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<ul class="summary-list"><li>CryptoPunks <keyword id="11919795" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nft" source="Orion">NFT</keyword> 5822, one of only nine alien Punks, sold for 8,000 ether worth $23.7 million on Saturday.</li><li>It set a new sales record at double the $11.8 million price for a CryptoPunks NFT last June.</li></ul>A rare CryptoPunks NFT sold for an all-time high of almost $24 million at the weekend, double the price of the previous record-holder, as the digital assets continue to pull in buyers.CryptoPunks NFT 5822, one of only nine alien Punks, sold for 8,000 ether worth $23.7 million on Saturday, according to <a href="https://www.larvalabs.com/cryptopunks/details/5822">data from Larva Labs</a>. The last time it changed hands was in July 2017, when it went for $1,646.CryptoPunks NFTs — or non-fungible tokens — have been around since 2017, meaning they predate most other NFT collections. Many of the Larva Labs-developed pixelated avatars have sold for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cryptopunks-pixelated-avatars-that-millionaires-buy-nft-2021-7">millions of dollars</a> over the last few years.The previous record for a CryptoPunks NFT was set at a Sotheby's auction last June, when DraftKings investor Shalom Meckenzie <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/cryptopunk-nft-covid-alien-draftkings-sothebys-auction-fungible-token-2021-6-1030513788">purchased the "Covid Alien" Punk 7523 for $11.8 million</a>. However, the biggest on-chain sale was for Punk 4156 in December, which went for $10.26 million on the Larva Labs marketplace.Deepak Thapliyal, CEO of <keyword id="11902216" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="blockchain" source="Orion">blockchain</keyword> tech company Chain.com, <a href="https://twitter.com/dt_chain/status/1492602639506362373?s=20&amp;t=02pQVLhtD9mL5gjN5WiqXg">revealed on Twitter</a> that he was the most recent buyer. He said he had used DeFi financing through <keyword id="13173503" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="compound-finance" source="Orion">Compound Finance</keyword> for the purchase — a sign he was long ether and still able to hold the cryptocurrency, he said.Last year, some NFT owners began using <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/cryptopunks-nft-sells-over-500-million-void-larva-labs-ethereum-2021-10">ethereum-based "flash" loans to borrow crypto</a> to make a purchase, paying themselves back immediately in the same transaction. One CryptoPunks NFT purchased this way went for more than $532 million, prompting Larva Labs to say it would filter out alerts for such transactions in the future.The most expensive legitimate sale of an NFT came in 2021, when Sotheby's auctioned a Beeple piece for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/art-auction-nft-beeple-top-selling-most-expensive-sale-millions-2021-3">$69 million</a>, kicking off the NFT craze in the mainstream.NFT sales surged throughout 2021 after that sale in March. In August, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/nft-opensea-digital-art-bitcoin-cardano-ethereum-meme-crypto-2021-09">NFT sales volume</a> reached $3 billion for the month. At the time, analysts saw this as evidence of speculative retail investors shifting out of <keyword id="11893902" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bitcoin" source="Orion">bitcoin</keyword> and meme stocks into the digital assets.However, January saw a resurgence. NFT sales reached a new all-time high of $7 billion for the month, even though cryptocurrency prices slumped in January.

A rare CryptoPunks alien avatar NFT sells for an all-time high of almost $24 million, double the previous Punks record

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Someone bought a CryptoPunk NFT for 4,500 ETH, or about $16 million.</li><li>It's the second-most expensive CryptoPunk NFT sale ever by dollar amount. </li></ul>Remember NFTs? Someone just bought one for roughly $16 million. A bidder paid 4,500<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/eth-usd"> ether</a> for<a href="https://opensea.io/assets/ethereum/0xb47e3cd837ddf8e4c57f05d70ab865de6e193bbb/3100" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> CryptoPunk #3100</a>, one of the series' nine "Alien Punks" non-fungible tokens. On Monday, the price of ether hovered at about $3,556 per token, which makes the March 4 sale the second-most expensive CryptoPunk sale.The series of 10,000 algorithmically generated characters was a fixture of the NFT boom of the pandemic era. An NFT is a digital item that's tied to the blockchain and holds a unique signature that can't be duplicated. The buyer of CryptoPunk #3100 bested another bid at 4,250 ether, or about $14.5 million, which was placed on March 1, according to the listing on OpenSea, an NFT marketplace. A number of other CryptoPunk NFTs have recently sold for around 60 ether, or more than $200,000, and total trading volume for the collection hit $8.25 million last week, according to an analysis from<a href="https://www.theblock.co/post/279896/second-most-expensive-cryptopunk-ever-sells-for-4500-eth-worth-over-16-million" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> The Block</a>.The latest big sale is a throwback to the heyday of the peak of the digital collectibles market. At one point, the<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/non-fungible-tokens-nfts-have-taken-over-heres-why-theyre-important-2021-4?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest%3Futm_source%3Dmarkets&amp;utm_medium=ingest%3Futm_source%3Dmarkets&amp;utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets&amp;_gl=1*al6wbf*_ga*MjA5NTAyMzYyOS4xNjYyNDcwMDc5*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTcwOTU2MjU0NS4xNzA1LjEuMTcwOTU3MTA5Ny41Ny4wLjA."> NFT market</a> saw about $2.8 billion in monthly trading volume, and collections like CryptoPunks and Bored Apes regularly sold for millions of dollars to celebrities, including Snoop Dogg and Stephen Curry. A study from September said<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/nft-market-crypto-digital-assets-investors-messari-mainnet-currency-tokens-2023-9"> 95% of the NFT market may be worthless.</a>Yet, crypto risk appetite is on the rise again. This month's $16 million NFT sale comes alongside a fresh rally toward all-time highs of $69,000 for bitcoin. The token is close to reclaiming a price level last seen when rates were near zero, as the demand from bitcoin ETFs and the upcoming halving event eclipse worries about higher-for-longer interest rates. Ether has climbed 51% year-to-date, tracking<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/bitcoin-price-today-crypto-btc-rally-bull-etf-wall-street-2024-2?_gl=1*1fs2dyq*_ga*MjA5NTAyMzYyOS4xNjYyNDcwMDc5*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTcwOTU2MjU0NS4xNzA1LjEuMTcwOTU3MTM1MS41OC4wLjA."> bitcoin's 50.6% gain</a>.

