Guinness Book Anoints Blue CryptoPunk as Most Expensive NFT (2024)

Last Updated: January 11, 2024

CryptoPunk #5822 is getting honored in Guinness World Records’ new CryptoMania section that honors achievements of the crypto asset variety.

NFTs are finally being recognized by Guinness World Records. Specifically, CryptoPunk #5822 will be included in the iconic book’s latest edition.

Deepak Thapliyal, CEO of a blockchain infrastructure startup called Chain, bought the iconic blue Alien Punk that rocks a bandana in February for roughly $23.7 million. In the 2023 edition of the famous encyclopedia, CryptoPunk #5822 is recognized as the most expensive NFT on the market.

Guinness World Records also introduced a new section entitled “CryptoMania” to honor the growing crypto asset market, encompassing all things Web3 and digital collectibles. CryptoMania records feature historic industry events, achievements, collectibles, and more.

Bitcoin recently entered the latest edition of the Guinness book as the world’s first decentralized cryptocurrency.

The 2023 edition of the Guinness World Records launched in October.

The landmark sale of CryptoPunk #5822 took place right before what we came to call the crypto winter. While this sale was monumental and remains the biggest sale for CryptoPunks to date, there have been NFT sales larger than this one.

For example, “The Merge” by Pak sold for $91.8 million on Nifty Gateway in September 2021. Some experts consider the NFT a series of artworks instead of one piece since nearly 29,000 collectors bought a fraction of it, which broke down to roughly 312,600 separate NFTs.

Additionally, you won’t find Beeple’s “Everydays: the First 5000 Days” NFT featured in the renowned encyclopedia, either, even though the most expensive piece in the collection was sold for $69.3 million — this is because Guinness defines NFTs as “limited-edition sets of artwork built around pre-rendered templates.” The Beeple NFT in question features a collage of 5,000 digital images he created over time.

NFTs from communities like Bored Ape Yacht Club, Moonbirds, and Deadfellaz, meanwhile, do fall within Guiness’ parameters and are eligible.

Web3 has recognized Beeple‘s “Everdays” NFT as the most expensive individual crypto asset sale ever, so Guinness may get some pushback on this new record. Regardless, while today may belong to CryptoPunk #5822, Beeple’s project propelled the NFT market forward in ways no other project has to date, so we won’t be surprised if it ends up in an encyclopedia or two one day soon.

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