In one of our previous articles, we saw how NFTs - non-fungible tokens - have easily achieved vast global popularity in recent years. Suffice it to say that the market capitalisation of available NFTs has reached approximately USD 841,56 million (if you want to learn more, read our Report Crypto & NFTs).
Today we will talk about NFTs in relation to crypto art, with a hint at the main data characterising the market for non-fungible tokens. In addition, we will look at the best-selling examples of NFTs to date and the most popular projects of merit in 2022.
NFTs and crypto art
Crypto art is one of the main areas in which NFTs operate. Thanks to blockchain technology, digital art is proving to be a powerful catalyst for creativity and online business. This particular type of art is constantly being experimented with, but creates new opportunities every day that see the profits of those who buy it rise.
The 'not fungible tokens' solved several problems belonging to traditional art, such as the uniqueness of works and the risk of counterfeiting. Through blockchain technology, the digital artwork is a unique and authentic token. If it is to be exchanged, the transitions and steps of the activity will be transparent and visible to anyone; in fact, everything about the various ownership transitions is recorded on a decentralised ledger that makes the process indelible (blockchain).
Moreover, creating a work of art and turning it into NFT offers artists several advantages. From an economic point of view, it is cheaper to create a work in terms of NFT, because the creator can set a royalty - i.e. a percentage - that will allow him to earn from each passing of the NFT from one collector to another.
3 of the most expensive NFTs in the world
The largest marketplace where NFT exchanges take place is OpenSea. Total sales in 2021 was $6,5 billion (data: DappRadar). Let's take a look at the ranking of the three most expensive NFTs ever sold on the market:
1. The Merge di Pak
It beats Beeple's famous work - Everydays: The First 5000 days -, which until then was in first position for the most expensive sale. We are talking about the work The Merge, which the Pak artist managed to sell for 91,8 million dollars. The work came to a total of 28.984 people, who bought more than 266.445 units of this piece.
2. Everydays, 5.000 days from Beeple
We could call it NFT's most famous sale; it is a digital collage consisting of some 5000 images and created by the American artist Beeple. The work came at the modest sum of $69,3 million during an auction.
3. 9 series from CryptoPunk
CryptoPunks have their roots on Ethereum, being the first NFTs on this platform. They are a series of 10.000 pixel art images that are uniquely generated by a special algorithm; each one features a different character. The average bid is around $61.600 per avatar; to date, CryptoPunks boast a total market of $280 million.
The best NFTs to buy in 2022
The year 2021 was a watershed year for the NFT market, which saw exponential growth in both buying and selling by investors. To date, this trend does not seem to be waning, with an abundance of NFTs available in the market possessing a large and steadily growing value.
But what are the most profitable NFTs to buy in 2022? Let's see them together.
- Bored Ape Yacht Club: is a collection of more than 10.000 unique NFTs representing bored monkeys. It ranks among the most sought-after NFT drops of the year, boasting a very high global net worth. In addition, several personalities in the world of sports and entertainment - including Eminem, Jimmy Fallon, Snoop Dogg, Mark Cuban, Shaquille O'Neal, Neymar and Kevin Hart and many others - have purchased them;
- CryptoPunk: as mentioned above, Ethereum's CrytoPunks have depopulated the crypto art world. Launched in 2017, they are among the 'oldest' examples we can find of NFT and have seen a substantial increase from 2021 onwards;
- Pudgy Penguins: contains 8.888 NFTs, all detailing different scenes from a cartoon featuring a penguin. Some are considered rarer than others and, like Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks, this NFT collection has become very popular among investors;
- Decentraland: what characterises Decentreland is the possibility of purchasing NFT within the metaverse. The latter, in fact, is a Game-Fi, i.e. a digital gaming platform based on blockchain technology. Inside, various users can create avatars and move through these. In addition, it allows NFTs to be traded and monetised, while remaining in the world of the metaverse;
- Doodles: another option for the best NFT to invest in is Doodles. This is an NFT collection consisting of 10,000 original works of art produced by a trio of famous digital artists. The success of these artists stems from their contribution to the creation of one of the first NFTs ever created, the CryptoKitties.
Conclusions
PXR Italy investigated the NFT market, a sector that has been growing steadily, especially in recent years.
It all started in 2021, when an NFT digital artwork sold at auction for approximately USD 69 million, making it the 3rd most expensive piece of art ever sold by a living artist.There are several NFT collections that drive this market. Art Blocks, for example, was the collection of Non-Fungible Tokens with the highest market capitalisation as of 5 April 2022.
Approximately 28.400 NFT were sold in April 2021 (considering the previous 30 days), but the peak was reached in mid-August 2021 with a high of 109,1 thousand sales.
If you want to know more about the NFT market data, read our latest Report.
