Yuga Labs, the creator of the CryptoPunks collection, has sold the corresponding intellectual property (IP) to the Infinite Node (NODE) Foundation. This transfer marks a significant shift for the legendary NFT collection. As of May 13, it can still be proud of a nearly $1.2 billion total market capitalization. The CryptoPunks collection is made up of 10,000 distinctly unique NFTs and has raked in more than $3 billion in total sales.
CryptoPunks, like many other NFTs, are unique pixel art characters generated by algorithms. Originally released in 2017 by the original creators, Larva Labs, a studio co-founded by Matt Hall and John Watkinson. As many of you know, Yuga Labs, best known for their Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection, acquired CryptoPunks back in 2022. The Bored Ape Yacht Club, third-largest NFT collection by market capitalization.
Last spring, Yuga Labs, the company behind Bored Apes, purchased the entire CryptoPunks collection from creators Larva Labs. Hall, Watkinson, and an attorney for Yuga Labs, as well as others. This acquisition of course included Meebits, another NFT collection from Larva Labs, which Yuga Labs subsequently sold in February. The highest-grossing CryptoPunk NFT sold for just under $24 million in 2022.
Our advisory board NODE has convened an art advisory board to oversee the CryptoPunks collection.
Our role is to build a networked architecture that allows digital art like CryptoPunks to thrive within both digital and art-historical canons. - NODE
changed the art world by existing outside of it and sparked a cultural shift that continues to reshape our digital world. - NODE
This announcement comes on the heels of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) closing an investigation into Yuga Labs in March. Yuga Labs celebrated the SEC’s closing of investigation as “a massive victory for NFTs.”
