We've come a long way since the creation of the world's first NFT in 2014, and since then projects like CryptoKitties, Rare Pepes, and CryptoPunks have revolutionized the industry both creatively and financially, and NFT sales have skyrocketed. Many of the best-known and best-known NFTs have generated millions of dollars in revenue.
To document the most notable milestones, we’ve compiled a list of the most expensive NFT artworks of all time.
But before we get started, it’s important to know that we’re only highlighting the largest single NFT sales in this article, and that list does not include open versions, which are NFT Drops that have no set supply limit and allow collectors to mint them for a certain period of time Any number of tokens.
Finally, be sure to bookmark this page and check back often for the latest information, things in Web3 are changing rapidly and we will continue to update this article with new entries as larger NFT sales drop.
Table of contents
20. Edward Snowden, Stay Free
19. Beeple, Ocean Front
18. XCOPY, A Coin for the Ferryman
17. Ross Ulbricht, FreeRoss
16. Dmitri Cherniak, Ringers #879
15. XCOPY, All Time High in the City
14. Beeple, Crossroad
13. CryptoPunk #8857
12. XCOPY, Right-click and Save As Guy
11. Dmitri Cherniak, Ringers #109
10. CryptoPunk #7804
9. CryptoPunk #3100
8. CryptoPunk #5577
7. CryptoPunk #4156
6. Tpunk #3442
5. CryptoPunk #7523
4. CryptoPunk #5822
3. Beeple, Human One
2. Julian Assange and Pak, Clock
1. Beeple, Everydays: The First 5000 Days
* Honorable Mentions
20. Edward Snowden, Stay Free: $5.4 million (2,224 ETH)
Sale Details: Stay Free, created by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, was sold to PleasrDAO in April 2021 for $5.4 million, with proceeds from the sale going to the Freedom of the Press Foundation.
Why it’s valuable: The NFT was launched at the start of the 2021 NFT craze, predating similar efforts to help influential prisoners (like Ross Ulbricht and Julian Assange, who also appear on this list) fight for their freedom.
The token itself features a visual representation of Snowden’s iconic Plato portrait, which is composed of court documents related to the landmark ruling that found the NSA’s mass surveillance illegal.
19. Beeple, Ocean Front: $6 million (3,529 ETH)
Sale Details: Beeple’s Ocean Front NFT was sold to Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur and TRON blockchain founder Justin Sun for $6 million in March 2021, with proceeds from the sale donated to the Open Earth Foundation.
Why it’s valuable: This piece is part of Beeple’s valuable daily series titled “Together We Can Solve This,” which touches on the climate crisis, and the NFT is part of The Carbon Drop series by Nifty Gateway in partnership with the Open Earth Foundation, inspired by the discussion surrounding the environmental impact of NFTs, the series includes eight unique “carbon negative” NFTs to compensate for potential emissions created during the minting process.
18. XCOPY, A Coin for the Ferryman: $6.02 million (1,330 ETH)
Sale Details: XCOPY’s A Coin for the Ferryman sold for $6.02 million on November 4, 2021. It was purchased by SuperRare user jpeggy, who also owns XCOPY’s EVADER.
Why it’s valuable: Similar to his other high-value works, A Coin for the Ferryman dates back to the beginning of the mysterious creator’s career as a crypto artist. The piece was originally sold in 2018 for $139 and didn’t change wallets again until November 2021, just days before ETH prices reached an all-time high. As cryptocurrency prices continue to rise, the high-profile sale of A Coin for the Ferryman has sparked speculation and rekindled confidence in the long-term value of 1/1 NFTs.
17. Ross Ulbricht, FreeRoss: $6.12 million (1,489 ETH)
Sale Details: Ross Ulbricht’s first NFT, FreeRoss, sold for a whopping $6.12 million six days after being auctioned in early December 2021. Released as part of the Ross Ulbricht Genesis NFT Collection, proceeds from the auction went toward not only efforts to release Ulbricht from prison, but also toward the creation of a donor-advised fund called Art4Giving, which is dedicated to alleviating the suffering of incarcerated people and their families.
Why it’s valuable: As the creator of the online black market Silk Road, Ulbricht has clear ties to the history of blockchain technology, and through the Genesis Series presented by FreeRossDAO (which is also the buyer of the NFT), Ulbricht is able to cement his name on the blockchain in a new and innovative way, effectively adding a positive dimension to his legacy as he continues to serve his time in prison.
