Tips
1. NFTs are widely known for being expensive digital assets but some of them have been sold at record-breaking prices
2. In 2022, the NFT market generated a $24.7 billion organic trading volume, as reported by DappRadar.
3. Most expensive NFTs are all minted on the Ethereum blockchain
NFTs or non-fungible tokens are soaring in popularity this year. Despite the bear market, the collectors are actively buying, selling, and trading NFTs. Throughout the year, a lot of famous NFT collections were dropped with the most expensive NFT sold on the marketplace. Here’s everything you need to know.
Ever since the first viral NFT collection drop (CryptoPunks), the world hasn’t been the same. Digital art became an expensive piece as the world pried its eyes on the next best NFT collection to buy.
By the time the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection was released, many NFT projects trended in the marketplace and the Bored Ape became a famous NFT collection with the most expensive NFTs sold.
As the demand for NFTs increases, the competition to buy the most expensive NFT or a famous NFT has become quite high. Whenever a celebrity or a well-known NFT project drops a collection, people clog the NFT platforms to grab one.
This is because buying an NFT has now become a proper business with profits. People who bought CryptoPunks on the day of its launch have sold it at double the price today.
If you are a new trader or looking for a chance to invest in NFTs, check out the latest and upcoming NFT collections on NFTStudio24.
We have compiled some of the most famous and expensive NFTs around the world in 2023. Make sure to remember the names so that next time they go out for bidding, you are on site to grab the chance! Here’s all you need to know:
- Pak’s The Merge: $91.8 Million
2. Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days: $69.3M
3. Clock by Pak and Assange: $52.7M
4. Beeple’s HUMAN ONE: $28.9M
5. CryptoPunk #5822: $23.7M
6. CryptoPunk #7523: $11.8M
7. TPunk #3442: $10.5M
8. CryptoPunk #4156: $10.26M
9. CryptoPunk #5577: $7.7M
10. CryptoPunk #3100: $7.58M
11. CryptoPunk #7804: $7.57M
12. Dmitri Cherniak’s Ringers #109: $7.1 million
13. XCOPY’s Right-click and Save As Guy: $7M
14. UkraineDAO Ukraine Flag 1/1 NFT: $6.7M
15. CryptoPunk #8857: $6.63M
16. Beeple’s Crossroad: $6.6M
17. XCOPY’s All Time High in the City: $6.2M
18. Ross Ulbricht’s FreeRoss: $6.12M
19. XCOPY’s A Coin for the Ferryman: $6M
20. Beeple’s Ocean Front: $6M
21. Dmitri Cherniak’s Ringers #879: $5.9M
22. Edward Snowden’s Stay Free: $5.4M
BONUS – Mad Dog Jones’ REPLICATOR: $4.1M
1. Pak’s The Merge: $91.8M
Auction: Nifty Gateway
Owner: Many individuals
Murat Pak is a famous digital artist and widely known for his best-selling NFT “The Merge”. This project broke the internet by accumulating $91.8 million in sales. It was a collection made up of 312,686 pieces, currently owned by 28,983 investors.
Although the NFT is simply a white-mass ball with a black background, the unique built-in mechanism drew people in. The more people invested in this, the greater its mass would grow. To maintain its scarcity, Pak also integrated a supply limit that decreases with time.
2. Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days: $69.3M
Auction: Christie’s
Owner: Vignesh Sundaresan
Beeple or Mike Winkelmann holds the record of #1 best-selling digital artist in the world for his Everydays: The First 5000 Days NFT sold for a shocking price of 38525 ETH, $69.3M to the angel investor, Vignesh Sundaresan.
The famous NFT is basically a collage of 5,000 artworks hand drawn by Beeple himself every day in the span of over thirteen years. Although the collage work might look as if it’s just pieces of pixels but if you zoom in the art pieces can be seen.
According to Christie’s description, the artworks in the collage depict “Society’s obsession with and fear of technology; the desire for and resentment of wealth; and America’s recent political turbulence appear frequently throughout the work.”
Everydays: The First 5000 Days NFT was also Christie’s first-ever digital art to go live on auction in March 2021.
The NFT also holds value not only in the NFT community but also in the mainstream media as well. Furthermore, Beeple was already a very famous artist widely known for his art in internet culture and modern humor.
