In May 2025, CryptoPunks was 'sent to the museum.'
To be precise, Yuga Labs transferred the intellectual property of this project, which pioneered the NFT art era, to a non-profit organization called Infinite Node Foundation (NODE).
The latter announced that this acquisition not only includes all intellectual property rights of CryptoPunks but also comes with a $25 million cultural fund, which will promote an ambitious museum collaboration plan aimed at incorporating CryptoPunks into global mainstream art institutions.
It also boldly announced, 'This is not a transfer of ownership, but liberation.'
Within hours of the announcement, the floor price of CryptoPunks quickly rebounded to about 48 ETH, and the trading volume also showed a significant increase. The once dormant trading interface became active again, as if reminding people of the glory that this set of pixel icons once carried.
This blue-chip project, once seen as a 'Web3 totem,' has entered a new chapter after years of market peaks and emotional lows. The foundation has also formed an advisory committee to manage CryptoPunks, with Larva Labs founders and artists Matt Hall and John Watkinson returning to manage the committee, along with Wylie Aronow (Yuga Labs) and Erick Calderon (Art Blocks) participating.
Additionally, NODE will hire Natalie Stone as an advisor to support the NODE team during the transition.
But is this 'return' a new beginning or the end of an era?
From avant-garde to classic, the past and present of CryptoPunks
CryptoPunks was born in 2017, created by the Canadian developer duo Larva Labs, inspired by punk culture and generative art. 10,000 pixel avatars were minted for free, at a time when there was no NFT market, and only a small number of Ethereum users claimed these images through smart contracts.
What truly made CryptoPunks a totem of crypto culture was the explosion of the NFT market in 2021. That year, NFTs became a mainstream topic, with everyone from Christie's auction house to mainstream media focusing on this new asset class. CryptoPunks, due to its 'originary' identity, was regarded as a 'classical relic' of digital art, leading to a surge in prices.
In August 2021, Visa announced the purchase of CryptoPunk #7610 for 49.5 ETH, calling it 'an important asset for enterprises entering the NFT era.' This move sparked widespread imitation and drove a short-term frenzy in institutional NFT purchases.
In the same year, several Punk avatars were auctioned at high prices at Sotheby's and Christie's, such as Punk #7523 (commonly known as 'Covid Alien'), which sold for $11.7 million at Sotheby's, briefly setting a record for the auction of a single Punk. After experiencing the craziest phase of the NFT market, CryptoPunks' total transaction volume once surpassed $3 billion, cementing its mythic status as a 'top blue chip'.
However, the peak did not last long. With the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) launching in the spring of 2021 and quickly building a strong social community, commercial licensing system, and celebrity dissemination power, CryptoPunks gradually revealed its fundamental but silent limitations.
Newcomers have won a larger user base through flexible IP licensing, merchandise, and party events, while CryptoPunks, due to Larva Labs' non-commercial stance, has gradually been marginalized in community activity and scalability, making it impossible for holders to commercialize their Punk IP.
This division eventually led to Yuga Labs acquiring the CryptoPunks and Meebits IP in March 2022. At the beginning of the acquisition news, there was a positive impact on the price of CryptoPunks, but the actual progress after the acquisition did not turn out to be as aggressive as expected.
CryptoPunks has not been heavily commercialized under Yuga. On the one hand, it has avoided vulgar IP generalization, but on the other hand, it has also failed to establish an active ecosystem like BAYC. In the two years since Web3 entered winter, CryptoPunks has gradually become a respected but untouchable entity.
Symbolic 'de-financialization,' a non-profit foundation takes over the NFT totem
The acquirer of this sale, Infinite Node Foundation, is a non-profit foundation established in 2025 by venture capitalist Micky Malka and curator Becky Kleiner. Its vision is to integrate internet-native art into the mainstream cultural system and conduct research, exhibitions, and archiving.
According to NODE, this acquisition is not a traditional merger. The foundation promises to build a permanent exhibition space in Palo Alto and will showcase the complete set of 10,000 CryptoPunks for the first time. This is the first time a project has been curated in full in the history of NFTs.