16. Dmitri Cherniak, Ringers #879: $6.2 million (3,693 ETH)
Sale Details: Ringers #879, affectionately known as “The Goose,” is a single NFT from Dmitri Cherniak’s seminal generative project that first broke records when it sold for just under $6 million in August 2021 to Three Arrows Capital, a now-defunct Singapore-based cryptocurrency hedge fund.
On June 15, it changed hands again, with Punk6529 purchasing it through Sotheby’s Grails: Part II auction with a winning bid of $5.4 million, but with the buyer’s premium, the total price was actually over $6.2 million.
Why it’s valuable: As one of the first projects to launch in 2021, Cherniak’s Ringers collection of 1,000 NFTs has retained its historical value through rave reviews and milestone sales. Throughout the NFT ecosystem, it is one of the most popular collectibles on the renowned generative art platform Art Blocks Curated. Owning a Ringers NFT is often considered a status symbol and a bet on the future of generative NFT art. In addition, the possibility of animal shapes emerging from generative randomness increases the goose’s appeal, visual recognition, and rarity.
15. XCOPY, All Time High in the City: 620 million USD (1,630 ETH)
Sale Details: XCOPY’s All Time High in the City sold to rarecollector3000 for 1,630 ETH in January 2022, just a few months after it was originally sold for 1,000 ETH. The animated artwork, minted in 2018, depicts a ferryman transporting a man across the River Styx.
Why it’s valuable: London-based XCOPY is known for his dark, abstract, and dystopian illustrations, often using motion, flickering, or glitch effects in his work, and his style has become a staple of the NFT ecosystem, with countless artists and projects mimicking his animated work in their own creations.
14. Beeple, Crossroad: $6.6 million (4,400 ETH)
Sale Details: Originally minted on October 30, 2020, Beeple’s Crossroad sold to influential collector Pablo Fraile for $66,666, and just four months later it found a new home with unknown collector anonymous10.
Why it’s valuable: Crossroad became a meme around the 2020 presidential race before NFTs received any really significant mainstream news coverage. It was created to reflect political tensions in the United States, and Beeple said he already has multiple versions of the piece ready, depending on who wins the presidency.
13. CryptoPunk #8857: $6.63 million (2,000 ETH)
Sale Details: CryptoPunk#8857sold on September 11, 2021 for $6.63 million. The sale was part of a series of purchases that occurred during the summer and fall of 2021.
Why they’re valuable: Zombie CryptoPunks are one of the most famous NFTs. Why? First, they come from one of the earliest NFT collections, CryptoPunks. Also, there are only 88 Zombie CryptoPunks.
The huge price tags were also triggered by a legendary single-day sale, where famous NFT collector Keyboard Monkey bought a Zombie Punk and sold it less than 24 hours later for a profit of nearly $1 million. This was what many called the "peak of zombie NFT trading." Around this time, in the Zombie Punk market, we even saw the birth of famous investor Cozomo de' Medici, who purchased CryptoPunk #3831.
12. XCOPY, Right-click and Save As Guy: 7 million USD (1600 ETH)
Sale Details: Right-click and Save As Guy by XCOPY sold to Cozomo de' Medici on December 9, 2021 for $7 million.
Why it’s valuable: The saga of XCOPY’s Right-click and Save As Guy dates back to the days of our current NFT ecosystem, having been minted many years ago on December 6, 2018, shortly after Beeple’s landmark Everydays auction and featured on BBC World News, signaling a shift in public perception of NFTs.
Since the famous NFT artwork had only changed hands twice before this latest auction — first for $90 (1 ETH) and then for $174,195 (99 ETH) — de’ Medici’s purchase marks an increase of more than 3,500% in the artwork’s value.
11. Dmitri Cherniak, Ringers #109: $7.1 million (2,100 ETH)
Sales Details: The highest-selling lot from Dmitri Cherniak’s Ringers project was Ringers #109, #109, hailed as a work of generative art due to its complexity, sold in October 2021 for over $7 million, further solidifying the importance of the Art Blocks project.
Why it’s valuable: Ringers was one of the first projects to launch in 2021, and in addition to being historically significant in the NFT space, it’s also one of the most popular Art Blocks curated series.
10. CryptoPunk #7804: $7.56 million (4,200 ETH)
Sale Details: CryptoPunk#7804was one of two major Alien Punk auctions held on March 11, 2021, with the purchase price at the time being equivalent to $7.5 million, which would have brought the price of 4,200 ETH to nearly $17 million by the end of 2021.
