The CryptoPunks NFT collection might be giving the Bored Apes a run for its money after it flipped the blue-chip collection’s floor price for the first time in five months.
On Sunday morning, the CryptoPunks NFT collection flipped the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s (BAYC) floor price for a fleeting moment. It is the first time in five months that the veteran NFT collection topped BAYC, a favorite project among celebrities.
The BAYC has been doing well all year despite the bear market, but with this latest development, the Punks might be gaining a second wind.
And while the flip was short-lived as the Bored Apes quickly landed back on the top spot, it bodes well for the CryptoPunks NFT collection. According to various data, the veteran NFT collection has been closing in on the Bored Apes in terms of floor prices since June. If the trend keeps up, it might not be long until CryptoPunks overtake the Bored Apes again, and this time, hold on to the top spot.
More on the CryptoPunks’ Climb
The CryptoPunks were created in June 2017 for Larva Labs by Canadian software developers Matt Hall and John Watkinson. The NFT collection, which sits on the Ethereum blockchain, is said to be the flame that ignited the NFT craze. It is said to have inspired the ERC-721 standard and succeeding NFT collections, including BAYC, which launched in April 2021.
The Bored Apes’ entry into the NFT space immediately captured the attention of athletes, celebrities, and other big-name personalities. Thus, owning a piece from the collection handed one the A-lister card. Before 2021 ended, BAYC floor prices flipped that of the Punks, which stayed that way for much of 2022.
BAYC even hit record highs in April, with floor prices reaching $429,000, as its creator, Yuga Labs, prepped the way for the launch of the Otherside Metaverse.
In a way, BAYC and the Punks became rivals of some sort. However, things may be going in a different direction now that BAYC and CryptoPunks belong to the same “family” after BAYC’s parent company, Yuga Labs, acquired CryptoPunks and Meebits from Larva Labs in March.
Big Turnaround for CryptoPunks
CryptoPunks flipping BAYC’s floor price isn’t because of the former’s rising values. The bear market has affected almost all collections, including BAYC and CryptoPunks, with both losing values over the last 30 days. However, when measured in US dollars, it seems BAYC is losing value faster with a 28% decline versus only 16% for CryptoPunks.
Another staggering statistic is the 33% drop in the Apes’ floor price this past week, which hit an eight-month low on Sunday, compared to only 24% for the Punks.
The “turnaround” for CryptoPunks may be attributed to the entry of Noah Davis, former Web3 expert of Christie’s Auction House, whom Yuga Labs hired to become the project’s brand lead. It certainly looks like Davis has a lot of things planned for the Punks, and leading the list is the handover of the collection’s commercial rights to CryptoPunks holders earlier this month.
Moreover, the sustained crypto crash has prompted many investors to invest in more established blue-chip NFT projects like CryptoPunks. Hence, the Punks have seen a solid floor price jump at the end of June, while that of the Bored Apes held steady. The last few weeks saw the gap between the two projects narrowing, ultimately leading to the brief flip.
These two blue-chip NFT collections will likely continue trading places at the top of the listings over the next few weeks. Still, many Twitter users who are members of the NFT community are saying that BAYC has hit its peak while the CryptoPunks are only now regaining traction.
This week has seen BAYC prices dropping to record lows, which some analysts say could trigger forced liquidations of BAYC NFTs used as loan collateral on BendDAO. Around 72 BAYC NFTs could be auctioned off within a short time frame, putting more downward pressure on prices.
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