Thought NFTs were dead? A piece of pixelated art just sold for $16 million.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The "<keyword id="1990795" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="doge">Doge</keyword>" meme, which emerged online in 2013, sold as a nonfungible token (<keyword id="4668945" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="nft">NFT</keyword>) on Friday.</li><li>The $4 million sale marks the highest bid for an NFT meme thus far. </li><li>"Doge" joins the ranks of other viral videos and <keyword id="1605152" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Memes">memes</keyword> to earn their creators money via NFT sales.</li></ul>The iconic "Doge" meme smashed the record for the most expensive meme nonfungible token (NFT), selling at <keyword id="1639" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Auction">auction</keyword> on Friday for more than $4 million.The sale of the famed image of an excited Shiba Inu was <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/iconic-doge-meme-nft-breaks-records-selling-roughly-4-million-n1270161">first reported by NBC News.</a> Friday's sale made "Doge" the highest-earning NFT meme of all time, NBC <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">News</keyword> reported. The meme was put up for <a href="https://zora.co/0x337071a7e907f5a599747a2c9baf6efdf7eb4bcc/3366">auction on Tuesday on the auction site Zora</a>, and the winner, @pleasrdao, was named on Friday with a bid of 1,696.9 Ethereum cryptocurrency, which is worth about $4 million.The meme was sold by Atsuko Sato, the owner of the eponymous "Doge.""Doge" emerged online in 2013 as a meme using overlaid Comic Sans text to describe the dog's fictional inner monologue. It quickly became one of the internet's most ubiquitous images, with others sharing the meme with their own spins on the dog's internal monologue.Text used over the "Doge" meme typically <a href="https://the-toast.net/2014/02/06/linguist-explains-grammar-doge-wow/">uses an improper modification structure,</a> crafting phrases like "much hungry" or "very NFT."After the meme became popular in 2013, two software engineers created a cryptocurrency called Dogecoin as a joke in the meme's honor. But, <a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/dogecoin-started-as-a-joke-now-its-too-important-to-laugh-off-51620229273">as Barron's reported in May</a> of this year, the crypto is "too important to laugh off." "Doge" joins the ranks of several other memes and viral videos whose creators have cashed in on fame through NFT sales.In April, the <a href="https://www.insider.com/disaster-girl-made-half-million-selling-her-meme-as-nft-2021-4">"Disaster Girl" meme</a>, a 2005 photo that became one of the most famous memes on the early internet, was sold as an NFT for nearly half a million dollars. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ethereum-nft-meme-art-nyan-cat-sells-for-300-eth-2021-2">The Nyan cat gif was sold as an NFT</a> for close to $600,000 in February. Other viral images like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bad-luck-brian-meme-nft-crypto-art-blockchain-ethereum-foundation-2021-3">"Bad Luck Brian"</a> have sold for tens of thousands of dollars. NFT sales are helping some online creators finally earn additional money off of their famous content. The creator of the "David After Dentist" YouTube video from 2009, which depicts a boy experiencing the side effects of medication after a dental procedure, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nft-david-after-dentist-viral-youtube-video-sold-2021-5">told Insider he would use the money</a> from that video's NFT sale to help finish paying off his two sons' college tuitions. Chris Crocker, an entertainer whose famous 2007 "Leave Britney Alone" video sold for over $41,000 in April to an anonymous buyer, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chris-crocker-leave-britney-alone-video-youtube-nft-free-britney-2021-4">told Insider in a previous interview</a> that the video, which defined his online persona, made him no money at all. "I didn't really get anything from [the video] other than to be put in a box for the next 14 years," Crocker told Insider.

