CryptoPunks
The pixelated misfits who kickstarted NFT history
It’s weird to watch history play out in front of you. But every so often, it happens. So close you can almost touch it – or own it, free from corporate power. For the early users of blockchain, CryptoPunks is that history. On June 23 2017, creative coders John Watkinson and Matt Hall embarked on an experiment. The Canadian duo (who founded Larva Labs) released 10,000 unique, 24x24 pixel digital art characters. “They needed to be a collection of misfits and non-conformists,” the duo explains, most likely to reflect the early internet community. “The London punk movement of the 1970s felt like t...
It’s weird to watch history play out in front of you. But every so often, it happens. So close you can almost touch it – or own it, free from corporate power. For the early users of blockchain, CryptoPunks is that history. On June 23 2017, creative coders John Watkinson and Matt Hall embarked on an experiment. The Canadian duo (who founded Larva Labs) released 10,000 unique, 24x24 pixel digital art characters. “They needed to be a collection of misfits and non-conformists,” the duo explains, most likely to reflect the early internet community. “The London punk movement of the 1970s felt like the right aesthetic.” And so the entourage of Brit punk-inspired weirdos was born, complete with mohawks, sunglasses and cigarettes.
At first, punks were free for anyone with a wallet on Ethereum. Nowadays, they sell for up to 8KΞ ($23.7M). But Punks are about far more than money. Punks are a subcultural flag. They symbolise the core values of early blockchain culture – anonymity and decentralisation. “It was one of the earlier experiments with this technology,” says Abigail Miller, Avant Arte’s Web3 Lead. “The unique thing about it is that it was possibly the first work of art with a self-contained mechanism for recording and transacting its ownership.” These developments paved the way for blockchain technology and also inspired the innovation of Art Blocks. CryptoPunks are an NFT cult classic, and they have grown far beyond art into a pop cultural phenomenon. We can’t wait to see what's next for CryptoPunks Projects under the stewardship of Yuga Labs."
The CryptoPunks were released on June 23, 2017 by Larva Labs, founded by John Watkinson and Matt Hall. On March 11, 2022 they were incorporated into Yuga Labs.
When writing the code for CryptoPunks, Hall and Watkinson used a variety of characteristics to make some Punks rarer than others. Most have human skin tones, but some, dubbed zombies and aliens, have green and blue skin. Amongst the rarest is Punk #5822, one of just 9 Alien Punks.