When the news of Beeple selling his most expensive NFT collage sold for $69.3M went out, many digital artists and illustrators entered the NFT space in hopes to sell their own artwork and establish a career just like Beeple.
All in all, it is the most expensive NFT sold in the world.
3. Clock by Pak and Assange: $52.7M
Marketplace: censored.art on Ethereum blockchain
Owner: AssangeDAO
The Clock NFT is a timer that counts the days WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has spent in prison by digital artist Pak as part of a collaboration project with Assange called Censored collection.
Clock NFT is simply a timer ticking every day, reminding his supporters about the unfairness and injustice done to the founder. He has been charged with 175 years in jail, and the clock counts them in days.
This famous NFT was bought by AssanageDAO, an organization working towards the freedom of Julian Assange, for 16953 ETH, around $52.7M in a bid, and all the earnings from the most expensive NFT were sent to Wau Holland Foundation for Assange’s legal defense.
4. Beeple’s HUMAN ONE: $28.9M
Auction: Christie’s
Owner: Ryan Zurrer
Yet another famous NFT by Beeple that made it to the most expensive NFT to be sold list is the HUMAN ONE for $28.9M.
There’s no doubt in saying Beeple is the best-selling digital artist of the 21st century. His HUMAN ONE is a kinetic metaverse avatar wearing an astronaut-like outfit and helmet walking inside an in-cased cube and the backgrounds keep changing to different landscapes.
When asked where he got the inspiration, Beeple explained he was experimenting with the TVs on rollers in a little box unit. The new shapes and patterns within the box inspired him to create the final art piece called HUMAN ONE. All in all, it is a lifelong evolving project that Beeple will continue to work on and bring new meaning to.
The NFT went on auction at Christie’s 21st Century Evening Sale held on November 9, 2021, and was instantly sold out. The HUMAN ONE owner, Vine Ventures founder Ryan Zurrer, was given a physical art piece and the digital art piece of the NFT.
5. CryptoPunk #5822: $23.7M
Marketplace: OpenSea
Owner: Deepak Thapliyal
CryptoPunk #5822 is the most expensive NFT from the CryptoPunks NFT collection. This pixel-generated PFP art has been the talk of the town having high rarity traits.
Owned by the Chain CEO, Deepak Thapliyal, CryptoPunk #5822 is among the nine NFTs that fall in the Alien type. All of the Alien-type CryptoPunks have sold for high prices and this one is the most expensive NFT.
CryptoPunk #5822 was sold for 8,000 ETH, which amounts to $23.7M. It was close to ranking #2 or #3 because of its price but now it ranks #4 among the most expensive NFT in 2023.
6. CryptoPunk #7523: $11.8M
Auction: Sotheby’s
Owner: Shalom Meckenzie
CryptoPunk #7523 also known as the Masked Alien Punk is also among the nine alien NFT traits from the CryptoPunks collection. This famous NFT went on auction at Sotheby’s during the time of COVID-19 and masks were relevant. With a unique gold earring and a cap as part of the NFT traits, the CryptoPunk looks attractive and valuable.
In fact, one of the biggest reasons why CryptoPunk #7523 was sold for 4700 ETH, around $11.8M, is because this NFT holds an important moment of history when the world went on a complete shutdown, and masks became the culture.
The famous NFT was purchased by Shalom Meckenzie, the largest shareholder of DraftKings and founder of SBTech Limited.
7. TPunk #3442: $10.5M
Platform: tpunks.com on Tron
Owner: Justin Sun (former)
After the popularity of CryptoPunks NFTs rose, Tron blockchain released a CryptoPunk version called TPunks on its marketplace. Although the TPunks NFT collection cannot rival the CryptoPunks NFT collection in terms of sales volume, it is still a valuable NFT in the Tron marketplace.
Among TPunks NFT collection, TPunk #3442 is the most expensive NFT to be sold on the marketplace bought by the founder of Tron, Justin Sun for 120 million TRX, which is $10.5M.
The NFT is inspired by the Joker character from the DC comics in a pixelated generative form of PFP art. It has all the attributes of the original Joker; however, it still doesn’t amount to the worth it was bought for. Perhaps, the founder was trying to invest in his project to show his confidence in its success.