Famed 'Doge' meme NFT sells for record-breaking $4 million at auction

<ul class="summary-list"><li>There are many new terms and acronyms that have developed around <keyword id="11893898" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crypto" source="Orion">crypto</keyword> and <keyword id="11901075" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nfts" source="Orion">NFTs</keyword>. </li><li>For example, a PFP project is a profile picture project like Bored Ape Yacht Club. HODL means not selling.</li></ul>If you're inexperienced with NFTS, some terms may be confusing.I'm a full-time YouTuber focused on demystifying all things Web3, but when I was first learning about the Web3 space, it seemed like people were speaking a different language.Sharding? Rugpull? WAGMI? The jargon was a lot to absorb.So after scouring the internet for hours looking for answers, I pulled together a list of Web3 definitions so that even the most tech-averse folks can understand.<h2>Here are 50 terms you should know </h2><ol><li>Airdrop: To send someone free crypto things such as NFTs or tokens. This has nothing to do with Apple's airdrop feature. Sometimes airdropping gives NFT holders something special. But usually airdropping is for giveaways or a sketchy marketing tactic. </li><li>Alpha: This is another term for "insider information." If someone has "alpha," they have information the rest of the market hasn't found out about yet. </li><li>Ape in: To invest a lot of money into a new cryptocurrency or NFT project without doing the proper research first. It comes from the "apes together strong" meme. </li><li>Bearish: The belief that a project is going to lose value over time. </li><li>Blockchain: A type of database. Information is stored in groups (blocks) that can't be changed after they're created. The entire group of groups (chain of blocks = blockchain) is copied across many different computers so the data is public and safe.</li><li>Blue chip: As close to a "reliable" investment as you can get in the NFT space. These NFT projects are well-known and generally perceived as having a high value. Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, World of Women are considered bluechips. </li><li>Bullish: The belief that a project is going to gain value over time. </li><li>Coinbase: A popular platform to buy and sell crypto. </li><li>Crypto wallet: A place (app or physical item) where you can keep your crypto holdings (NFTs, Ethereum, etc.) A wallet is necessary to buy things (NFTs) with crypto. Some popular wallets are Coinbase Wallet and MetaMask.</li><li>Crypto wallet address: A public address you can give people so they can send crypto/NFTs to you. Usually it's a long alphanumeric string, but you can also purchase a shorter domain name if you want. For example, mine is aprilynne.eth. </li><li>Decentralized: Power is spread across many people instead of a through a single person. </li><li><keyword id="12561214" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="dao" source="Orion">DAO</keyword>: Short for "decentralized autonomous organization." This group's members votes are automatically tallied and used to decide on things. Sometimes actions are automatically taken. The code for all automatic actions are publicly available so everyone can make sure things are run correctly. </li><li>DAPP: Short for "decentralized application," it's an app built on the blockchain. Instead of data being collected/manipulated/sold by Big Brother (*cough, cough, Meta*), all data is stored publicly on the blockchain. </li><li>DEFI: Short for "decentralized finance." It basically means banking but without the fees/approvals for transactions and loans. You can lend, trade, and borrow crypto through public code that automatically stores/verifies transactions. </li><li>Diamond hands: Holding onto a high-risk NFT despite the pressure to sell. Sometimes people use this as justification when an NFT of theirs starts dropping in value. It originates from "diamonds are created under pressure."</li><li>Doxxed: When the true identities of a team behind an NFT project are revealed. Usually used to build credibility in a project.</li><li>Drop: The initial launch of a new collection or project.</li><li>DYOR: Short for "do your own research." This is a disclaimer, and honestly pretty good advice,often added to the end of an opinion on an NFT project. Its pronounced like Dior the brand. </li><li>DOT ETH (.eth): A personal crypto wallet address someone can purchase. For example, my Ethereum wallet address is aprilynne.eth. </li><li>Ethereum: A popular blockchain used for NFTs often criticized for its slow, expensive transactions. Also home of Ether (ETH), the second most popular cryptocurrency. </li><li>Flip: Buying an NFT and selling it quickly rather than holding it with the intent to try to make immediate profits. It's a pretty common yet risky strategy. </li><li>Floor: The NFTs at the floor price of a collection. </li><li>Floor price: The lowest market price for NFTs within a collection. Often used as a rule-of-thumb measure of the value of an NFT project. </li><li>Floor sweep: When someone buys all of the NFTs of a collection at the floor price. Buyers can do this because they believe in the project. Sellers can do this to artificially inflate the floor price of the NFT collection. </li><li>FOMO: Short for "fear of missing out." It's an emotional factor that drives someone to irrationally buy into a project. </li><li>FUD: Short for "fear, uncertainty, doubt" and is used to express concerns about the legitimacy/value of an NFT project. For example, someone can come into an NFT Discord server and spread FUD.</li><li>Gas fee: Basically a transaction fee for crypto (Ethereum) transactions. The busier the Ethereum network, the more expensive the gas fee. This is one of the most complained-about feature of the Ethereum network. </li><li>GM: Short for "good morning," it's a popular greeting on NFT Twitter. It signals that someone is online. </li><li>HODL: A misspelling of "hold" that caught on and earned the acronym "hold on (for) dear life." The term signals that someone is not selling, despite potential volatility and uncertainty. </li><li>LFG: Short for "let's fucking go." Usually used to hype up an NFT project. </li><li>Marketplace: A platform for buying and selling NFTs. Popular NFT marketplaces include OpenSea, Rarible, and Magic Eden. </li><li>MetaMask: A popular crypto wallet. MetaMask has a logo that looks like a fox. </li><li>Metaverse: A virtual world where you have an avatar and you can buy things, play games, and even build businesses. Many different companies (*cough, cough, Meta*) are trying to make a metaverse that "wins" and will become mainstream. </li><li>Minting: Taking a digital asset and putting it onto the blockchain to create an NFT. </li><li>Mooning: Describes the trend when numbers go up. It means growing in price very quickly. </li><li>NGMI: Short for "not gonna make it." It's used to roast people and projects that won't last long in the NFT space. </li><li>OpenSea: A popular NFT marketplace. Currently only supporting NFTs on the Etherium and Polygon blockchains.</li><li>Paper hands: Selling NFTs under pressure. Usually used by "diamond hands" as a roast against people who actually sell. </li><li>PFP project: Short for "profile picture project." These are collections launched with the intent of being avatars that people can use as their Twitter profile picture to flex ownership. </li><li>Polygon: A blockchain used for NFTs that's popular for its lack of gas fees. Technically built on top of Ethereum. </li><li>Pump and dump: A nefarious scheme to artificially "pump" (drive up) the price of an NFT project before selling everything at once, effectively "dumping" the price while making a profit. </li><li>P2E: Short for "pay to earn." You get paid in crypto/NFTs for playing certain kinds of games.</li><li>Road map: A public general plan for an NFT project. Usually gives insight into the timeline and the <keyword id="12326608" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="utility" source="Orion">utility</keyword> of the project. </li><li>Rugpull: An NFT project gone wrong. People lie about an NFT project in order to lure others into buying in. Once they've collected the money, they abandon the project, leave with the cash, and everyone is left sad and broke. </li><li>Sharding: Breaking down a single NFT into smaller pieces, or shards so a group of people can buy and own an NFT that is otherwise too expensive to be bought in its entirety. </li><li>Solana: A popular blockchain for NFTs known for its cheap, fast transactions. </li><li>Smart contract: Public code attached to an NFT that runs by itself. Usually how the utility of an NFT is enforced. Useful because you don't have to trust the individual behind a project — you just need to trust the code that you can see and verify yourself.</li><li>Staking: A way to earn passive income by locking up your NFTs on the blockchain for a period of time. You can earn rewards for this in the form of crypto. </li><li>To the moon: A celebratory term used when prices of an NFT project are going up and up. </li><li>Utility: Underlying value of an NFT. Utility is the perks, products, services, benefits, or rights associated with owning an NFT. For example, some NFTS come with 30% off of future products, membership to a private fund, access to an online course, access to private events, or copyright rights to a brand.</li></ol>Aprilynne Alter is an NFT YouTuber and startup founder.

