The market for crypto collectibles, also known as NFTs or non-fungible tokens, exploded in early 2021, exceeding 2.5 billion transactions volume in the first six months as NFTs gained overwhelming popularity. With million-dollar JPEG sales going through the roof, the primary debate surrounding these unique digital artworks has centred around one question: what made one NFT enjoy success while others were left entirely unnoticed? One of the reasons this was on everyone’s mind was because the boom has also witnessed NFT enthusiasts rediscovering some of the earliest non-fungible tokens, propelling the value of these NFT collectibles to hitherto-unknown highs.
One of these early NFT projects was CryptoPunks: a set of randomly generated pixel-based avatars that were dropped in 2017, but in 2021, these became one of the most desirable and most rare NFTs ever sold. However, this was not the only collection that became a sensation. After Crypto Punks made their big debut, Hashmasks, another community favourite, swept everyone away with a highly unique value proposition. What united both collections were rather distinctive aesthetic styles that, in many ways, defined the subsequent development of the NFT industry as a whole.
In today’s editorial, we will delve into what made these collectibles special, the reasons the community resonated with the aesthetics of JPEGs and why a new kid on the NFT block, Big Eyes Coin, might have the potential to exceed its predecessors. However, before we do that, let’s recap the basics about them NFTs. Let’s dive in.
It is hard to believe, but CryptoPunks was released for community feedback in 2017 when Ethereum’s ERC-721 NFT standard wasn’t even a thing then! The two-person team at Larva Labs dropped them as an experiment, with Ethereum wallet owners snatching up the 9,000 JPEGs released to the public, while Larva Labs held onto the rest.
NFT volume remained dormant for the next three years, but it wasn’t until late 2021 that demand skyrocketed for these digital collectibles. The secondary market value for CryptoPunks went through the roof, leading to multiple multi-million-dollar sales. These NFTs were even sold at auctions at Christie’s and Sotheby’s, and many influencers from the community used CryptoPunks as Twitter profile pictures.
However, what drove this collection’s success and major demand for CryptoPunks among the investors was not because they were one of the oldest NFT projects but because it was the first set of randomly generated profile pictures to resonate with the crypto flock on a massive scale. So, it would not be too farfetched to say that the success of these NFTs is directly responsible for the industry truly taking off.