These are the 10 most expensive (and some would say most iconic) NFTs ever sold, ranging from free to mint collections to NFTs auctioned at Sotheby’s and Christie’s. 

10. CryptoPunk #7804 — $7.57M

9. CryptoPunk #3100 — $7.58M

8. CryptoPunk #5577 — $7.7M

7. CryptoPunk #4156 — $10.26M

6. TPunk #3442 — $10.5M

5. CryptoPunk #7523 — $11.75M

4. CryptoPunk #5822 — 23.7M

3. HUMAN ONE by Beeple — 28.95M

2. Clock — $52.7M

1. Everydays: The First 5000 Days — 69.3M

Diving into the list! Starting at #10, we have...

10. CryptoPunk #7804 — $7.57M

CryptoPunks was the first in many ways — it was one of the first free to mint NFT collections, the inspiration behind the ERC 721, which established non-fungible tokens as we know them today, and one of the first PFP (profile picture) NFTs to get major attention. After its initial mint, NFT aficionados turned the collection into one of the most popular and coveted collections in the space. 

CryptoPunk #7804 sold for $7.57M because of its rarity as one of the few “alien” NFTs in the collection. 

9. CryptoPunk #3100 — $7.58M

More than one CryptoPunk will top this list of the most expensive NFTs ever sold. Similarly to CryptoPunk #7804, CryptoPunk #3100’s “alien” trait added to its rarity, helping it sell for $7.58M — proving that anything out of this world fits right in the NFT world. 

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8. CryptoPunk #5577 — $7.7M

In February 2022, a CryptoPunk NFT of an ape with a cowboy hat entered the chat. It enters the list at $7.7M, as the 10th most expensive NFT ever sold. 

‍7. CryptoPunk #4156 — $10.26M

Another CryptoPunk with unique features hits the list as one of the most expensive NFTs ever sold. In the case of CryptoPunk #4156, the rarity of its blue bandana (only 5% have this trait) and ape appearance (only 0.24% have this trait) made it extra appealing. It sold for $10.26M on July 15th, 2022. 

6. TPunk #3442 — $10.5M

TPunk #3442 shakes things up by interrupting CryptoPunk’s domination of this list. TPunks is a collection of 10,000 NFTs launched on the Tron blockchain, a first-of-its-kind event. Like CryptoPunks, the NFT is a pixel art PFP, but TPunk #3442 features a Joker. Tron blockchain founder Justin Sun bought the NFT in 2021 for $10.5M. 

5. CryptoPunk #7523 — $11.75M

In 2021, famed auction house Sotheby’s facilitated the sale of alien CryptoPunk #7523 for $11.75M. And for about six months, it was the highest-selling CryptoPunk NFT, that is, until another CryptoPunk NFT came around and took its crown. 

4. CryptoPunk #5822 — $23.7M 

Topping the list of CryptoPunk NFT sales is CryptoPunk #5822. The alien NFT sold for $23.7M, the highest amount ever paid for a CryptoPunk NFT to date. 

3. Human One by Beeple — $28.95M 

Famed digital art and NFT creator Mike Winkelmann, also known as Beeple, embraced the phygital, generative art NFT format with his second Christie’s exhibit. Human One NFT is a dynamic art sculpture of an astronaut walking through different environments. It sold for $28.95M. 

A phygital NFT has both a physical and digital component, and in this case, the accompanying physical sculpture creates a 3D experience by combining four different screens in a cube shape. Human One’s most dynamic feature is that Beeple has promised to update the artwork occasionally, making the art piece feel brand new anytime he does. 

2. Clock — $52.7M

Pak created an NFT timer that displays how long WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been imprisoned. AssangeDAO, a decentralized organization whose members advocate for Julian Assange, purchased the NFT for $52.7M. All profits of the sale reportedly went to a foundation that works on Assanage’s legal defense.

1. Everydays: The First 5000 Days — $69.3M 

Christie’s, the acclaimed art auction house, made history by auctioning Beeple’s “The First 5000 Days” NFT. The single NFT sold for $69.3M and put an exclamation point on a project that Beeple, Mike Winkelmann, has worked on since 2007. 

In May 2007, Beeple decided to create and share a piece of artwork daily. The auctioned NFT is a collage of the first 5,000 days of that art experiment. It made history in both the art world and the NFT world. 

Bonus! Merge — $91.8M 

While the rest of this list is ranking the most expensive individual NFTs ever, we felt like Merge deserved a special bonus spot on this list as the most expensive NFT collection ever. 

Created in December 2021, the open edition collection sparked so much interest that it only took 48 hours for the collection to sell for $91.8M. An open edition sale is a method of selling NFTs that allows for an unlimited number of NFTs to be minted within a given collection. Some open edition sales have time limits, while others remain open indefinitely. This is in contrast to limited edition NFT sales that have a set number of NFTs in a collection that can be minted.

Because Merge NFTs are dynamic NFTs, they also have a fun utility —  if someone owns more than one NFT, all of their Merge NFTs will combine to create one bigger circle on a black background. 

There are two reasons why some debate whether Merge is actually the top-selling collection ever. The first is that hypothetically, someone could purchase all the Merge NFTs and combine them into a single NFT, and the second is that Merge’s open edition release is often compared to other limited-edition releases, which feels like comparing apples to oranges. We’re not here to squash the debate, just to introduce the facts!