50 cryptocurrency and NFT terms you need to know

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="24691" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="snoop-dogg">Snoop Dogg</keyword> and <keyword id="107512" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Lionel-Richie">Lionel Richie</keyword> have signed up to produce <keyword id="902592" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="NFTS">NFTs</keyword> for <keyword id="2721952" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="crypto">Crypto</keyword>.com's new marketplace.</li><li>It is the latest sign of the craze for non-fungible tokens, a form of digital collectors' item.</li><li>Earlier this month, Beeple sold an NFT artwork for $69 million.</li></ul>Snoop Dogg, Lionel Richie and Boy George are moving into the world of non-fungible tokens, having signed up to produce work for cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com's new NFT marketplace.It is the latest example of the craze for the crypto technology, following the sale of a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/beeple-nft-mike-winkelmann-digital-art-christies-2021-3">$69 million NFT artwork</a> earlier in March and the popularity of the NBA's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nba-top-shot-virtual-highlights-for-sale-moments-blockchain-explained-2021-2">Top Shot token market</a>.Crypto.com - a cryptocurrency exchange with more than 10 million global users - will launch an NFT platform on Friday as it seeks to capitalize on the trend, the company <a href="https://blog.crypto.com/crypto-com-nft/">said</a> on Tuesday.It will feature sports, art and music NFTs from the likes of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cryptocom-sponsors-aston-martin-f1-formula-one-cryptocurrencies-bitcoin-2021-3">Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One</a> racing team, online artist BossLogic, and TikTok sea shanty star Nathan Evans.Lionel Richie - one of the best selling music artists of all time - will team up with digital artist Klarens Malluta to produce an NFT for cryptocurrency exchange's invite-only platform.In a statement released by Crypto.com, Richie said he is "looking forward to collaborating with [Malluta] on a digital piece and with a little 'All Night Long' in this new medium."Snoop Dogg, who has previously tweeted enthusiastically <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/dogecoin-price-surges-tweets-from-elon-musk-snoop-dogg-cryptocurrency-2021-2-1030055654">about meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin</a>, will also produce work for the platform. UK 1980's pop icon Boy George will also create content for the platform, saying: "Digital art is a new emotion."<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-does-nft-mean-crytpo-non-fungible-tokens-art-explained-2021-2#:~:text=Non%2Dfungible%20tokens%20account%20for,of%20Insider%20for%20more%20stories.">Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs</a>, are a special class of <keyword id="135689" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="digital-assets">digital assets</keyword> that cannot be exchanged with one another for equal value, or broken down into smaller bits. They often operate as a type of collectors' item and cannot be duplicated.They are the hottest new thing in the crypto world, and grabbed global attention earlier in March, when digital artist Beeple sold an NFT for $69 million, making him one of the three most expensive living artists.Crypto.com said it is trying to create "the most user-friendly NFT-buying experience.""At launch users will have the option to 1-click buy using their credit or debit card. Any collector, or fan, will be able to acquire, trade, and resell NFTs through the platform, regardless of whether or not they are a Crypto.com user."

Snoop Dogg and Lionel Richie jump in on NFT craze as Crypto.com launches a token marketplace

