I noticed an interesting trend in crypto art over the past few years — the market for the most expensive NFTs just exploded, and some prices sound like science fiction. I started digging into the history of these sales, and honestly, it’s a wild story.

It all began when artist Pak released Merge in 2021 — a piece that revolutionized the perception of digital art’s value. It wasn’t just an ordinary picture bought by a single collector. Instead, nearly 29,000 people purchased parts of this work, and the total amount reached $91.8 million. The innovative approach was that each buyer received their share, and the more they bought, the higher the overall value became. It was a breakthrough moment, showing that the most expensive NFTs can operate completely differently from traditional art.

Then came Beeple with his Everydays: The First 5000 Days — a collage of 5,000 works he created every day over 13 years. Christie's sold it for $69 million at an auction in 2021. The starting price was a joke — $100, but bids skyrocketed due to the artist’s reputation and the uniqueness of the concept. A guy named Vignesh Sundaresan (MetaKovan) bought it, spending 42,329 ETH. That was huge for that time.

Interestingly, Pak struck again with the Clock project — a collaboration with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. It wasn’t just a picture but a dynamic piece with a timer counting down the days of his imprisonment. It updates daily. AssangeDAO, a group of over 100,000 supporters, pooled funds and bought it for $52.7 million in February 2022. The proceeds went to Assange’s legal defense. This showed that NFTs can be not just art but also a political tool.

Beeple released another masterpiece — Human One, a kinetic sculpture over 7 feet tall with a 16K display that changes depending on the time of day. Christie's sold it for $29 million. The cool part is that Beeple can remotely update its content, turning it into a living piece of art.

Now about CryptoPunks — one of the first NFT projects launched back in 2017 by Larva Labs. 10,000 unique avatars were given away for free. And now, individual punks sell for tens of millions. CryptoPunk #5822 (инопланетянин, синий) ушёл за 23 миллиона. #7523 (an alien in a medical mask) sold for $11.75 million at Sotheby’s. #4156 (обезьяна) поднялась с 1,25 миллиона до 10,26 миллиона всего за 10 месяцев. #5577 (a monkey with a cowboy hat and one rare trait) went for $7.7 million. People are buying these punks like crazy.

There’s also TPunk #3442 — on the Tron blockchain. Justin Sun, CEO of Tron, bought it for 120 million TRX (about $10.5 million) in 2021. It’s called “Joker” because it resembles the villain from Batman. After this purchase, the entire TPunk market exploded.

Artist XCOPY sold Right-click and Save As Guy for $7 million — a direct joke at people who think NFTs can just be downloaded with a right-click. Kozomo de Medici, one of the most influential collectors in this space, bought it.

Dmitry Chernyak, a Canadian artist, created the Ringers series — generative art made from strings and nails. Ringers #109 sold for $6.93 million on Art Blocks. Even the cheapest pieces in this series are worth around $88,000.

Looking at entire collections, Axie Infinity leads with a total sales volume of $4.27 billion, and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) with $3.16 billion. This shows the scale at which the market operates.

What amazes me — the most expensive NFTs often have some story, meaning, or innovative approach. Just a beautiful picture doesn’t sell for millions. Rarity, artist reputation, cultural significance, or technological innovation are required. The market is rapidly evolving, and I’m sure we’ll see new records. As of early 2026, the total NFT market capitalization is estimated at around $2.6 billion, even though 95% of NFTs are practically worthless. But for those in the know, there are real treasures.