CryptoPunks, despite their weird names, have become a status symbol of sorts and a piece of very valuable digital asset. CryptoPunks may be the most significant NFT project ever produced, according to NFT collectors.

The crypto market has been in decline in the last few months and, as a result, NFT prices and trading volume have plummeted. As market trackers witnessed last night, a desired NFT may still command six-digit figures, despite the weak market.

Sales of non-fungible tokens increased by more than 10 percent in comparison to the previous week, according to weekly sales data. This week’s sales volume was boosted by Cryptopunk #4,464, an NFT that sold for 2,500 ETH or approximately $2.6 million at the time of the transaction.

The purchaser was an NFT whale going by the alias “zoomc,” whose collection now includes 24 CryptoPunks and 113 Meebits. It is the collection’s seventh highest sale since its inception in 2017.

Image: Mortgage Professional America

CryptoPunk #4464 Fetches Six-Digit Figures

The 32nd rarest CryptoPunk, according to the Rarity ranking site Rarity.Tools, the ape-traited #4464 was believed to be worth almost $2.7 million prior to the eye-popping auction.

CryptoPunks is a collection of generative art and one of the earliest uses of NFTs in digital art. Only 10,000 Punks are known to exist, and some of them are believed to be lost or destroyed.

CryptoPunks’ worth is largely decided by the NFT’s qualities, with beanie, hoodie, and helmet being the most sought after. Punk # 4,464 has an eye mask, a vape pen, and a durag. Other Punks (aliens, apes, and zombies) are likewise extremely rare and sell for millions of dollars.

NFT Sales Booming This Week

In the last 60 days, the weekly NFT sales volume has been significantly lower, as NFT values have matched the crypto industry’s bear market declines. However, this week’s NFT sales have increased by nearly 11% over the previous week, with $146 million compared to last week’s $132 million in revenue.

Chain CEO Deepak Thapliyal spent 8,000 ETH ($23.7 million) for CryptoPunk #5822 in February 2022, smashing the previous record of $11.8 million paid for CryptoPunk #7523 in June 2021.

BTC total market cap at $380 billion on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com

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The frenetic bids are the result of a summer revival for blue-chip NFTs despite a decline in the larger cryptocurrency markets. The floor price of the collection is currently 76 ETH (about $90,000), a 60 percent rise over the past month, with sales and interest in the collection increasing dramatically since the beginning of June.

Meanwhile, according to SkyQuest Technology, the global NFT market was valued at $15.70 billion last year, and is projected to hit the $122.43 billion mark by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of 35% during the forecast period of 2022-’28.