<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/master-your-crypto"></a><div type="image" title="Andrew Steinwold, founder of NFT investment firm Sfermion" height="878" width="1170" msid="92706753" hostid="261" sizebytes="50358"></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>As <keyword id="11893898" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crypto" source="Orion">crypto</keyword> <keyword id="11893875" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="markets" source="Orion">markets</keyword> tumble, many <keyword id="11919795" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nft" source="Orion">NFT</keyword> collections have seen their values plunge as well.</li><li>The managing partner of an NFT investment firm explains why <keyword id="6357332" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gaming" source="Orion">gaming</keyword> will onboard more users.</li></ul>NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, felt like all the rage last year, with celebrities from Snoop Dogg to Reese Witherspoon sporting six-figure JPEGs as their profile pictures. Meanwhile, Beeple's "Everydays: The First 5,000 Days" NFT sold for more than <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/art-auction-nft-beeple-top-selling-most-expensive-sale-millions-2021-3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">$69 million</a> at Sotheby's auction house. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/04/style/dolce-gabbana-nft.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Dolce &amp; Gabbana</a> and the NBA jumped on board with collections of their own.As broader crypto markets tumble, however, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-29/nfts-have-fallen-off-the-cliff-as-sales-sink-to-lowest-in-year?utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&amp;utm_content=crypto&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social#xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">so have NFTs</a>. Ethereum, which is commonly used to buy and mint the digital assets, has declined 78.7% since its all-time high in November, according to dashboard <a href="https://messari.io/asset/ethereum" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Messari</a>, Top-tier collections have seen their values plunge as well, per a <a href="https://dappradar.com/blog/dappradar-industry-report-may-2022/#NFT" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">DappRadar industry report</a>, with <keyword id="12881347" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bored-ape" source="Orion">Bored Ape</keyword> Yacht Club floor prices falling 38% last month. OpenSea, one of the largest NFT marketplaces, declined 65% in trading volumes and had a 14% decrease in number of users in the same time frame. Hopeful <keyword id="12461337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="web3" source="Orion">Web3</keyword> VCs and founders, however, told Insider that although prices are declining, the tokenized assets will stick around and eventually hit the mainstream by 2032. <h2>10-year outlook for NFTs</h2>Benjamin Cohen, founder of crypto <keyword id="14385207" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="venture" source="Orion">venture</keyword> firm Web 3 Equities, says the majority of NFTs won't be featured on social media accounts as a way to flex a collector's wealth. Instead, they will have a wide variety of use cases, which includes <keyword id="11898471" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="music" source="Orion">music</keyword>, gaming, ticketing, virtual real estate, deeds for houses, medical records, and even collateral for loans. Virtual real estate developer Republic Realm <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Fmetaverse-real-estate-piles-up-record-sales-in-sandbox-and-other-virtual-realms-11638268380" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">announced</a> it had purchased a piece of property in metaverse game The Sandbox for $4.3 million. In March, an anonymous borrower <a href="https://blockworks.co/in-largest-ever-nft-backed-loan-101-cryptopunks-put-up-as-collateral/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">took out</a> an $8 million loan backed by a collection of 101 CryptoPunk NFTs. "Over time entrepreneurs will find creative ways to use NFTs and smart contracts in ways that we haven't conceived yet, far beyond the scope of status symbols," Cohen said. Although they founded different firms, CEO of blockchain ticketing platform YellowHeart Josh Katz and Cohen both agree that NFTs will move towards more utility use cases. People will cut out the "middlemen," Katz said, with ticket NFTs, weeding out third parties like Ticketmaster. YellowHeart, which has worked with musicians like Kings of Leon and Maroon 5, <a href="https://www.nftculture.com/nft-news/tao-group-hospitality-partners-with-yellowheart-to-introduce-nft-ticketing/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">announced</a> a partnership with Tao Group Hospitality, to sell tickets to its venues as NFTs. "Businesses are going to figure out cool ways to incorporate NFTs into something that we're doing everyday right now," Katz said, adding that most projects will have fiat on-ramps. "For ticketing, you could cut the line, get to the venue early, or get a free beer."In 2032, NFTs will also be more accessible than they are now so that "most internet users" can afford them, says Stephen Young, the founder and CEO of NFT lending marketplace NFTfi. "At the moment, many NFTs are expensive because blockchains are expensive and slow, so the use cases that make sense require high value NFTs," he said. To mint or purchase an NFT on Ethereum, investors and creators have to pay gas fees. These costs occur when performing any sort of function on Ethereum's network. At times, these fees can be <a href="https://mashable.com/article/ethereum-gas-fees-skyrocket-bored-ape-yacht-club-otherside-nft-launch" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">more expensive than the NFT itself.</a> Other blockchains and Layer-2s like Solana or Polygon, however, have quicker transaction times with lower costs.<h2>Mainstream adoption and hurdles </h2>Andrew Steinwold, the managing partner of NFT investment firm <keyword id="14385208" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sfermion" source="Orion">Sfermion</keyword>, says gaming will be the use case that onboards the most users. (Sfermion <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211101005038/en/Sfermion-Raises-100M-NFT-Fund-Aimed-at-Accelerating-the-Emergence-of-the-Metaverse" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">announced a $100 million fund</a> last year and has previously invested in AI enabled NFT platform Alethea AI, Web3 developer platform Mojito, and virtual real estate marketplace Parcel.)"I think NFTs in gaming have a really simple selling point to the user, 'Hey you spent $20 on this digital good in this video game, but you don't actually own it. Wouldn't you like to own it?'" Steinwold said. Blockchain gaming, unlike broader crypto markets, has <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/22/blockchain-gaming-unfazed-by-crypto-volatility-as-gamers-seek-out-entertainment/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">remained stable</a> in recent months. Around 1.15 million daily active wallets interacted with Web3 games in May, per a DappRadar <a href="https://dappradar.com/blog/dappradar-crypto-games-report-5-blockchain-games-continue-to-defy-the-bear-market" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">report</a>, declining 5% from the month before. Popular games include Splinterlands and Illuvium. Video games are also "fun and easy" to understand for people of all ages, Steinwold says, which lowers the barrier of entry to enter its ecosystem. Blockchain-based gaming, or games that integrated tokenized assets on-chain, grew 2,000% last year, per a Q1 2022 DappRadar and Blockchain Gaming Alliance <a href="https://dappradar.com/blog/dappradar-x-bga-games-report-q1-2022" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">report</a>. With massive growth in NFTs comes bad actors, which present plenty of obstacles to mainstream adoption.Critics are wary of the ecosystem due to security concerns, scams, and money laundering allegations. Earlier this month, Yuga Labs, creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club, <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/06/04/yuga-labs-confirms-discord-server-hack-200-eth-worth-of-nfts-stolen/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">said</a> its Discord server had been compromised, with a hacker draining $360,000 worth of ether-based NFTs at the time. In January, anonymous founders of an NFT collection called <a href="https://blockworks.co/nft-creators-stole-1-3m-from-investors-then-vanished-sources-say/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Frosties vanished</a> after siphoning $1.3 million worth of funds from its investors."Money laundering, and in particular, transfers from sanctioned cryptocurrency businesses, represents a large risk to building trust in NFTs, and should be monitored more closely by marketplaces, regulators, and law enforcement," blockchain research firm Chainalysis said in a <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/ethereum/more-people-are-falling-prey-to-scams-and-wash-trading-in-the-nft-space" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">recent report.</a>Whether you love them or hate them, NFTs don't seem to be going away anytime soon. Investment bank Jeffries <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/01/20/jefferies-sees-the-nft-market-reaching-more-than-80-billion-in-value-by-2025/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">forecasts</a> a massive percentage growth in the next five years, along with a market cap of over $80 billion by 2025.This article is intended to provide generalized information designed to educate a broad segment of the public; it does not give personalized investment, legal, or other business and professional advice. Before taking any action, you should always consult with your own financial, legal, tax, investment, or other professional for advice on matters that affect you and/or your business.