Eventually, Sun gave away the NFT to the APENFT marketplace, a Tron-based NFT platform. It is still worth mentioning in this list because $10.5M is a huge amount for an NFT.
8. CryptoPunk #4156: $10.26M
Marketplace: OpenSea
Owner: 67954A
CryptoPunk #4156 is a famous NFT in the CryptoPunks collection because of its value. Sold for a whopping price of 2500 ETH ($10.26M) on December 21, 2021, the NFT is the most traded digital collectible on the secondary marketplace. because it was similar to a well-known builder and NFT influencer, Punk4156.
The famous NFT features an Ape type wearing a blue bandana.
This became the most expensive NFT after it was featured in Beeple’s artworks and also because of the Nouns project launched by Punk4156 who first bought the CryptoPunk #4156 for $1.25 million but then sold it at a high price. The latest sale price is $10.26M owned by an unknown collector.
However, there were complicated commercialization rights disputes or copyright issues that questioned Larva Labs’ policy on CryptoPunks, so it was a highly discussed NFT in the community as well.
9. CryptoPunk #5577: $7.7M
Marketplace: OpenSea
Owner: Robert Leshner
Another Ape type of pixel-generated CryptoPunk falls in the top 10 most expensive NFT in the world. CryptoPunk #5577 wears a cowboy hat and dominates the eighth place among the famous NFT collectibles bought for 2,501 ETH by Robert Leshner, CEO of Compound Finance.
After the alien type, the Ape type is the most valuable trait based on rarity in the CryptoPunks NFT collection. In fact, there are only 24 Ape Cryptopunks from 10,000 punks.
Ever since Bored Ape’s popularity, every NFT collection that features apes in them is known to be more valuable in the NFT community than others. The CryptoPunk apes are also one of the most expensive NFTs, especially since Yuga Labs has acquired this collection.
10. CryptoPunk #3100: $7.58M
Marketplace: OpenSea
Owner: 7B8961
Seeing the most expensive and famous NFT in the top 10 are mostly CryptoPunks, which means collectors and NFT enthusiasts love this kind of art or the punks’ art in general. For #9, CryptoPunk #3100 takes the crown sold for 4200 ETH, around $7.58M.
CryptoPunk #3100 is an alien type wearing a sports-like headband. Most sports personalities prefer buying CryptoPunks with headbands but no one really knows who owns CryptoPunk #3100 NFT.
11. CryptoPunk #7804: $7.57M
Marketplace: OpenSea
Owner: Peruggia
CryptoPunk #7804 is another alien-type punk puffing smoke from a pipe that is said to be owned by NFT influencer Peruggia. Fun fact, it was bought on the same day CryptoPunk #5577 was sold, i.e. March 11, 2021.
The most expensive NFT was the center of attention in the community when the news of someone buying a famous NFT for 4200 ETH came out, and eventually, Peruggia became a personality to follow on social media.
12. Dmitri Cherniak’s Ringers #109: $7.1 million
Platform: Art Blocks
Owner: 55FAF0
Dmitri Cherniak is an engineer-made artist who perceives automation as an interactive creative process instead of the usual “robotic” stereotype. In Ringers #109, the artist portrays the same art perspective by hand and automation software.
“Each output from ‘Ringers’ is derived from a unique transaction hash and generated in Javascript in the browser,” says Cherniak.
One string wrapped around different sizes of pegs to show the “variety of combinations the algorithm can produce.”
This famous NFT artwork was part of the Arts Block Curated Collections, where it gained a lot of attention from art enthusiasts and collectors.
The art piece was alleged to be a plagiarized work but when it was finally minted on a blockchain, the rumors went away; it still remains one of the most expensive NFTs in 2023.
13. XCOPY’s Right-click and Save As Guy: $7M
Marketplace: SuperRare
Owner: Cozomo de’ Medici
XCOPY, one of the earliest NFT artists in the space, has long dominated digital art with his futuristic code-like artwork. The Right-click and Save As Guy is a famous phrase used by non-NFT people and is an ongoing meme joke in the NFT community.
When the NFTs first came out, a lot of people made fun of them by calling them JPEG images. One comment that grabbed everyone’s attention was “Why would I buy it when I can right click and save as?”
