10 World's Most Expensive NFTs Ever Sold

What if we tell you that there are much more expensive NFTs than gold and diamonds in this world? Here are the 10 most expensive NFTs ever sold.

We have witnessed how cryptocurrencies managed to take the world by storm during 2021. This has made many people flock to get involved in the craze and willing to spend millions of dollars to purchase digital assets. Not to mention influencers and top celebrities who are participating and boosting the phenomenon even more.

In particular, NFT or Non-Fungible Tokens are increasingly popular throughout 2020 and 2021. According to a report from NFT data company Nonfungible.com, NFT trading in 2021 climbed 21,000% compared to the previous year to over $17 billion.

Fantastic numbers, right? You can't deny that NFT has entered the mainstream consciousness among millennials, especially after many major companies seem to welcome the idea with open arms. As you can see, now NFT stocks start to be the hotcakes that investors looking for.

Some digital assets are even worth more than gold or diamond. Ever heard of the Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks collections? Those are examples of NFT digital artworks which traded for millions.

Apart from that, the following have summarized the 10 most expensive NFTs in the world that have ever been sold:

1. The Merge by Pak: $91.8 million
2. CryptoPunk #3100 by Larva Labs: $90.5 million
3. The First 5000 Days by Beeple: $69.3 million
4. Human One by Beeple: $29.98 million
5. CryptoPunk #7523 by Larva Labs: $11.75 million
6. Right-Click and Save As Guy by XCOPY: $7.09 million
7. Ringers #109 by Art Blocks: $6.93 million
8. Crossroad by Beeple: $6.6 million
9. This Changed Everything by Sir Tim: $5.4 million
10. Save Thousands of Lives by Noora Health: $4.5 million

While many can't still understand why those assets can be so overpriced, it remains undeniable that the growth of NFTs was rapid and explosive in 2021. Now, let's take a look at those most expensive NFTs in this article below, starting from the 10th place.

10. Save Thousands of Lives by Noora Health

Save Thousands of Lives is an NFT created by Noora Health, an organization that saves the lives of at-risk patients in the South Asian region. Noora Health trains patients' families on how to care for the sick after leaving the hospital.

By teaching caregivers the knowledge and skills needed to care for their loved ones, the Noora program aims to reduce preventable complications, re-hospitalization, and even death.

In addition to health education, the non-profit organization is also auctioning off NFTs to support their work, which fortunately sold for 1337 ETH or $4.5 million in May 2021.

Profits from the sale will be allocated to help the organization's program on saving newborn lives. Noora Health estimates that for every $1,235 raised by selling NFT, they could save at least one life.

That is, the higher the price of these NFTs, the more lives they could save.

9. This Changed Everything by Sir Tim

This Changed Everything is an NFT of source code used for one of the earliest versions of the World Wide Web. This NFT was made by Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist and inventor of the Internet.

It was sold on June 30, 2021, to an anonymous user for $5.4 million through Sotheby's.

This Changed Everything comes with several gifts for its owner, such as a letter written by Sir Timothy John Berners, a digital poster of code written by him, as well as a time-stamped document containing a record of the Internet's early history.

8. Crossroad by Beeple

Crossroad is an animated NFT by Mike Winkelmann, better known as his artistic pseudonym, Beeple. Crossroad is just a 10-second short clip, featuring former US President Donald Trump lying on a field while pedestrians ignore him.

This Beeple masterpiece is highly regarded for offering something different than other NFTs, which you can tell by its fantastic price. This digital asset was sold for $6.6 million in February 2021 on Nifty Gateway.

This work was designed as a response to the 2020 presidential election. Crossroad consists of an encrypted video file, accompanied by a digital signature that cannot be duplicated, thereby giving the buyer the assurance that this NFT is a genuine copy.

7. Ringers #109 by Art Blocks

Ringers #109 is one generative art collection from the Art Blocks' 99,000 NFT Art Blocks. Ringer #109 was sold for 2,100 ETH for $6.93 million in October 2021 by an unidentified collector.

