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Bandanna Sporting Crypto Punk #5822 Sets New Record As It Sells For $23M

A CryptoPunk NFT has just set the record for the highest-selling punk so far. The collection which is more than three years old had been in obscurity for the longest time but with the rise of NFT popularity, they have become one of the most valuable collections in the NFT space. In a recent sale, CryptoPunk #5822 has set the record for the high-selling punk after selling for $23 million.

CryptoPunk #5822 Sells For 8,000 ETH

The CryptoPunk #5822 which had sold for 8,000 ETH, more than $23 million had been bought by the CEO of Chain, Deepak Thapliyal. It is the most expensive CryptoPunk NFT to be sold to date. Only one of 10,000 CryptoPunks that was created in 2017, the original owner of the CryptoPunk had paid less than 1 ETH for the piece. They had then held through the initial boom of the collection until now, where they finally sold their punk for more than 7,999 ETH in profit.

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It is no surprise that this one CryptoPunk had sold for this price. There have been a number of CryptoPunks that have been sold for significant amounts of money, running into the tens of millions of dollars. In total, the CryptoPunk collection has seen more than $9.3 billion in trading volume since it was first launched.

Thapliyal who purchased CryptoPunk #5822 had leveraged his Compound Finance account to purchase the piece, according to him. It is important to note that the CEO had purchased what is one of the rarer CryptoPunks. This piece which is considered an “alien” in the compilation is one of only nine such pieces in the collection. This is why itself and its other eight counterparts are so expensive.

Despite its high price tag, it is still not the most expensive NFT sold to date. That title belongs to Beeple’s Everydays NFT sale that took the market by storm. The piece had sold for a whopping $69 million, creating a record that no one has been able to break.

NFT Holder Turns Down $1.2 Million

While the CryptoPunk #5822 NFT is making waves in the space for its high price tag, another piece had made it into the spotlight for refusing to sell for a high price tag. The Bored Ape Yacht Club is an infamous collection of 10,000 NFTs that have also made its mark for selling expensive NFT pieces. Its pieces have sold across the board for millions of dollars but one holder is not partaking in this.

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The Golden Ape #1726 had turned down an offer to purchase their Ape for 420 ETH – $1.2 million. The holder of the Ape revealed to CryptoPotato that they had turned down the offer because it was basically a lowball offer. The piece is a rare one, one out of 46 gold fur apes that were released in the BAYC collection. Of all 46, only 1 piece has been sold below 1,000 ETH.

“I rejected it [read: the offer] because gold fur apes are the rarest fur of BAYC. Also, it’s my personal brand, and I think with this brand, and owning the ape, I can continue to make residual income,” they told CryptoPotato. “There is only 1 out of 46 gold fur apes listed for sale below 1000 ETH and I would like to still be a part of that group.”

The same user told the publication that they hold another 36 Apes in their collection. So they are not exactly hurting for cash as the case may be.

Featured image from CryptoSlate, chart from TradingView.com

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In The Mood For Auction: Wong Kar-Wai ‘s First NFT Available At Sotheby’s

Legendary Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai will be minting an “In The Mood For Love” NFT soon. Revered fine art auction house Sotheby’s will broker the deal. The NFT will contain never-before-seen footage from the first day of filming. How rare does that make it? Considering “In The Mood For Love” is one of the most critically acclaimed films of the century, what does this mean for the NFT space? What does it mean for Asian cinema?

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So far, this trailer for the whole event is all we have:

In the description box, Sotheby’s presents its Modern Art Sale in Hong Kong:

“Celebrated auteur Wong Kar Wai will bring his avant-garde aesthetic to Sotheby’s this October. The first Chinese filmmaker to win Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival, Wong’s sensuous cinema embodies the spirit of Modernism so it is only fitting that we will be working together on our Modern Art Sale in Hong Kong.“

BTC price chart for 09/09/2021 on Poloniex | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
Tell Me More About Wong Kar-Wai ‘s First NFT 

Every time film critics vote, “In the Mood for Love’s” name appears among the best films of the century. Its reputation has only increased since its 2000 release. Along with Wong Kar-Wai ‘s “Days of Being Wild” and “2046,” “In the Mood for Love” is the best-known part of an informal trilogy. And now, a lucky soul can own a digital representation of unreleased footage from the movie. In it, the two main actors play different characters than those in the movie. How rare!

