Yuga Labs unveils CryptoPunks721 wrapper to simplify NFT trading

Bored Ape developer Yuga Labs has rolled out a new wrapper for the CryptoPunks collection to ease trades on marketplaces.

According to an X thread by Yuga Labs‘ smart contract developer, @0xQuit, the newly introduced CryptoPunks721 wrapper operates on a permissionless basis and utilizes Larva Labs‘ PunksData smart contract for on-chain metadata.

The primary objective behind the development of the new wrapper is to streamline the trading of NFTs from the CryptoPunks collection, originally minted in 2017, a period predating the widespread acceptance of the ERC-721 standard in January 2018.

As noted by @0xQuit, the original NFTs from the CryptoPunks collection necessitate wrapping before being eligible for sale on key marketplaces. Wrapping involves creating a cloned token with equivalent value, while the original token is securely held by a custodian. This process involves multiple transactions, resulting in high operational costs.

The introduction of the CryptoPunks721 wrapper aims to address these limitations by enabling both wrapping and unwrapping of C721 tokens in a single transaction, consequently reducing gas fees.

Launched in 2017 by Matt Hall and John Watkinson of Larva Labs, CryptoPunks is a collection of 10,000 algorithmically generated pixel art characters in the form of NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. Each CryptoPunk is distinct and has its own set of features, contributing to its rarity.

In March 2022, Yuga Labs, the company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, acquired the NFT series of CryptoPunks and Meebits. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.