Why it’s valuable: Punk#7804has some rare features, including being one of nine in existence, but the significance of this purchase goes far beyond the price. Almost immediately after Punk changed hands, we saw the birth of NFT collector and social media influencer Peruggia (who is widely speculated to be an alternative account for famous investor Robert Leshner).
9. CryptoPunk #3100: $7.57 million (4,200 ETH)
Sale Details: The second major Punk auction will take place on March 11, 2021, and is CryptoPunk #3100, which also happens to be the last on-chain Alien Punk auction of 2021, and we won’t see another one change hands until Sotheby’s auctions CryptoPunk#7523(also on this list).
Why it’s valuable: CryptoPunk#3100is one of nine in existence, making it an influential and rare punk, though, similar to #8857, no one has stepped up to give this high-profile NFT personality via social media.
8. CryptoPunk #5577: $7.7 million (2,501 ETH)
Sale Details: This cowboy-hatted punk sold for 2,500 ETH in February 2022, and it’s believed to have been purchased by Compound Finance CEO Robert Leshner, who enthusiastically “Yeehaw” on Twitter following the sale.
Why it’s valuable: It’s one of 24 Ape Punks, and one of 142 punks wearing cowboy hats, and as Ape Punks’ popularity continues to rise in the Bored Ape-dominated NFT market, it’s unlikely we’ll see high-profile transactions like#5577for some time.
7. CryptoPunk #4156: $10.2 million (2,500 ETH)
Sale Details: On December 9, 2021, CryptoPunk#4156sold for $10.2 million.
Why it’s valuable: While CryptoPunk#4156isn’t the highest-selling NFT in the CryptoPunk family, it’s undoubtedly punk’s most notable NFT transaction of 2021. That’s because Bandana ape#4156has become synonymous with prominent NFT personality influencer and builder Punk4156, and as a result, when the sale happened, it felt like the end of an era.
The sale also marks a major turning point for the CryptoPunk ecosystem, as the legendary Larva Labs project has long been considered one of the most important NFT series in existence, and issues surrounding Larva Labs’ copyright policy (which Punk4156 has largely disputed) were the reason behind this major transaction and the drop in Punk prices at the end of the year.
6. Tpunk #3442: $10.5 million (120 million TRX)
Sale Details: This rare “Joker” Tpunk was purchased in August 2021 by TRON founder Justin Sun, who made headlines in 2023 when the SEC charged Sun and his company with fraud and other securities law violations.
Why it’s valuable: In the NFT space, imitation often seems to be the sincerest form of flattery, and to that end, it’s no surprise that the Tpunks NFT series is inspired by — you guessed it — the famous NFT series CryptoPunks. Made up of 10,000 avatars on the Tron blockchain, Tpunks is definitely top-tier as far as derivatives go.
5. CryptoPunk #7523: $11.7 million (4,700 ETH)
Sale Details: CryptoPunk #7523, dubbed by many as the “Corona Alien” for its prominent mask features, was the largest punk sale of 2021, and it’s worth noting that the blockchain did not reflect this prominent sale, as it took place as part of Sotheby’s 2021 June Native Digital Sale.
Why it’s valuable: Both Straybits, the original minter of #7523, and Sillytuna, the second collector of Punk (who offered the auction item), are important parts of the NFT community, so this sale is seen as a huge win for the NFT ecosystem and a major boost to mainstream NFT adoption.
4. CryptoPunk #5822: $23.7 million (8,000 ETH)
Sale Details: The most expensive CryptoPunk ever sold is punk #5822, this alien-style punk wearing a blue turban was sold on February 12, 2022 for $23 million, more than twice the price of the second highest-grossing punk. The buyer was Chain CEO Deepak Thapliyal, who tweeted a photo of his punk after the purchase. It was close to becoming the highest-selling NFT at the time of the sale, but fell just a few million behind.
Why it's valuable: Since it's one of only nine aliens in the series, it's bound to fetch a high price.
3. Beeple, Human One: $28.9 million (4,700 ETH)
Sale Details: Beeple’s Human One sold for $28.9 million on November 9, 2021, as part of Christie’s 21st Century Evening Sale, with the buyer being entrepreneur Ryan Zurrer.
Why it’s valuable: Human One is a one-of-a-kind NFT, and as the first physical work by the renowned artist, both the NFT and the electronic sculpture were auctioned as one lot. Considering the massive sale of Beeple’s Everydays (also on this list), many were unsure how much this new, evolving digital masterpiece would fetch at auction. However, as Christie’s continues to help legitimize NFTs as authentic works of art, it’s no wonder that Beeple’s Human One will be second only to Beeple himself in 2021.
