Most Expensive NFT Sales: List of NFTs Ever Sold for Tens of Millions of Dollars

A 24x24 pixel image—smaller than an app icon on a phone screen—once sold for tens of millions of US dollars. This phenomenon is no myth: the most expensive NFT sales in history are indeed dominated by such works, ranging from digital collages, kinetic sculptures, to collections of pixel avatars that look deceptively simple at first glance. 

This article summarizes the list of NFTs that have sold for the highest prices, complete with the stories behind each record. Most of these records were set from 2021 to early 2022, at the peak of the NFT craze. 

Although the market later cooled down, several works among the most expensive NFTs in the world have continued to change hands for millions of dollars years later—proof that scarce digital assets still hold a unique appeal for serious collectors.

Key Takeaways

• The Merge by Pak still holds the record as the most expensive NFT of all time at $91.8 million, bought collectively by nearly 29,000 collectors.
• The CryptoPunks collection dominates the top tier of most expensive NFT sales, with Alien and Ape variants consistently fetching millions of dollars.
• NFT prices can be very volatile—CryptoPunk #3100 sold for $16 million in 2024, then plummeted to around $6 million just a year later.

4 NFTs with the Highest Selling Prices of All Time

1. The Merge (Pak) — $91.8 million 

This work holds the record as the most expensive NFT ever sold. Unlike most high-value NFTs owned by a single collector, The Merge was sold in the form of "mass" units on the Nifty Gateway platform on December 2, 2021. 

A total of 28,983 collectors purchased 312,686 units at $575 per unit, bringing the combined value to $91.8 million. Pak himself is known as an anonymous digital artist who has been active in the crypto space for over two decades.

2. Everydays: The First 5000 Days (Beeple) — $69.3 million 

Mike Winkelmann, better known as Beeple, made history with a collage of 5,000 digital images he created daily for over 13 consecutive years. 

The work was sold at Christie's auction house on March 11, 2021—a landmark sale, as it was the first time a purely digital NFT was auctioned by a prestigious auction house. Interestingly, the opening bid for this auction was only $100.

3. Clock (Pak x Julian Assange) — $52.7 million 

Clock is a collaboration between Pak and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The artwork features a timer that automatically updates the number of days Assange has been imprisoned. 

In February 2022, AssangeDAO—a group consisting of tens of thousands of Assange supporters—purchased this NFT for 16,593 ETH, equivalent to $52.7 million, to fund the legal defense of the WikiLeaks founder.

4. Human One (Beeple) — $29 million 

Human One is a "phygital" work—a combination of a physical sculpture over 7 feet tall with four 16K video screens displaying a figure of an astronaut walking through an ever-changing landscape. 

Beeple retains remote access to update its digital display, allowing the work to continue "living" over time. Christie's auctioned Human One in November 2021 for nearly $29 million.

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CryptoPunks Dominates the Top of the Most Expensive NFT Sales List

As one of the earliest NFT projects on the Ethereum blockchain, CryptoPunks—a collection of 10,000 unique avatars created by Larva Labs and launched in 2017—consistently sets records for the most expensive NFT sales. Here are the CryptoPunks with the highest selling prices:

CryptoPunk #5822 remains the most expensive CryptoPunk individually. The blue-skinned alien-themed Punk was bought by Deepak Thapliya, CEO of blockchain technology company Chain, for $23 million in February 2022. Its rarity is key: out of the total 10,000 CryptoPunks, only nine are alien-themed.

Two interesting records emerged later. In March 2024, CryptoPunk #7804 and #3100—both alien Punks—sold for $16.42 million and $16.03 million, respectively, just sixteen days apart, according to a Cointelegraph report. The seller of #7804 even refused an offer of around $18 million in 2022 before finally letting the work go.

However, the story of CryptoPunk #3100 proves just how volatile NFT prices can be. After selling for $16 million in March 2024, the Punk changed hands again in April 2025 for only about $6.08 million—a drop of around 60 percent in a year, as reported by Benzinga. 

