Summary

CryptoPunks are collectible crypto art presented as NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. There are 10,000 8-bit pixel-style punk figurines in the series. Each figurine is unique and has its own characteristics. As one of the first famous NFT projects, they inspired many crypto artists and even promoted the development of the ERC-721 token standard for digital collectibles. The project became even more popular in 2021 after some CryptoPunk images were sold for millions of dollars, making it the most expensive NFT.

Introduction

At first glance, there is nothing special about these pixelated little square faces. Some of them are smoking pipes, some are wearing hats, and there are even aliens. However, in the field of NFT, you cannot judge things by appearance.

There may be a lot of value behind these funny-looking punks - maybe they can make your dream of buying a small apartment or a large mansion come true. There are only 10,000 of these 8-bit pixel-style CryptoPunks, which are currently a collection of NFT collectibles in great demand. They are just quiet punks who can't fight, stake or do anything else. "CryptoPunks" also happens to be one of the pioneers of NFT projects.

Who is the creator of CryptoPunks?

CryptoPunks is the brainchild of Larva Labs in New York, co-founded by Matt Hall and John Watkinson. The project began in 2017 as a bold experiment in highlighting the value of NFTs and artworks, ultimately having a positive impact on the digital currency artworks that are now widely known.

They are also a form of digital currency, but they are completely different from Bitcoin or Binance Coin. These 10,000 punk figures are all unique NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. They include 3,840 male images and 6,039 female images, as well as some apes, aliens and zombies.

The creator organically combined different attributes, and 10,000 different and unique punk characters came into being.

Initially, these punk figurines were distributed free to the public and were also available for free. A figurine could be obtained by paying the relevant Ethereum transaction fees.

Since then, these artworks, along with the entire NFT market, have soared in popularity and become hot stars. Christie's auction house even sold collections estimated to be worth millions of dollars.

This pale, headband-wearing alien punk figure sold for 4,200 ETH (about $7.58 million) in March 2021, setting a record for CryptoPunk sales that has not been broken to this day. It was followed by CryptoPunk #7804, which sold for the same amount (about $7.57 million at the time). The price difference between the two is due to the rise in the price of Ethereum.

Looking at the entire NFT field, the above two CryptoPunks are the runner-up and third place in the non-fungible token sales record list. Beeple's "EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS" currently ranks first, selling for a sky-high price of $69,346,250.

How does CryptoPunks work?

When the project was launched, the ERC-721 token protocol currently used by NFT had not even been launched. Larva Labs could only "use local materials" based on actual conditions and decided to use ERC-20.

In the end, the R&D team chose a punk approach and modified the ERC-20 code. Although it could only barely create non-homogeneous items, it inspired the development of ERC-721 in the near future.

Data from Etherscan shows that the maximum total supply of this token is 10,000. Although the data shows that these punk villains are ERC-20 tokens, they are not exactly the same tokens.

You can verify the authenticity of each CryptoPunk by hashing its reference image and comparing it to the specific image hash in the token contract.

Since the image is too large to be stored on the blockchain, Larva Labs created a composite image with all 10,000 punk figures. The corresponding hash value is noted in the CryptoPunks token contract.

So how do I determine which punk I own? Each punk token contains metadata indicating its location in the composite image. For example, CryptoPunk#7804is the 7804th punk in the larger composite image.

Where can I buy CryptoPunks?

In addition to designing CryptoPunks themselves, Larva Labs has also launched a dedicated market on the CryptoPunks website. Users can bid, buy and sell CryptoPunks here. By installing and linking MetaMask, you can also interact with the market.

CryptoPunks has also landed on OpenSea, the leading NFT marketplace on the Ethereum blockchain. However, these pixelated punks are slightly different. After packaging, they have become ERC-721 tokens that can be traded on the NFT marketplace.

ERC-721 CryptoPunks can be easily converted back to the original ERC-20 format. The wrapping and unwrapping process is performed on the wrapped PUNKS, which can be done through the MetaMask wallet where the CrypTopunk is stored.

Summarize

In the rapidly developing NFT market, CryptoPunks is no longer the only one. However, it was once a pioneer in demonstrating pure artistic value and left a strong mark in the blockchain. Unlike CryptoKitties, which contains game elements, the punk figurines are just simple images. Today, newcomers inspired by CryptoPunks continue to emerge, which is enough to show its strong popularity in the market.