CryptoPunk artwork sold as an NFT for $11.8 million at Sotheby’s

A non-fungible token (NFT) of a digital artwork called a “CryptoPunk” sold for $11.8 million on Thursday, auction house Sotheby’s said. CryptoPunks are a set of 10,000 pixel-art characters made by Larva Labs in 2017. The one sold by Sotheby’s — “CryptoPunk #7523” — is of the sought-after Alien variety with blue-green skin, and wearing a medical mask.

The work is in the form of an NFT – meaning it is authenticated by blockchain, which certifies its originality and ownership. The NFT is sent to the buyer’s cryptocurrency wallet; no physical artwork changes hands.

“CryptoPunk #7523” was sold for $11,754,000 as part of the Sotheby’s online auction “Natively Digital: A Curated NFT Sale”, which fetched a total of $17.1 million across works by 27 digital artists.