julian Assange, was bought by a collective called Assange DAO. 

Julian Assange is an Australian editor and activist who created WikiLeaks, and who has been in legal trouble for over a decade. Assange DAO aims to “inspire a powerful solidarity network and fight for the freedom of Julian Assange”. They, therefore, bought the NFT to financially support Assange, as well as to increase public awareness of the case and the failings of the justice system.

5. Human One

Price: £21,664,595.00

Date Sold: November 9, 2021

Creator: Mike Winkelmann aka Beeple

Human One is a kinetic video sculpture with a corresponding dynamic NFT. The artwork will evolve over time and can be remotely accessed by Beeple, who has creative control over its content forever. 

Ryan Zurrer, who bought the artwork, considers Beeple one of the defining artists of our generation and believes that he will be mentioned alongside Picasso and Da Vinci in future. This NFT was the second-highest fetching work bought by one individual.

6. CryptoPunk #5822

Price: £17,182,265.00

Date Sold: February 12, 2022

Creator: Larva Labs

Bought for twice as much as the next Cryptopunk, punk #5822 is one expensive little alien. It is one of nine rare alien punks and sports a blue bandana on its head. That’s about all that sets it apart, besides its price, but it's enough. 

The new owner, Deepal Thapliyal, is the CEO of Chain, an online tool that supports institutions developing and launching their own blockchains. Thapliyal leveraged decentralised finance protocol Compound Finance to pay for the NFT, using his knowledge of the cryptocurrency to make his investment.

7. CryptoPunk #7523

Price: £8,777,896.25

Date Sold: May 2021

Creator: Larva Labs

This unique alien CryptoPunk has also been dubbed the ‘Covid Alien’ because it is the only alien with a medical mask on. It also has an earring and a knitted cap. It was listed and sold on Sotheby’s, the famous fine art dealers. This CryptoPunk is a clear representation of the rather confusing art form that is the NFT space.

CryptoPunk #7523 was bought for nearly £9 million by Israeli entrepreneur, Shalom Meckenzie. Meckenzie is the largest shareholder in the sports betting firm, Draft Kings. He also founded gambling technology provider SBTech. He can now add ownership of this impressive NFT to his list of accomplishments.

8. CryptoPunk #3100

Price: £5,729,911.85

Date Sold: March 11, 2021

Creator: Larva Labs

This alien punk is the 7th most rare CryptoPunk and the 8th most expensive NFT on our list. The only attribute to this punk, besides its blue alienness, is its headband. 

Interestingly, nothing is known about its owner, of the address 0x7b8961.

9. CryptoPunk #7804

Price: £5,677,618.00

Date Sold: Mar 11, 2021

Creator: Larva Labs

You might be getting a little tired of CryptoPunks making up half of this list, and we get it. But they’re popular, what can we do? This alien punk is particularly cool looking, with a forward-facing cap, sunglasses, and a smoking pipe hanging languidly from its mouth. Interestingly, this punk recently had a bid that would have moved it much higher up the list, at £65 million. However, the bid was withdrawn.

Figma CEO Dylan Field owned this NFT until recently when he sold it for 500x the amount he bought it for. He sold it to the address peruggia-v.eth.

10. Right-click and Save As guy

Price: £5,296,619.95

Date Sold: December 2021

Creator: Xcopy

Coming up in prestigious last place, we have this NFT by Xcopy. Right-click and Save As guy is a commentary on the fact that anyone can have an NFT, even though only one person can own them (or, as we’ve seen, one collective). Seeing as you can just download these pieces, many have posed the question “why pay so much for them?”. It is ironic, therefore, that this has become one of the most expensive NFTs in the world.

Of course, who is better equipped to make such a statement than the legendary Snoop Dogg. Through the alias Cozomo de' Medici, Snoop has become a patron of the digital arts, with numerous NFTs under his belt. This, however, is his most expensive NFT.

Top NFT Creators

Of course, the fascinating world of NFTs would be nothing without their excellent creators. Here are the studios and individuals responsible for the most expensive NFTs sold.

Larva Labs

Larva Labs is a mobile software company based in New York. As self-proclaimed ‘creative technologists’, they are responsible for Android applications and games. However, they are now most well-known for their crypto art projects, Cryptopunks and Autoglyphs. 

The owners, Matt and John, are responsible for all 10,000 CryptoPunks that were released as a fixed-set. They are an important part of the ERC-721 standard, which standardises a safe transfer function for non-fungible tokens. This is part of why CryptoPunks are so popular and make such a good investment.
 

Pak

Pak is an anonymous creator that has been involved in digital art for the last two decades. This artist is at the forefront of crypto art, even though no one knows who they are. With their work listed on Sotheby’s, Pak enjoys huge success. They are also the founder and lead designer of the studio Undream.

Their artistic style is complex, while simultaneously simple. Pak uses monochrome colours, architectural structures, dramatic lighting and smooth finishes to complete his monumental-looking pieces.
 

Beeple Aka Mike Winkelmann

Beeple is an American digital artist, graphic designer and animator. Known for his mastery of different mediums, he creates fantastical, dreamlike works, often tied to political and social commentary, with pop culture icons as references.
 

Xcopy

Xcopy is a London based visual artist who explores death, dystopia and apathy through their art. With a collection of over 140 creations, much of their work includes disturbing visual loops, flashing imagery, and jarring colour schemes. Though one of the original and top-selling crypto artists, Xcopy has managed to remain anonymous. All we know is that they are based in London, and they create impressive works.