Inspired by this comment, XCOPY minted this NFT in 2018. The artwork didn’t grab much attention at the time it was released; however, after Beeple’s Everydays NFT was sold, people had their eyes on digital NFT art and eventually landed on this masterpiece.
The artwork became the most expensive NFT when Cozomo de’ Medici bought it for 1600 ETH ($7M), which is ten times higher than its initial purchase price.
XCOPY’s artworks have become quite famous; they now rank among the best-selling artists after Beeple and PAK.
14. UkraineDAO Ukraine Flag 1/1 NFT: $6.7M
Platform: PartyBid
Owner: 3,085 contributors
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the government decided to turn to the cryptocurrency world for donations. People donated thousands of cryptocurrencies and NFTs to help the country recover its defenses and fight against Russia in the war.
During this time, UkraineDAO, supported by a Russian activist group member, emerged as a powerful organization to help fund the war-stricken Ukrainians for food, shelter, and security.
The Ukraine Flag 1/1 NFT sale was organized in partnership with Pussy Riot, a punk rock band, to gather funds by selling the flag.
According to Pussy Riot, instead of selling artwork, bidding on Ukraine’s flag was a powerful artistic expression to convey the message to Russia and the world.
Many people participated in this fundraiser. UkraineDAO managed to collect $6.7 million from 3,085 contributors. Now, Ukraine Flag 1/1 NFT is listed among the most expensive NFT worldwide.
This famous NFT is a big example of how technology can be more than just collecting digital assets and used to support and gather funds for a good cause as well.
15. CryptoPunk #8857: $6.63M
Marketplace: OpenSea
Owner: DF37AC
CryptoPunk #8857 is a zombie punk, an early and famous NFT from the CryptoPunks collection that went through a dramatic trading scene. An NFT collector Keyboard Monkey bought this NFT and sold it in 24 hours, earning a one million dollar profit.
The famous NFT CryptoPunk #8857 was sold for 2000 ETH which is $6.63M on the marketplace, becoming one of the most expensive NFTs in 2023. The current owner is unknown.
16. Beeple’s Crossroad: $6.6M
Marketplace: Nifty Gateway, auctioned at Christie’s
Owner: @babybeluga
Beeple came back with another masterpiece with a political commentary on Donald Trump’s loss against Biden in the US elections.
All the chaos lies dead with Trump’s body filled with negative writings on his naked body as people cross the street, this was Crossroad NFT.
There were two pieces made for Trump, one was for winning the election and another was when he lost. So, when Biden took the seat, this famous NFT became a valuable NFT to own.
Usually, Beeple’s all artworks are expensive but this one was more politically direct and strong, which showed the artist’s vision. This NFT is the most expensive artwork to be sold this year.
17. XCOPY’s All Time High in the City: $6.2M
Marketplace: SuperRare
Owner: @rarecollector3000
Another work is a famous NFT that depicts the realities of every person around the world. He combines his glitchy art style, futurism, dystopian, dark, and demeaning in All Time High in the City to express a ferryman escorting a person across a blood-red river, “Styx” in a boat with black sketched buildings in the background.
This NFT was bought for 1,630 ETH ($6.2M) by rarecollector3000, making it an expensive NFT this year.
18. Ross Ulbricht’s FreeRoss: $6.12M
Marketplace: SuperRare
Owner: unknown
FreeRoss is the first NFT minted from Ross Ulbricht Genesis Collection hand-drawn by Ross Ulbricht during his time in prison. Ulbricht is the creator of Silk Road, an online black market, and was also involved in blockchain technology. He was arrested in 2013 and has been serving a life sentence for 10 years now.
This NFT collection was created by FreeRossDAO to help “relieve the suffering of the incarcerated and their families” via the Art4Giving fund. The organization hopes to establish a positive legacy of Ulbricht in the blockchain industry by releasing his personally drawn NFTs.
19. XCOPY’s A Coin for the Ferryman: $6M
Marketplace: SuperRare
Owner: @electricmeat
XCOPY keeps making hits after hits with his artwork. Their futuristic dystopian art has become the most expensive NFT to own for any collector or art enthusiast. A Coin for the Ferryman is one of their classic artworks from 2018.
The famous NFT was sold for 1330 ETH around $6M to @electricmeat. At first, it was only sold for $139 in 2018, but in 2021 when digital art became known and XCOPY rose to popularity, the 1/1 NFT was bought at a record-breaking price.
