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2021 was the year when digital currencies and blockchain saw an enormous surge, both in market capital and in infrastructure development. 

With non fungible tokens (NFTs) becoming the internet’s latest obsession, these digital tokens are everywhere now. NFTs are gaining massive popularity as they are becoming an increasingly popular way to showcase and sell digital artwork.

The NFT ecosystem has seen the entry of new players, from notable personalities from the cricket and acting worlds to artists. For this reason, the market has created astounding numbers over the last two years.

As per DappRadar, the NFT deals rose to around $10.7 billion in the third quarter of 2021. That is an amazing 704 percent expansion from the first quarter.

These are digital assets collected on a blockchain and could be a photograph, a video, a digital painting or artwork, or an audio recording. NFT deals these days tend to hit the headlines given the big numbers related to their sales. 

Let’s look at the most expensive or popular forms of art or collectables sold as an NFT.

The Merge – $91.8 million

The Merge, created by a renowned artist who goes by the pseudonym Pak, was sold on the NFT decentralised marketplace Nifty Gateway between December 2 and 4, 2021. It brought a record amount of $91.8 million, the most prized NFT sold that is a work of art.

Instead of being a single piece of work, it is fragmented art. The Merge is an exclusive digital art form in the realm of NFTs. The piece was fractionalised into 312,686 pieces and dispersed to 28,983 buyers. The artwork was sold in units known as “mass”. The collectors together purchased an aggregate of 266,445 masses.

The First 5000 Days – $69.3 million

The First 5000 Days is a significant artwork in the NFT community as it paves the way for mainstream audiences to scrutinise on fungible tokens.

Acclaimed digital artist Mike Winklemann, also called Beeple, made a record when his single piece of art, “Everydays-The First 5000 Days,” sold for $69.3 million at a Christie’s sale on March 11, 2021. The artwork was sold at an initial bid of approximately $100 by traditional customers. It is the most costly NFT deal recorded for a fine art piece by Beeple.

The artwork is so named in light of the fact that it is a montage of 5,000 individual pictures, made one every day for a long time from 2007 to 2020 by Beeple.

Human One – $28.9 million

On November 9, 2021, Beeple had his second-best NFT artwork deal. At a sale facilitated by Christie’s, the American artist’s creation, Human One, went under the mallet for $28.9 million. The buyer was Swiss businessman and investor Ryan Zurrer.

The Human One is a dynamic, life-generative sculpture made by Beeple, which is seven feet tall. It comprises of an astronaut meandering across changeable environments and can be modified by the artist – Beeple has vowed to “update” the Human One during his lifetime, so the workmanship won’t ever stay static.

CryptoPunk #5822 – $23.7 million

CryptoPunks is basically an assortment of 10,000 tokens called “punks” by their makers and collectors. Generally referred to as the OG NFT assortment, each is a collectible character, similar to an exchange card. No two “punks” are similar, which makes each CryptoPunk an exclusionary thing.

On February 13, 2022, CryptoPunk #5822 was sold for 8,000 ETH, which converts to approximately $23.7 million at the time of the offer. This makes it the costliest CryptoPunk deal of all time.

CryptoPunks have long been one of the most sought-after tokens in the NFT industry. One of the primary NFT projects, CryptoPunks was introduced in 2017. A making of Larva Labs, the acclaimed studio established by Canadian developers Matt Hall and John Watkinson.

CryptoPunk #7523 – $11.75 million

On June 2021, London’s auction house Sotheby’s saw CryptoPunk #7523, likewise named “Covid Alien,” was sold for $11.75 million, making it the costliest CryptoPunk ever sold.

The NFT had a place for a series of exceptional aliens, which comprised nine “Alien Punks”. The face mask adds to the uniqueness, making it the only Alien Punk with a mask.

The CryptoPunks is an NFT accumulation that comprises exceptionally produced characters based on the Ethereum blockchain.

According to Reuters, Sotheby’s uncovered the token and was purchased by Israeli businessman Shalom Meckenzie – the biggest shareholder of e-games organisation DraftKings.

Amitabh Bachchan’s NFT is one of the most expensive NFT sold for $9,66,00 (Rs 7.18 crore approx) in India till date.

A great instance is Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan’s NFT collection, which was sold in November for $966,000, the highest price in the country. The NFTs were sold on the homegrown NFT marketplace, BeyondLife.club, backed by NFT environment supplier GuardianLink. BeyondLife.club helps creators and brands make licenced NFTs.

The most successful “Madhushala” NFT assortment was his dad’s sonnet, recorded in the megastar’s own voice.

Overall, 6 million bidders attempted to claim the NFT in the first minute, and all 5,000 NFTs were sold in just 54 minutes. In general, 65 percent of the offers were from India and 35 percent from the rest of the World.