Beeple, the creator of a $69 million non-fungible token (NFT), has purchased its first-ever profile picture (PFP) NFT – and it comes from one of the world’s most popular collections, cryptopunks.
Mike Winkelmann, known as Beeple, bought CryptoPunk #4593 on Tuesday, August 1 for ETH 113.69 ($208,463), according to data from Etherscan.
“This is the first PFP I’ve ever purchased and it’s taking a very long time. Ever since I heard of NFTs, this project has always struck me as an insane story,” Beeple said in a tweet Wednesday.
He went on to describe the project as “ridiculously innovative work of art” that over time changed the way people perceive identity and ownership.
While it was given away when people didn’t care years ago, CryptoPunks has since managed to “spawn an entire asset class,” Beeple said, adding:
“I believe this is a landmark work from both a technological and artistic perspective and its influence on NFTs and this space is already undeniable.”
He is one of the less common Punks in the famous collection, with a rare trait: a red nose. The rarity of the Punk is 4,026 out of 10,000.
CryptoPunk #4593 currently (Thursday 10:00 UTC) ranks second in the week’s top sales, according to CryptoSlambehind Crypto Punk #6634 bought yesterday for ETH 235.
Do his own research
Beeple previously suggested he might buy a Punk soon: Last week he tweeted that he’d never bought a PFP, that he was “in the market for a punk,” and asked for tips and opinions on the “best punk property.”
In his Wednesday post, he said he was looking for a punk “with very relatable characteristics that to me embodied the spirit of punks and around which I could build a story through the mundane.”
Following the purchase, Brand Lead for CryptoPunks Noah Davis shared a conversation with Beeple about the NFT in which he called the artist “Mr. 4593′ mentioned.
It is noteworthy that Davis had worked in digital art sales at an auction house Christies at the time of Beeple’s record-breaking NFT sale.
He helped facilitate this sale, with Beeple’s “Everydays: The First 5,000 Days” going to the buyer in March 2021 for $69.35 million.
In November 2021, Beeple’s ‘HUMAN ONE’ raised $28.9 million at Christie’s 21st Century Evening Sale. In July of this year, the statue was exhibited for the first time in the US in the Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas.
In November 2022, the artist announced a collaboration with Solana to bring “immersive 3D NFTs” to this blockchain.
In March this year, Beeple opened its own studio in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. Serving as the artist’s workspace, it features a 13,000-square-foot gallery and a 13,000-square-foot experience space, the website says.