At the same time, the venue will run a real-time Ethereum node, emphasizing the 'on-chain locality' and 'immutability' of on-chain art.
NODE's language is very clear; they want to secure a formal position for internet-native art within academic systems and museum institutions. It seems that CryptoPunks is completing a transformation of identity, no longer a tradable commodity but a 'cultural heritage' that can be exhibited, researched, and narrated.
However, this transformation is not entirely romantic. Although the transaction amount has not been disclosed, the $25 million cultural donation fund established simultaneously by NODE may hint at Yuga Labs' 'profit-taking exit.'
For the latter, selling CryptoPunks is more like a resource focus and financial optimization. Yuga initiated large-scale layoffs in 2024 and clarified that its core business would concentrate on the Otherside virtual world and the ApeCoin ecosystem. Selling Punks may be a rational letting go.
Who is defining the 'artistic quality' of NFTs?
Interestingly, the main thread behind this transaction has, to some extent, shifted from valuation or floor price to cultural historical significance.
NODE's involvement has brought CryptoPunks into a more traditional cultural narrative: permanent collections, academic research, art curation... These terms sound more like the responsibilities of MoMA or the British Museum, rather than the content of everyday discussions in the crypto community.
In fact, the trend of NFTs moving towards 'museumization' has long been in existence. In 2023, Autoglyphs were collected and exhibited by London's Serpentine Gallery; Fidenza and Ringers began to be categorized by curatorial institutions as representatives of the 'generative art movement'; and Beeple's Everydays became the starting point for 'museum entry' after selling for $69 million at Christie's.
From this perspective, the emergence of NODE is a gentle arrangement. It does not attempt to 'empower' CryptoPunks or change its original appearance but rather incorporates it into a system of artistic protection.
If the buyer were a commercial company, its operational logic would likely be IP licensing, commercial co-branding, and traffic monetization. While these practices could yield short-term benefits, they may undermine CryptoPunks' symbolic status as a signifier of digital native culture.
However, new questions arise: what is the next narrative for NFTs?
NODE stated in the announcement: 'This is not a transfer of ownership, but liberation.' As CryptoPunks become old money and 'museum collections,' we may also witness NFTs slowly transitioning from a high-volatility financial experiment to a low-frequency cultural style.
The transformation of CryptoPunks reflects the anxieties of this industry like a mirror.
CryptoPunks has changed hands again, with Ribbit Capital as the behind-the-scenes financier. Will it usher in new development opportunities?
The NFT ancestor CryptoPunks has officially changed hands again after being sold to the bored ape BAYC developer Yuga Labs.
On the evening of May 13, the iconic NFT and crypto art piece CryptoPunks officially changed hands - a foundation called Infinite Node (abbreviated as 'NODE') acquired it from Yuga Labs.
Although the terms of the transaction have not been disclosed, according to media reports (NFT Now) citing several informed sources, NODE paid about $20 million for this acquisition. Following this news, the floor price of CryptoPunks rose from 42 ETH to 47.5 ETH.
CryptoPunks and its new 'home' NODE
'The 'NFT ancestor' CryptoPunks was launched by Larva Labs in 2017 and is widely regarded as a catalyst for the modern digital art movement. Larva Labs is a creative technology company founded by Matt Hall and John Watkinson.
Thanks to the significant meaning and profound impact of CryptoPunks, with cumulative transaction volume exceeding $3.07 billion, these two creators have also become some of the best-selling living artists.
In March 2022, Larva Labs transferred the intellectual property of CryptoPunks and another work, Meebits, to Yuga Labs. Three years later, CryptoPunks changed hands again, landing in its new home, NODE.
Yuga co-founder Wylie Aronow (also known as 'Gordon Goner') commented, 'We have always been committed to enhancing and protecting their cultural heritage, but we understand that Punks need a permanent home for their legacy. Seeing this vision realized with the help of the Node Foundation feels like returning to the original starting point, where they are most capable of protecting the cultural legacy of Punks.'
