CryptoPunks Rally Past $200K Floor for First Time in Over a Year Amid NFT Rebound

CryptoPunks, the 10,000-piece pixel-art NFT collection launched on Ethereum in 2017, is gaining momentum once again as its floor price swells.

The minimum amount people can buy into the collection has been steadily rising since August of last year, up from 20.45 ETH to 53.98 ETH—a 163% gain.

With the price of Ethereum around $3,745, CryptoPunks’ floor price hovers just above $200,000. That’s the highest it’s been since March 8, 2024.

The uplift follows a major sweep last week, when an unknown user purchased 45 Crypto Punks in a single go. Sweeping, in the context of NFTs, refers to a strategy that involves purchasing a substantial number of NFTs from a particular collection.

Beeple, a digital artist known for selling an NFT artwork for $69 million via Christie’s back in 2021, dedicated the “BIG SWEEP” artwork last week in response to the purchase.

The surge also follows the busiest day for Ethereum NFTs since February. On July 20, trading volume reached $26 million, followed by $24.9 million on July 21, according to data from Dragonfly’s Hildebert Moulié.

More than half of that volume came from CryptoPunks.app, the collection’s official marketplace.

Strategic purchases by major holders, including multi-million-dollar acquisitions and targeted buys of traits such as “hoodie” Punks, hint at renewed interest in NFTs, despite the sector never having fully recovered from the lofty heights witnessed during the previous bull run.

Yet a weaker U.S. dollar, driven by volatile macroeconomic conditions, has lifted the dollar-denominated value of Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

Because CryptoPunks are priced in Ethereum, gains in the crypto have translated into a higher floor price and market capitalization when measured in dollars.

The total NFT market capitalization soared from $3.6 billion at the start of July to $6.8 billion, CoinGecko data shows. Historically, a strong Ethereum performance has correlated with a positive uplift for high-profile NFT collections built on its blockchain.

Crypto Punks, meanwhile, have dominated the lending platform Gondi, “with over $21 million in active loans, showing they remain one of the most trusted forms of NFT collateral,” according to research in May from Dapp Radar analyst Sara Gherghelas.