20. Beeple’s Ocean Front: $6M
Marketplace: Nifty Gateway
Owner: Justin Sun
Ocean Front is artistic imagery of climate change and global warming by Beeple in collaboration with the Open Earth Foundation. The famous NFT shows a tree standing on top of containers and other shipments on a wood-like structure above the ocean.
Beeple’s NFT works are more than just art, they convey strong messages to the world by exploring different themes about current affairs, and then he molds them together with his artistic style and interpretations.
Ocean Front by Beeple was sold for $6M to Justin Sun, the founder of the TRON foundation. He is the current owner of this famous NFT artwork. The earnings were given to the Open Earth Foundation.
21. Dmitri Cherniak’s Ringers #879: $5.9M
Platform: Art Blocks
Owner: Three Arrows Capital
Another famous NFT artwork from the Ringers NFT collection by Dmitri Cherniak made record sales on the marketplace. The Ringers collection features 10,000 artworks and the Ringers #879 stood out among all as a valuable art piece with rarity traits.
Ringers are basically digital art and automation combined through software that showcases a single thread in different shapes of pegs.
Although all of his pieces have been sold for thousands of dollars, Ringers #879 was sold for $5.9M, making it one of the most expensive NFT.
22. Edward Snowden’s Stay Free: $5.4M
Marketplace: Foundation.app
Owner: @PleasrDAO
Edward Snowden is a former computer intelligence consultant who leaked confidential information about mass surveillance from the National Security Agency in 2013.
Stay Free is an art piece 1/1 NFT by Snowden himself comprising a compilation of court rulings and decisions regarding the NSA’s mass surveillance violation designed as a portrait of Snowden by Platon using open-source software.
It is a famous NFT that made history and brought new privacy protection laws in the world, especially in the US, related to personal information and surveillance. Stay Free was auctioned by the Freedom of the Press Foundation and purchased by @PleasrDAO for 2,224.00 ETH on April 17, 2021.
Bonus – Mad Dog Jones’ REPLICATOR: $4.1M
Platform: Phillips
Owner: unknown collector
REPLICATOR by Mad Dog Jones also known as Michah Dowbak ranks #22 most expensive NFT to be sold in 2023. It is the digital art of a photocopier machine in an office-like background in Los Angeles inspired by a “complex narrative that deftly interweaves medium, form, and function.”
“REPLICATOR is the story of a machine through time. It is a reflection on forms of past groundbreaking innovation and serves as a metaphor for modern technology’s continuum,” Jones says.
It is a unique art piece in which Jones explores a machine’s journey by utilizing smart contract technology which creates seven distinct generations with time.
There are no replicas of the original piece, the artist uses jams that take the photocopier machine as the central piece, called Jam artworks. So far, 220 artworks and 144 Jams have been generated from the piece.
The original art piece, the above image, is Jones’ most expensive NFT to be sold on the marketplace for $4M in April 2021 on the Phillips art platform.
Other most expensive NFTs
Digital art in NFTs is a vast industry where thousands of artworks are produced almost every day but only a few make it to the mainstream or become a famous NFT.
Other than the above-mentioned most expensive NFT list, there are many more NFTs that are worth mentioning:
- Bored Ape #8817 sold for $3.4M
- Bored Ape #3739 purchased for $2.9M
- FEWOCiOUS’ Mr. MiSUNDERSTOOD bought for $2.8M
- Bored Ape #8585 sold for $2.7M
- XCOPY’s Some Other Asshole for $2.3M bought by Cozomo de’ Medici
- FEWOCiOUS’ Hello, I’m Victor and This Is My Life sold for $2.1M
- XCOPY’s Death Dip bought for $1.58M
- The first and most famous NFT, Kevin McCoy’s Quantum sold for $1.58M
Final words
As the years pass by, the worth of famous NFTs will increase just like physical artworks. In fact, many people believe Beeple is the 21st century Picasso because of his most expensive NFT collage and other artworks worth in the market.
If you are a collector, it is essential to keep an eye on every artwork that you believe will turn out to be a famous NFT. There are many examples of artworks selling for $10 but then increasing to thousands of dollars because of the reputation of the collection or hype about the work or artist.
