Relive the story of CryptoPunks, BAYC boring ape from 0 to 1

There is no shortage of new things in the NFT market. It is worth doing to review the most expensive and classic head projects and reflect on how they got to where they are today. Making rules and breaking them is the only rule for revolutionaries in this world. Let's sort out how CryptoPunks and BAYC Boring Ape got to where they are today.

1. Revisit CryptoPunk from 0 to 1: how important it is to set the rules of the NFT market
market

In the NFTs market, there is nothing more punk than having a CryptoPunk. Punk is a status symbol, a part of Internet history, an indescribably valuable asset, and punk may really be the most important NFT project.

CryptoPunks’ journey to unstardom is intertwined not only with the history of NFTs, but with the Ethereum blockchain itself. Collectors want them, millionaires love them, and the mainstream media doesn't know about them. Even the rise of popular algorithmically generated avatar projects like the Bored Ape Yacht Club can be traced directly to the CryptoPunk model.

market

CRYPTOPUNKS

So, for those of you who don't know about the project, we've invited GMoney, an investor, research advisor, and all-around futurist in the crypto world, to give us the ultimate guide to CryptoPunks: 10,000 Algorithmically Generated Unique Pixel Art How did the role become the most expensive NFT.

What are CryptoPunks?
Launched by product studio Larva Labs in June 2017 and acquired by Yuga Labs in 2022, CryptoPunks is one of the first collections of NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. It consists of 10,000 unique 24x24 pixel art images depicting humans (male and female), apes, zombies and aliens. Every punk can exhibit 87 unique combinations of attributes, or as most people say, traits. These attributes include things like hats, pipes, necklaces, earrings, blindfolds, etc.

A punk can have up to 7 traits. However, some punks can even have zero traits. You can see this in relation to value and scarcity in the graph below.

market

Who created CryptoPunks?
Unlike the more recent projects it has inspired, CryptoPunks wasn't originally about creating a community, it didn't even have a roadmap. The project is an experiment conceived by Canadian software developers and founders of Larva Labs, Matt Hall and John Watkinson.

At the time, the NFT market was a far cry from the strong market we see today. As a result, Punks got off to a slow start at first, albeit gaining a legion of collectors who believed in the technology the Ethereum blockchain had to offer. In the beginning, they were given away for free to anyone who wanted it. Because you need an Ethereum wallet to collect one, the supply is limited to those already invested in the cryptocurrency.

“CryptoPunks are important because the community grows organically around them,” explained GMoney. “They have a gimmick because they were one of the first NFT projects on Ethereum — and they were free to claim in the first place.”

GMoney said that early backers of CryptoPunks, such as now top big V Pranksy, DaveDave and SeedPhrase, "realized earlier than most that digital ownership was going to spread more and more on-chain. Being able to own and It will be very valuable to ask for something."

Since 2017, CryptoPunks has grown from a simple niche internet fad to the ultimate NFT project. While it's not technically the first NFT project on Ethereum, it's certainly the most influential. Many of those with the patience to hold have become multi-millionaires, and those lucky enough to get in before the 2021 craze are considered the most forward-thinking in the NFT space.