The future of NFTs, according to top crypto VCs and Web3 founders

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11893898" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crypto" source="Orion">Crypto</keyword> metaverse game Axie Infinity's NFT collection is the first to reach $4 billion in sales, CryptoSlam data showed.</li><li>The game, where people play to earn NFTs, has surged in popularity and its NFT sales outstrip those for CryptoPunks.</li></ul>Axie Infinity NFTs have hit $4 billion in all-time sales, according to data from Cryptoslam, as play-to-earn crypto games continue to grow in popularity.The trading of NFTs between players on the blockchain-based video game topped <a href="https://cryptoslam.io/axie-infinity/sales/summary">$2.5 million</a> in the past 24 hours alone, the data showed Tuesday. "@AxieInfinity just hit $4Bn traded NFTs between players. It's the most traded NFT collection ever!" Aleksander Leonard Larsen, the cofounder and COO of the company, <a href="https://twitter.com/psycheout86/status/1495741147808948225?s=21">tweeted</a> Monday.Larsen said that usually, game developers take 100% of proceeds from sales, but Axie's business model is different, with 4.25% of each trade going into the Axie token treasury.In Axie Infinity, developed by Vietnamese startup Sky Mavis, the gameplay involves people using NFT characters called axies, inspired by Pokémon, to battle against others. Axies are NFTs that can be earned through playing, then sold or bought.Its total sales volume is almost double that of the second-place NFT collection, CryptoPunks. A rare Alien NFT marked the Larva Labs collection's <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/cryptopunks-alien-nft-goes-for-almost-24-million-smashing-sales-record-2022-2">most expensive sale</a> at almost $24 million last week. But even with that, the all-time sales volume for CryptoPunks stands at <a href="https://cryptoslam.io/cryptopunks/sales/summary">$2,064,107,500</a>, compared with Axie's<a href="https://cryptoslam.io/axie-infinity/sales/summary"> $4,001,976,814</a>.Crypto metaverse game Axie Infinity<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/ethereum-axie-infinity-cryptocurrencies-tokens-slp-axs-markets-2021-8?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets"> took off in 2021</a>, as play-to-earn games surged in tandem with prices for digital currencies. Its axs token<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/play-to-earn-crypto-axie-infinity-business-model-gaming-value-2022-1?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets"> rose by 18,000%</a> over the course of the year. While <keyword id="11895317" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cryptocurrencies" source="Orion">cryptocurrencies</keyword> have slumped in the early going of 2022 as casual investors abandoned the assets, NFT sales have climbed. In January alone, global NFT sales <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/nft-sales-hit-7-billion-all-time-high-in-january-but-it-may-just-be-a-bubble-waiting-to-pop/articleshow/89249178.cms">reached $7 billion</a> — an all-time high for a single month, more than double the<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/nft-opensea-digital-art-bitcoin-cardano-ethereum-meme-crypto-2021-09"> previous record</a> of $3 billion for August last year. Meanwhile, the market value of all digital currencies has fallen 22% since the beginning of January, to $1.7 trillion at last check Tuesday.Over the past 30 days, Axie Infinity has had an average of 2.7 million active players, <keyword id="6357332" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gaming" source="Orion">gaming</keyword> statistics company ActivePlayer has <a href="https://activeplayer.io/axie-infinity/">estimated</a>. The Ronin-based game recently released <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/axie-infinity-blockchain-gaming-nft-crypto-tokens-game-prices-surge-2022-2">updates</a> that will expand its prize pool to $6 million, which is likely to drive more growth.The upfront cost of playing in the Axie Infinity metaverse is higher than on typical gaming platforms. However, as the game is based on a<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/play-to-earn-crypto-axie-infinity-business-model-gaming-value-2022-1"> play-to-earn model</a>, the potential gain for the player is greater. Players must have three axie creature NFTs for the game, initially bought on the Axie Infinity<a href="https://marketplace.axieinfinity.com/axie/"> marketplace,</a> The cheapest axie was priced at $24 at last check Tuesday, making the cost of entry $72.They can then pit their axies against others to earn Smooth Love Potion — the games' play-to-earn token — which are used to create more axie NFTs, to sell or to do battle. The highest price for a single NFT to date was 300 ether, currently worth almost $800,000, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Axie Infinity breaks $4 billion in NFT sales as the crypto-gaming metaverse draws in the crowds

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="882149" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Azealia-Banks">Azealia Banks</keyword> and her fiancé <keyword id="10918344" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ryder-ripps">Ryder Ripps</keyword> uploaded an audio sex tape as an NFT. It was sold for $17,000</li><li>Less than 12 hours later it was listed to be resold for over $260 million.</li></ul>Rapper Azealia Banks sold her audio sex tape with her fiancé Ryder Ripps for $17,000 as an NFT, or a non-fungible, token, which essentially allows individuals to sell digital objects as one-of-a-kind via <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-cryptocurrency">cryptocurrency</a>. Now, the sex tape is being resold for over <a href="https://opensea.io/assets/0x3B3ee1931Dc30C1957379FAc9aba94D1C48a5405/4138">$260 million</a>.<keyword id="902592" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="NFTS">NFTs</keyword>, as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-does-nft-mean-crytpo-non-fungible-tokens-art-explained-2021-2">Insider's Grace Kay previously wrote</a>, are "a special class of digital assets that cannot be exchanged with one another for equal value or broken down into smaller values like most currencies." The digital products sold on the <keyword id="6357017" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="cryptocurrency">cryptocurrency</keyword> market can range from anything like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/beeple-response-to-nft-selling-for-69-million-reaction-video-2021-3">digital art</a> or virtual real estate to now, the first-ever NFT audio sex tape - <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k9y4b/azealia-banks-sex-tape-album-nft">Vice reported</a> - which Banks posted.The audiotape, published on the NFT marketplace Foundation on March 6 and titled "I F----D RYDER RIPPS," is said to be a 24-minute long recording of Banks and her fiancé having sex that was uploaded and listed for 10 Ethereum - a cryptocurrency - valued at over $17,000. Less than 12 hours later, an artist who goes by the name of <a href="https://uproxx.com/music/azealia-banks-nft-sex-tape/">Rulton Fyder</a>, purchased the tape. According to Fyder's website, he is an anonymous artist "best known for his recontextualisation of other artists' works to capture time and emotion in the NFT art realm," though Fyder's online history only goes back days. It's unclear who Fyder is but there is speculation it could be artist Richard Prince, who <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/wet-paint-richard-prince-secret-gallery-1916027">occasionally goes by the alias</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/fulton_ryder/">Fulton Ryder</a>.Ripps told Insider in an emailed statement that he's emailed Fyder but he still doesn't know who this person is. "The fact they already have a show at an established gallery would tell me its someone established in the art world," Ripps wrote, "but I really have no idea, could all be some type of ruse who knows."Once the sale was completed, Fyder was granted "full ownership of the album, as well as distribution and display rights, and sole access to the audio including a WAV file and the only signed LP vinyl record of the sex tape in existence," Vice <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k9y4b/azealia-banks-sex-tape-album-nft">wrote about the sale</a>.On Wednesday, Banks uploaded a screenshot of the resale of the NFT on her Instagram account, showing it priced at over $260 million."Literally - the most expensive NFT ever," the artist wrote in the caption. "Don't you love how We came, saw, and conquered this s--t in a matter of 48hrs? The f---ing iconnery."Ripps also told Insider he would make a profit off the sale of the NFT. "I am told by the foundation that there is a 10% royalty built into the smart contract," he wrote in an email. This means he could potentially see $26 million if it is sold.The Harlem-born rapper then posted another image of a Wikipedia page showing the most expensive art purchases of all-time with her audio NFT sex-tape sitting in fourth place. The image, however, appears to either be edited, or the Wikipedia edit was short-lived. The tape isn't currently on the Wikipedia page, and the actual list is for "highest prices paid." And nobody has actually paid the inflated price for the tape yet.Banks is no stranger to controversy. She's been embroiled in many scandals including most recently when she announced her engagement on social media and wrote "I'm Jewish now." One commenter responded, "It doesn't work like that" and she shot back with a <a href="https://www.insider.com/azealia-banks-engaged-jewish-transphobia-response-backlash-2021-2">transphobic rant</a>.She also <a href="https://www.insider.com/azealia-banks-dead-cat-remains-instagram-post-2021-1">made headlines</a> after seemingly posting a video of herself digging up her dead cat's remains and seemingly boiling it into a soup. The 29-year-old rapper poked fun at this moment when she <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMNd8gjAd2i/">posted a screenshot update</a> from the pop <keyword id="24504" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="culture">culture</keyword> account on Twitter called Pop Crave to Instagram. In the caption of the screenshot, she wrote "Cat. Soup."Banks did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.UPDATE: Insider updated this story to include comments from Ryder Ripps.