The main cause was the weakening of the ETH price, given that most high-end NFT transactions are denominated in that cryptocurrency.

Outside of Ethereum, TPunk #3442 made history as the most expensive NFT on the Tron blockchain. Tron founder Justin Sun bought it for 120 million TRX, or about $10.5 million, in August 2021. The Punk, nicknamed "The Joker," was previously minted for just 1,000 TRX, or about $123.

Also Read: Nvidia AI Funding $500 Billion, AI Crypto Tokens Also Benefiting?

Other NFTs That Also Set Million-Dollar Records

It's not just The Merge and CryptoPunks that deserve a spot on the list. The following works also broke the million-dollar mark and have their own stories behind their value.

XCOPY — "Right-click and Save As Guy" — $7 million 

Anonymous artist XCOPY is known for works themed around dystopia and death. The piece titled "Right-click and Save As Guy" was initially sold for 1 ETH, or about $90, in December 2018. Its price skyrocketed until it was eventually bought by Cozomo de' Medici—widely believed to be a pseudonym for Snoop Dogg—for $7 million.

Ringers #109 (Dmitri Cherniak) — $6.93 million 

Ringers is a generative art series of "string and nail" works, totaling 1,000 pieces on the Art Blocks platform, created by Canadian programmer and artist Dmitri Cherniak. Ringers #109 holds the record for the highest price among the entire series and is also the most expensive NFT ever sold on Art Blocks.

Also Read: Tokenized Stocks vs Ordinary Stocks: Definition, Differences, and How to Buy

CryptoPunk #8857 — $6.63 million 

One of the 88 Zombie Punks in the CryptoPunks collection, this piece was sold at an OpenSea auction for $6.63 million in September 2021. In fact, the same Punk had previously sold for just $1,717 in May 2018, according to Decrypt—a price increase that reflects just how rapidly the NFT market grew over three years.

Beeple — "Crossroad" — $6.6 million 

This 10-second short film was created as a response to the 2020 US Presidential Election, featuring two different endings depending on the election result. Crossroad was sold on Nifty Gateway in February 2021—two months before the Everydays record was set—and was the most expensive NFT at the time.

A consistent pattern emerges from this entire list: attribute rarity, creator reputation, historical or symbolic value, and community enthusiasm are the main factors driving NFT prices far above the average market value.

Also Read: What Is NFT? An Easy Way to Understand, Create, and Sell Them

Conclusion

The list of the most expensive NFT sales of all time shows how digital art, blockchain technology, and collector culture intertwine to create new value that was previously unimaginable. 

The Merge, Everydays, and Clock prove that digital works can rival classical art auctions, while the dominance of CryptoPunks confirms that rarity remains a primary determinant of price in the NFT market. On the other hand, the plummeting value of CryptoPunk #3100 within a year serves as a reminder that behind these fantastic figures, NFTs remain highly speculative and volatile assets.

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FAQ

Which NFT is the most expensive in the world? 

The Merge by anonymous artist Pak remains the most expensive NFT ever sold, valued at $91.8 million in December 2021. The work was bought collectively by nearly 29,000 collectors through a fractional ownership model.

Why can NFT prices reach millions of dollars? 

The main factors are attribute rarity, creator reputation, historical or symbolic value, and hype from the collector community. However, a high price does not guarantee that the NFT will be easy to resell later.

Can NFT prices drop drastically? 

Absolutely. CryptoPunk #3100, for example, sold for $16 million in 2024, then plummeted to around $6 million a year later due to the weakening of ETH prices and declining market interest.

Which NFT collection has set the most price records? 

CryptoPunks is the most dominant collection in the list of most expensive NFT sales, with at least eight Punk variants having sold for over $7 million. The rarity of alien and ape themes is the main driver.

Is it still worth investing in NFTs today? 

NFTs can still be profitable, but the market is highly volatile and not all collections hold high value. In-depth research on creator reputation, rarity, and market trends remains a crucial step before buying.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any digital assets. Trading crypto assets and NFTs carries high risk, so investment decisions are entirely the responsibility of the reader.