been diving deep into the nft market history lately and honestly, the price tags on some of these pieces are absolutely wild. like, we're talking hundreds of millions for digital art here.

so pak's the merge is legitimately the most expensive nft sold ever—$91.8 million back in december 2021. what's interesting about it though is that it wasn't owned by just one person. instead, nearly 29k collectors bought into it, each purchasing different quantities at $575 per unit. it's this whole unique model where the more you buy, the larger your share. pretty clever way to structure an nft drop if you ask me.

but before the merge dominated the charts, beeple was having his moment. everydays: the first 5000 days went for $69 million at christie's in march 2021. started at only $100 in the auction, which is crazy to think about. this guy literally created one piece every single day for 5000 days straight and compiled them into one massive collage. that's the kind of dedication that gets recognized in the market.

then you've got pak's clock collaboration with julian assange—$52.7 million in february 2022. it's this dynamic artwork that literally counts the days assange spent imprisoned, updating daily. the assange dao community pooled resources to buy it, and proceeds went to his legal defense. that's when you see nfts becoming more than just art, you know?

beeple also had human one, which was a whole different beast. $29 million for this kinetic sculpture that's constantly evolving. it's got a 16k display, changes based on time of day, and beeple can update it remotely. basically a living artwork. the physical piece is over 7 feet tall and looks like something from the future.

if we're talking about the most expensive nft sold in terms of individual collectibles though, cryptopunks keep showing up. cryptopunk #5822 went for $23 million—it's one of only nine alien punks. then #7523 sold for $11.75 million, and that one's the only alien wearing a medical mask. the rarity factor on these is insane.

what's wild is how the market has evolved. these pieces that sold for millions just a few years ago are now historical records. cryptopunk #7804 was $7.57 million, #3100 was $7.67 million. there's also tpunk #3442 that justin sun grabbed for $10.5 million back in 2021—that one's known as "the joker" because it looks like batman's villain.

xcopy's right-click and save as guy was $7 million, which is hilarious considering the whole joke behind the title. people thought you could just right-click and download nfts, so the artist literally made that the name. ringers #109 by dmitri cherniak hit $6.93 million on art blocks.

and beeple's crossroad? $6.6 million in february 2021. it was a 10-second film about the 2020 us election with two different endings depending on the outcome. sold before the election even happened.

the thing that strikes me about all of this is how quickly the most expensive nft sold records keep getting challenged. when crossroad sold for $6.6 million, people thought that was the ceiling. then the merge came along and blew everything away. it's crazy how this market has matured.

axie infinity and bored ape yacht club dominate by total collection sales—$4.27 billion and $3.16 billion respectively. but individual pieces? that's where you see the real scarcity premium kick in. one of a kind or extremely limited runs are where the serious money flows.

the market's definitely cooled from those 2021-2022 peaks, but the infrastructure is here to stay. whenever the next bull cycle hits, i wouldn't be surprised to see new records for the most expensive nft sold. the fundamentals around digital ownership and scarcity aren't going anywhere.