Azealia Banks and Ryder Ripps' NFT sex tape is being resold for over $260 million by the anonymous RultonFyder

<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="AP Photo/C.F. Tham, file" title_caption="Michael Jackson has three music videos on the list." class="zoomin" href="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/52d6f5a569bedd8f569c1523-960/michael-jackson-dangerous.jpg"></a>AP Photo/C.F. Tham, fileMichael Jackson has three music videos on the list.</div></div>When Beyoncé released her self-titled <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/beyonce-album-2013-12" target="_blank">visual album</a> last month- a stunning array of 14 new songs and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/beyoncs-17-new-music-videos-watch-2013-12" target="_blank">17 music videos</a> - it was explained as "<a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beyonce-surprises-with-new-album-release-20131213" target="_blank">a non-linear journey through the thoughts and visions of Beyoncé</a>."
It was quite simply, an experience, and since the early 1980s when MTV launched, the music video has continued to be just that - a new platform for artists' products, a revolutionary form of marketing, and a chance for listeners to have the total music experience.
Throughout the ages we've seen musicians try anything and everything in their videos - ferocious animals, death-defying heights, and crazy outfits - all in the name of innovation.
While some artists, like David Bowie, who <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/david-bowies-love-is-lost-music-video-cost-just-13-2013-10" target="_blank">spent $12.99</a> on his 2013 video for "Love Is Lost," choose a savvier home video route, others, like Michael Jackson and Madonna, spend millions of dollars and weeks of production on their work.
Think you know what music videos broke the bank? See which <a href="http://www.vh1.com/music/tuner/2013-09-26/25-most-expensive-music-videos/" target="_blank">music videos cost</a> the most to make.

The Most Expensive Music Videos Of All Time

Today we learned that Harold Hamm, the billionaire oil tycoon behind Continental Resources, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/harold-hamms-expensive-divorce-2013-3">could be headed for the most expensive divorce ever</a>.
Hamm is splitting with his second wife, Sue Ann Hamm, after he allegedly had an affair.
If the couple doesn't have a <keyword id="1750372" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Prenup">prenup</keyword> — and it's not known if they do — she could wind up with half of his 68 percent stake in the company, currently worth $11.2 billion, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/21/us-hamm-billionaire-divorce-idUSBRE92K10E20130321">according to Reuters</a>.
That could put Hamm ahead of Rupert Murdoch, who paid a record $1.7 billion in his <keyword id="6355810" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Divorce">divorce</keyword> settlement with ex-wife Anna.
They aren't the only uber-wealthy figures who have paid out massive divorce settlements.

The 17 Most Expensive Divorces Of All Time

<div class="KonaFilter image-container no-rightrail"><div class="image on-image">Volvo</div></div>With a starting price of $104,900, the Volvo XC90 T8 Excellence is the most expensive car the company has put into production. It's also the first time Volvo has crossed to the $100,000 mark on any of its production cars.Most significantly, the XC90 Excellence is Volvo's clearest signal that it sees itself as a full-fledged luxury brand.Volvo's new-found luxury tilt veers from the brand's traditional image as an inconspicuous, safe and reliable option for the everyday commute.In recent years, Volvo has steadily moved from the near-luxury space into full-on luxury. As a result, the Swedish brand will how have to contend against luxury stalwarts from Mercedes, Audi, Lexus, Jaguar, and Land Rover.Instead of more pragmatic buyers, Volvo's stylish, luxury minded offerings gives the brand access to a whole new segment of customers."The Volvo XC90 Excellence is a fantastic expanded version of Volvo's idea of luxury. It brings together fantastic materials, uncompromising safety and performance into an amazing package," Volvo Cars USA president and CEO Lex Kerssemakers said in a statement. "This car exposes Volvo to a new type of buyer."Last year at the Shanghai auto show, Volvo introduced the concept version of the Excellence Interior and made the brand one of the hot topics of discussion at the show.Now, Volvo has turned the concept into a production car.