The auction house describes the item as:

“The star lot of Sotheby’s Modern Art Evening Sale on 9 October is the debut of Wong Kar Wai’s first ever NFT creation – “In the Mood for Love – Day One” – edited from never-before-seen footage shot on the first production day of the international masterpiece, “In The Mood For Love” (2000).”

And they quote Wong Kar-Wai himself, saying:

“Today, we are able to eternalize this first day in a brand-new form. In the world of blockchain, this arrow can chart a new course. Here’s to more of us that will live and chase that first spark in every flash.”

What Does The NFT Contain?

This rhymes with the whole Wong Kar-Wai trilogy in more ways than one. “In the Mood for Love’s” main actors, but as completely different characters. What a concept.

“Unveiled for the very first time, the NFT short film contains rare footage starring Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung as characters utterly different from the iconic lovers in the original film. This unique artwork celebrates the critical and wondrous moment when a creative idea is first conceived, while marking the first Asian film NFT ever to be offered in international auction houses.”

Will this extremely rare NFT that has a concept behind it and it’s backed up by a legendary piece of cinema break some records? So far, the world’s most expensive NFT is Beeple’s “Everydays: The First 5000 Days.” Rival auctioneers Christie’s sold it for $69,3M. That doesn’t mean Sotheby’s hasn’t been part of the game. They sold CryptoPunk #7523, AKA Covid Alien, for $11.8M.

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Currently, Sotheby’s is auctioning a lot of 101 Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs. The highest bid is $19M and the lot closes in approximately 9 hours. Participate while you can. Or save your money for the Wong Kar-Wai one.

Featured Image: Screenshot from “In The Mood For Love” NFT | Charts by TradingView TradingView

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Visa Describes NFTs As Promising Means To Engage With The Fans

Visa now makes a full head plunge into the NFTs following its evaluation of the technology behind the assets. The global payment giant described NFTs as having the potential to serve as the engagement medium for fans. Visa made this description through its recent whitepaper publication.

The publication suggests that Visa sees non-fungible tokens as a crucial innovation during the recent pandemic. The publication observed that strict restriction orders cause a limitation to live sports, music festivals, and entertainment.

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The emergence of NFTs came when fans are eager to join digital communities that portray their favorite sports teams and artists.

What Will Trigger The Move For NFTs?

Professional sports got the hardest blow from the pandemic. There’s an estimation of an $18 billion revenue loss across the major global leagues.

Visa envisages that this further pushes for the need for revenue diversification and more focus on technology. This will bring repositioning for more business growth opportunities and gain more fans’ attention and participation.

According to the report, NFTs are attractive to fans, leagues, teams, talents, and collectors. It further unveils the peculiarity of the NFTs as the basic sources of fan engagement, fresh revenue streams, and customer relationship management. However, the major utility situations of NFTs so far are art, gaming, and collectibles.

The release of the whitepaper came with an announcement from Visa on the purchase of CryptoPunk 7610, its first NFT. Visa bought the NFT for $150,000, and the token has its proof of ownership stored on the Ethereum network. The collection comprises 10,000 unique NFTs.

Industry sources record the sales of 2,519 CryptoPunk collectibles within the past 30 days—the sales sum amount to $467.4 million. The highest-grossing sale within the period falls on CryptoPunk 7252, sold for 1,600 ETH, worth $4.5 million.

Besides the increased adoption for CryptoPunk, NFTs are also gaining popularity in other niches. There’s a report that the NFT marketplaces net sales in August will surpass $900 million.

This sets the industry’s new record. The previous record, set in May, was when the net NFTs sales hit $255 million. The month of May saw the crypto markets reaching new all-time highs and then proceed to a multi-month correction experience.

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Visa’s plunge into NFTs is not a surprise move as the company already has a growing interest in cryptocurrencies. The firm had a recent agreement with Zipmex, a crypto platform.

This results in the provision of crypto payment integration within the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, earlier in the year, Visa confirmed its commitment to establishing crypto payment and fiat on-ramps. This was its move to boost the class of digital assets.

Featured Image From Pixabay