CryptoPunks has changed hands twice; has the ancestor of NFTs finally found a "permanent home" this time?

Original Title: "CryptoPunks changes hands again, with Ribbit Capital as the backer, can it usher in new development opportunities?"

Original author: Zen, PANews

The pioneer of NFTs, CryptoPunks, has officially changed hands again after being sold to the developers of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Yuga Labs. On the evening of May 13, the iconic work of NFT and encryption art, CryptoPunks, officially changed ownership — a foundation named Infinite Node (abbreviated as "NODE") acquired it from Yuga Labs. Although the terms of the deal have not been disclosed, media outlet NFT Now cited multiple informed sources stating that NODE paid approximately 20 million USD for this acquisition. As a result of this news, the floor price of CryptoPunks also rose from 42 ETH to 47.5 ETH.

CryptoPunks and the new "Home" NODE

The "NFT pioneer" CryptoPunks was launched by Larva Labs in 2017 and is widely regarded as a catalyst for the modern digital art movement. Larva Labs is a creative technology company founded by Matt Hall and John Watkinson. Thanks to the significant importance and far-reaching impact of CryptoPunks, which has accumulated over $3.07 billion in transaction volume, these two creators have also become some of the best-selling living artists. In March 2022, Larva Labs transferred the intellectual property of CryptoPunks and another work, Meebits, to Yuga Labs. Three years later, CryptoPunks changed ownership again, landing in its new home NODE.

Wylie Aronow, co-founder of Yuga (also known as "Gordon Goner"), commented: "We have always been dedicated to enhancing and protecting their cultural heritage, but we have always understood that Punks need a permanent home to carry on. Seeing this vision come to fruition with the help of the Node Foundation feels like returning to the original starting point. They are the most capable of protecting the cultural heritage of the Punks."

The NODE Foundation, founded by Ribbit Capital founders Micky Malka and Becky Kleiner, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, research, and exhibition of digital art. Its goal is to elevate the status of internet-native artworks and integrate them into broader cultural and academic discussions. In April this year, the NODE Foundation announced that it received a $25 million funding from Malka and Kleiner to advance its vision for the future of digital art. The organization describes itself as a "perpetual fund, driven by mission," and states that this acquisition "opens up a new model for protecting internet-native culture."

Open up the mainstream path of art

Even though the sales of CryptoPunks surpass all contemporary artists alive, it has never made it to traditional art rankings nor entered the mainstream discourse. NODE believes that addressing this cultural gap requires redefining the experience of digital art. "Our goal is to build a networked structure that allows digital art like CryptoPunks to thrive in the digital realm while also being incorporated into the grand narrative of art history." NODE stated that it will continue and promote the Punk spirit, achieving this through three main pillars:

· Preservation: Relying on advanced blockchain infrastructure to ensure the technical integrity and long-term availability of CryptoPunks;

· Community: Build an active ecosystem that connects digital innovators with art enthusiasts;

· Expansion: Create new scenarios, allowing CryptoPunks to be studied and displayed both as examples of technological innovation and as artistic achievements.

NODE plans to build a permanent exhibition hall in Palo Alto to display all 10,000 CryptoPunks. The hall will also run an Ethereum full node to enhance the accessibility and permanence of the collection. Micky Malka stated, "Through museum-quality preservation methods and a perpetual donation fund, we aim to establish future-oriented protection for this milestone work and make it easier for scholars, curators, and collectors to interact with it."

In order to achieve the above goals, NODE has formed an advisory committee composed of well-known figures from the CryptoPunks community and the encryption art world, including Matt Hall, John Watkinson, Wylie Aronow, and Erick Calderon (also known as "Snowfro"), the founder of Art Blocks. During the transition period, Natalie Stone will be hired as an advisor to the NODE team to manage the project.

Guarding Cultural Fundamentalism

After the announcement of the acquisition, the community generally interpreted it as a positive development. Consequently, the floor price of CryptoPunks rose from 42 ETH to 47.5 ETH.

"It's undoubtedly good news for punks," said CryptoPunks holder @VonMises 14, who expressed high praise for this acquisition, believing that "this means the punks IP has found its 'destination', where it can grow and thrive without any form of monetization or corruption." Due to the individual blue-chip NFT "self-destructing the Great Wall" and CryptoPunks having nearly been "contaminated", the Punks community is particularly concerned about brand value and cultural purity.

A year ago, Yuga Labs launched the Super Punk World NFT series based on CryptoPunks, which faced strong opposition and criticism from the community. Most people believed that the excessive "woke culture" presented by Super Punk World severely deviated from the core essence of the original Punks, and many even bluntly stated that Yuga Labs was ruining Punks. In response to the strong backlash, Yuga Labs co-founder Greg Solano immediately stated: "We will no longer touch CryptoPunks, we will only decentralize it and keep it on the blockchain," and mentioned plans to support museums and institutions in acquiring it to promote the original work to the public.

However, protecting the cultural value of CryptoPunks as artworks may require controlling their use, reproduction, or monetization methods. As attorney @jabranthelawyer, who focuses on the Web3 field, pointed out: "If NODE follows traditional 'cultural protection strategies,' it is not hard to imagine new restrictions: Will the freedom of punk commercialization be reduced? Will the control over derivative projects become stricter? Will restrictions be imposed in the name of 'cultural integrity'?"

Yuga Labs immediately granted IP usage rights and commercialization licenses to NFT holders after acquiring CryptoPunks, allowing them to freely create, display, and monetize on both personal and commercial levels. However, it remains uncertain whether NODE will retain these commercial rights after this acquisition.

That being said, this might not be the main concern of the punk community; for them, perhaps not stirring things up is the best choice.

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