The most expensive Volvo of all time is here

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The market for <keyword id="10848592" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="non-fungible-token">non-fungible token</keyword> art grew more than 800% in the first 4 months of 2021.</li><li>It is now worth around $490 million, but is only a sliver of the total NFT market, a report said.</li><li>Yet the NFT market as a whole is slowing sharply, with some warning that a bubble is bursting.</li></ul>The market for non-fungible token art has boomed in 2021, swelling by more than 800% from $52 million at the start of the year to $490 million at the end of the April.But there are growing signs that interest in <keyword id="10871092" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nft-art">NFT art</keyword> is waning, with the creator of the most expensive digital art piece of all time himself <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/beeple-nft-craze-dotcom-bubble-crypto-art-digital-2021-4-1030357489">labelling the market a bubble</a>.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/non-fungible-tokens-nfts-have-taken-over-heres-why-theyre-important-2021-4">Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs</a>, are a special class of digital assets that cannot be exchanged with one another for equal value, or broken down into smaller bits. They cannot be duplicated and ownership is verified using blockchain technology, making them appealing to artists.They have proven to be the hottest new trend in the crypto world in 2021: even world famous artist Damien Hirst has <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/damien-hirst-nft-non-fungible-token-ethreum-palm-currency-project-2021-3-1030258965">got in on the game</a>.In 2020, there had been just 53,663 unique works of NFT art sold on the five largest platforms, according to a <a href="https://consensys.net/reports/defi-report-q1-2021/">new report</a> from blockchain development company ConsenSys, in which JPMorgan and UBS <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/jpmorgan-ubs-mastercard-invest-ethereum-consensys-65-million-2021-4-1030298716">recently invested</a>.But the market has expanded rapidly, with 151,977 pieces of NFT art sold in the 30 days to Thursday, the report said."The pandemic created a fertile environment for obsessively online and out-of-work artists to monetize their work," ConsenSys wrote.NFT art only makes up about 10% of all non-fungible token sales, ConsenSys' report said. Sports <keyword id="902592" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="NFTS">NFTs</keyword>, such as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nba-top-shot-virtual-highlights-for-sale-moments-blockchain-explained-2021-2">NBA Hot Shot</a> tokens, and collectibles, such as CryptoPunks, dominate the market in terms of sales.However, there are growing signs that the NFT market is slowing sharply, with art particularly hard-hit.The total amount of NFT sales has <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/nft-market-sales-cooling-off-crypto-sectors-losing-most-2021-4-1030359024">declined by almost 28%</a> and the total value of sales fell by almost 14% between March 30th and April 28th, data from nonfungible.com showed on Wednesday.Sale volumes for art NFTs declined by almost 42%, making this the sector with the biggest losses. In the same timeframe, prices dropped by 40.5%. This translates to a sales value drop from over $71 million to $41.5 million.Digital artist <keyword id="10848595" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="beeple">Beeple</keyword>, who captured the art market's attention when he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/beeple-nft-mike-winkelmann-digital-art-christies-2021-3">sold an NFT for $69 million</a> in March, compared the market to the dotcom bubble of the 1990s, which burst spectacularly in 2000."There was a bubble with the internet, it didn't kill the internet. People kept using the internet, it just kind of wiped out all the c***", he <a href="https://twitter.com/TheStreet/status/1387172205314789377?s=20">told The Street</a>.

The NFT art market has grown more than 800% in 2021 so far to $490 million - but the boom could now be heading towards bust

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A <keyword id="12418197" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cryptopunks" source="Orion">CryptoPunks</keyword> <keyword id="11919795" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nft" source="Orion">NFT</keyword> sold for $532 million, but it was paid for with borrowed money that was instantly repaid, Larva Labs said. </li><li>The CryptoPunks creator said Friday a number of NFT sales have been made using these ethereum-based flash loans.</li><li>The most expensive legitimate CryptoPunks NFT changed hands for $11.8 million in June at Sotheby's.</li></ul>A CryptoPunks NFT avatar sold for over $532 million worth of ether this week, causing people to wonder why the value was so high, even for the world of <keyword id="12374275" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crypto-art" source="Orion">crypto art</keyword>.There was speculation on social media about whether it was some kind of scam or security exploit, or a criminal trying to cover up dirty money. On Friday, CryptoPunks creators Larva Labs jumped in <a href="https://twitter.com/larvalabs/status/1453903818308083720">on Twitter</a> to explain how one of its NFTs - or non-fungible tokens - appeared to have gone for half-a-billion dollars. Compare that with the most <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/cryptopunk-nft-covid-alien-draftkings-sothebys-auction-fungible-token-2021-6">expensive</a> legitimate CryptoPunks NFT, Covid Alien, which sold at a Sotheby's auction in June for $11.8 million. The record for an NFT was the $69 million paid for a <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/beeple-nft-market-sculpture-human-one-69-million-christies-auction-2021-10">piece by Beeple</a> in March.Larva Labs' <a href="https://twitter.com/cryptopunksbot/status/1453872415591829504">bot</a> put out an alert Wednesday that CryptoPunk 9998 had been bought for 124,457 ether.<div type="image" title="CryptoPunks" height="1130" width="1199" msid="87367865" hostid="261"></div>"This transaction (and a number of others) are not a bug or an exploit, they are being done with flash loans," Larva Labs explained. Flash loans have become popular in decentralized finance, or DeFi, as a collateral-free, peer-to-peer way to borrow via the ethereum network. Smart contracts set out the terms of the loan, with the money expected to be repaid within seconds. Every part of the process is carried out simultaneously on the blockchain, and the borrower covers the network processing fees."In a nutshell, someone bought the CryptoPunk NFT with borrowed money and repaid the loan in the same transaction," Larva Labs said. "Some recent large bids were done the same way. The ether is offered and removed in a single transaction. So, while technically briefly valid, the bid can never be accepted."Larva Labs said it will add filtering to avoid generating alerts for this kind of transaction in the future.Like most NFTs, the 10,000 existing CryptoPunk avatars are tied to digital tokens on the ethereum blockchain. That link makes the NFTs open to use of flash loans. At the same time, flash loans have been used in scams by exploiting vulnerable DeFi protocols. Early last year, one fraudster scooped up almost $1 million in ether by fooling lenders on bZX that the loan had been repaid, according to a <a href="https://decrypt.co/19790/genius-hacker-exploits-defi-again-takes-1-million-in-total">Decrypt report.</a> The scammer did this by temporarily pushing up the price of the stablecoin being used to repay the loan.

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