The NODE Foundation, founded by Ribbit Capital founders Micky Malka and Becky Kleiner, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, research, and exhibition of digital art. It aims to elevate the status of internet-native art and integrate it into broader cultural and academic discussions.
In April of this year, the NODE Foundation announced that it had received a $25 million grant from Malka and Kleiner to advance its vision for the future of digital art. The organization claims to be a 'perpetual fund driven by mission' and stated that this acquisition 'opens up a new model for the protection of internet-native culture.'
Paving the way for mainstream art
Even if CryptoPunks' sales exceed all living contemporary artists, it has never made it onto traditional art rankings nor entered mainstream discourse. NODE believes that solving this cultural gap first requires redefining the experience of digital art.
'Our goal is to build a networked architecture that allows digital art like CryptoPunks to thrive in the digital realm while being incorporated into the grand narrative of art history.' NODE stated it will continue and promote the Punk spirit and achieve this through three pillars:
Preservation: Utilizing advanced blockchain infrastructure to ensure the technical integrity and long-term availability of CryptoPunks;
Community: Building a vibrant ecosystem connecting digital innovators and art enthusiasts;
Expansion: Creating new scenarios for CryptoPunks to serve as examples of technological innovation and be researched and displayed as artistic achievements.
NODE plans to build a permanent exhibition hall in Palo Alto to display all 10,000 CryptoPunks. The venue will also run a full Ethereum node to enhance the accessibility and sustainability of the collection.
Micky Malka said, 'Through museum-level preservation methods and a perpetual donation fund, we aim to create a future-oriented guarantee for this milestone work, making it easier for scholars, curators, and collectors to interact with it.'
To achieve these goals, NODE has formed an advisory committee composed of well-known figures from the CryptoPunks community and the crypto art field, including Matt Hall and John Watkinson, Wylie Aronow, and Art Blocks founder Erick Calderon (also known as 'Snowfro'). During the transition period, they will hire Natalie Stone as an advisor to manage the project.
Guarding cultural fundamentalism
After the announcement of the acquisition, the community generally interpreted it as good news. Subsequently, the floor price of CryptoPunks rose from 42 ETH to 47.5 ETH.
'This is undoubtedly good news for punks,' CryptoPunks holder @VonMises14 expressed high appreciation for this acquisition, believing it means the punks IP has found its final destination, 'It can grow and thrive there without any form of monetization or corruption.'
Due to the self-destructive behavior of certain blue-chip NFTs and CryptoPunks' near 'pollution' experience, the Punks community is particularly concerned about brand value and cultural purity.
A year ago, Yuga Labs launched the Super Punk World NFT series based on CryptoPunks, which faced strong opposition and criticism from the community. Most people believe that the excessive 'woke culture' presented in Super Punk World deviates significantly from the core of punk's original work, and many even bluntly stated that Yuga Labs is destroying Punks.
After facing strong opposition, Yuga Labs co-founder Greg Solano immediately stated, 'We will no longer touch CryptoPunks; we will only decentralize it and keep it on the blockchain.' He also stated plans to support museums and institutions in acquiring works to promote the original works to the public.
However, protecting the cultural value of CryptoPunks as an artwork may require controlling its use, reproduction, or monetization methods. As lawyer @jabranthelawyer, who focuses on the Web3 field, pointed out: 'If NODE follows traditional cultural protection strategies, it is not hard to imagine new restrictions: will the freedom of commercialization for punks be reduced? Will the control over derivative projects be stricter? Will limitations be imposed in the name of cultural integrity?'
Yuga Labs immediately granted IP usage rights and commercialization licenses to NFT holders after acquiring CryptoPunks, allowing them to freely create, display, and monetize on personal and commercial levels. However, whether NODE will retain these commercial rights after the acquisition remains uncertain for now.
Speaking of which, this is probably not the main concern of the punk community. For them, perhaps not to stir up trouble is the best choice.
#CryptoPunks #LarvaLabs #Meebits #bayc
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