CryptoPunks surpasses BAYC in market cap as blue chip NFTs continue battle

• CryptoPunks’ market share rose to 8.63% while BAYC dipped below 8%.
• Wrapped CryptoPunks accounted for over 25% of the total NFT sales.

The Non-Fungible Token [NFT] landscape, like other crypto verticals, faced its share of downsides following the USD Coin [USDC] depegging saga. The focus has now shifted to the ensuing battle unfolding between blue chip NFTs CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club [BAYC].

As per a 19 March tweet, the market capitalization of CryptoPunks eclipsed BAYC with a value of over 847,000 Ether [ETH] as compared to the latter’s value of about 778,000 ETH at the time of writing. With this, CryptoPunks’ share of the market rose to 8.63% while that of BAYC dipped below 8%.

In the past 7 days, the floor price of BAYC fell by more than 8%, and CryptoPunks rose by 13%. CryptoPunks surpassed BAYC (776,000 ETH) with a market value of about 847,000 ETH. The reason may include the launch of Warpped CryptoPunks on Blur; and nftperp trading users are… https://t.co/mtaXdMcogP

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) March 19, 2023

Additionally, the floor price of the two projects revealed a contrasting trajectory. CryptoPunks’ floor price exploded to its six-month high of about $74 at press time, data from NFT Price Floor revealed.

Source: NFT Price Floor

On the other hand, BAYC’s floor price plunged to a little over $61, representing a drop of 15% on a month-to-date (MTD) basis.

Floor price is the lowest value for any NFT in a given collection. A drop in a project’s floor price may suggest that an NFT project is losing traction.

Source: NFT Price Floor

Wrapped CryptoPunks

The recent bull-run in CryptoPunks’ trading volume and value could be ascribed to the launch of Wrapped CryptoPunks on Blur [BLUR] marketplace. According to NFTGo, Wrapped CryptoPunks accounted for over 25% of the total NFT sales from 13 March till press time.

Source: NFTGo

Cryptopunks pre-date the ERC-721, the main standard for NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. Wrapped Cryptopunks is a dApp deployed on the Ethereum protocol, which allows holders to convert their original CryptoPunks into ERC-721 tokens on a 1:1 basis.

These wrapped tokens could then be traded and exchanged in popular NFT marketplaces. It should be noted that Wrapped CryptoPunks are already listed on the OpenSea platform.

NFT market recedes

The FUD triggered by the depegging of USDC stablecoin had a significant impact on the NFT landscape. The overall sales volume plummeted by 55% from the beginning of March, while the market cap declined as well.

The blue chip NFT index, considered as a bellwether for the market, recorded a considerable drop of 2.5% over the last week. However, a slight recovery could be seen which could be due to the impetus provided by CryptoPunks of late.

Source: NFTGo