NarcissusGLRY co-founder, AKIRA, revealed themselves to be Ringers #109's seller on Twitter. Previously, AKIRA bought the NFT for only $230 in March 2021. If you calculate it, AKIRA managed to make a profit of 3,200,000% in just 6 months.

Inevitably, this sale made Ringers #109 the most costly NFT of the ART Blocks project, overtaking Ringers #879.

6. Right-Click and Save As Guy by XCOPY

On December 10, 2021, an NFT image called Right Click and Save As Guy was auctioned on the decentralized marketplace Superrare for 1,600 ETH or $7.09 million to a user named Comozo de Medici.

Comozo de Medici is none other than the pseudonym of world-class hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg. Right Click and Save As Guy is not the first XCOPY work purchased by Snoop Dogg.

The musician bought "Some Asshole" NFT for $4 million in September of the same year.

As the title suggests, this work targets people who don't believe in digital art. Right Click and Save As guy are often used as mock phrases and memes for those who think NFT is worthless.

5. CryptoPunk #7523 by Larva Labs

CryptoPunks are NFT collections based on the Ethereum blockchain consisting of unique characters. One of them, CryptoPunk #7523, is part of a series of unique aliens called 9 Alien Punks.

In June 2021, London auction house Sotheby's auctioned off CryptoPunk #7523, otherwise known as "Covid Alien" for $11.75 million.

Compared to all of its peers, CryptoPunk #7523 is one of the limited collections so it goes without saying that the price is extremely pricey.

4. Human One by Beeple

The Human One is a dynamic and life-giving video sculpture created by Beeple. It visualizes an astronaut roaming around in a changing environment that can be switched depending on the artist.

Of the many buyers interested in obtaining it from Christie's Auction House, crypto billionaire Ryan Zurrer managed to get it for $29.98 million on December 9, 2021.

3. The First 5000 Days by Beeple

Another Beeple creation, The First 5000 Days, is also included in the list of the most expensive NFT. This NFT is basically a collage of 5000 pieces of his work.

Starting in 2007, he promised to make one piece of art every day, and this is the result. Everydays: The First 5000 Days was auctioned at Christie's with an initial bid of approximately $69.3 million on February 21, 2021.

The digital artwork was purchased by MetaKovan, the founder of investment firm NFT Metapurse under his pseudonym. Interestingly, he uploaded the work and told people to download and copy it since he believed in free information.

2. CryptoPunk #3100 by Larva Labs

CryptoPunk #3100 is part of the 9 Alien Punks series in the form of an alien with a blue and white headband. This image is uncommon, as only 406 out of 10,000 CryptoPunks have a headband. 

This NFT became famous after it was sold for $7.58 million in March 2021. CryptoPunk #3100 was then resold on the NFT market.

The price spike might blow your mind away, as it is now selling for 35,000 ETH or $90.5 million, making it the 2nd most expensive NFT ever sold.

1. The Merge by Pak

The Merge is a digital artwork created by an anonymous digital artist named Pak. On December 6, 2021, The Merge was sold for $91.8 million on the decentralized Nifty Gateway marketplace.

The price may leave you open-mouthed, as The Merge is not a single object but can be broken down into 312,686 pieces that were sold to 28,983 buyers.

Essentially, The Merge is a single NFT artwork consisting of a collection of "masses" that users can purchase. These pieces can be gathered to make bigger bodies and re-sell them for higher prices.

The Merge is the only NFT in this top 10 list that has numerous owners.

EndNote

Considering the NFT phenomenon in 2021, it goes without saying that the crypto industry will continue to evolve constantly in 2022.

It is undeniable that NFT will be more and more popular this year, and the price will soar and break records. So don't be bewildered if, in the near future, you will hear news of NFT being sold for hundreds of million bucks.

Yet, NFT as an investment asset certainly remains a very high risk. While the craze of NFT in 2021 has made many artists rich, there is a big chance that almost all of current NFT artworks will become worthless in the next few years, leaving only a few artists surviving.

Assuming that you are interested to invest in NFTs, start by visiting reliable NFT marketplaces to begin your journey.