2. Julian Assange and Pak, Clock: $52.7 million (16,593 ETH)
Sale Details: In February 2022, Julian Assange and Pak’s Clock became the second most expensive single NFT ever sold, the NFT depicts a timer that counts the days Assange has spent in prison, and is part of the pak and Assange Review series, which also launched a dynamic open version.
Why it’s valuable: Pak, who has remained anonymous throughout his career while becoming one of the highest-earning living artists, took to Twitter shortly after the auction to label the effort “from the people, for the people” as a “drop shared by no creators, developers, platforms, middlemen.” The work was purchased by AssangeDAO, an organization whose primary mission is to fight for the freedom of the WikiLeaks founder.
1. Beeple, Everydays: The First 5000 Days: 6,930,000 USD (38,525 ETH)
Sale Details: The most notable NFT sale (and the most expensive NFT sale to date) was Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days, which sold for $69.3 million. Justin Sun was an active bidder for the piece, but at the last minute, BitAccess founder Vignesh Sundaresan outbid him by $250,000.
Why it’s valuable: Not only was this the most expensive NFT sale ever, but the event had a snowball effect in mainstream media and brought the term “NFT” into homes around the world. Before Christie’s decided to give NFTs a try with an online auction, the act of minting, collecting, and trading NFTs was seen as a niche market at best. But after Beeple acquired the largest bag of all NFTs, it was clear to even Saturday Night Live that NFTs’ time had arrived.
Honorable Mention for Most Expensive NFT Sale
UkrainDAO PartyBid: $6.7 million (2,258 ETH)
In February 2022, Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova, Trippy Labs, and members from the influential PleasrDAO came together to form UKDAO to raise funds for those affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and after a few days of collecting donations, Tolokonnikova launched a PartyBid — essentially a way to crowdfund to buy NFTs at auction — to purchase a 1/1 NFT of the Ukrainian flag.
A total of 3,271 bidders raised approximately 2,258 ETH (just under $6.7 million). The timeliness of the auction and PartyBid’s unique mechanism undoubtedly helped the Ukrainian NFT sell for a high price and set a precedent for similar mechanisms, potentially spurring even larger sales. Although the NFT sold more than number 20 on the list, it is included as an honorable mention due to the unique circumstances of this sale and the fact that the purchase was crowdfunded.
Additionally, while these pieces didn’t make our list of the biggest NFT sales, they still sold for impressive prices.
$4,000,000+
Mad Dog Jones’ work Replicator sold for $4.1 million in April 2021, which was over $4 million, and according to the artist: “Replicator tells the story of a machine traveling through time, a reflection on past forms of groundbreaking innovation and a metaphor for the continuum of modern technology, and I will be interested to see how collectors react as the work evolves and the NFTs they own continue to create new generations.”
$3,000,000+
This list wouldn’t be complete without some Bored Apes, and in October 2021, Ape#8817fetched $3.4 million at Sotheby’s Metaverse auction, with Ape wearing a wool turtleneck, rainbow twirl hat, and silver earrings.
$2,000,000+
Bored Ape#3739sold for $2.9 million in September 2021. The ape is a six-featured golden-haired ape wearing a captain's hat, a black T-shirt, and laser eyes. Based on these features, Bored Ape#3749is the 27th rarest ape, according to Rarity Tools.
FEWOCiOUS’s work, “Nice to meet you, I’m Mr. MiSUNDERSTOOD,” sold for $2.8 million in 2021. The digital work was in MP4 format, however, the winning bidder also received a physical, life-size sculpture of the same name.
The third most expensive NFT sold at the BAYC auction was #8585, a psychedelic rainbow ape that sold for nearly $2.7 million on OpeaSea, with the ape wearing an elaborate crown, red heart-shaped sunglasses, and posing while biting his lip.
$1,500,000+
On February 16, 2023, Yuga Labs revealed who took the top spot on the Dookey Dash leaderboard, with Fortnite player Kyle Jackson, known in the esports community as “Mongraal,” earning a high score of 928,522 points, winning the mysterious and coveted Key.
Jackson subsequently listed The Key on OpenSea for 2,222 ETH, and it was ultimately purchased for 1,000 ETH by Adam Weitsman, the CEO of a scrap metal shredding company with locations in New York and Pennsylvania.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated. A previous version of this article listed Tpunk #3443. This has been updated to the correct number, Tpunk #3442. Additionally, a previous version of this article listed the Clock’s sale price as 16,953 ETH. This has since been updated to 16,593 ETH.
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