I just came across an interesting analysis that reminded me of the wild NFT days from 2021 to 2022. Back then, some digital artworks really reached truly absurd prices—and honestly, many of them have remained unmatched to this day.

The most expensive NFT of all time is still Pak’s The Merge. In December 2021, this piece was sold for $91.8 million. What makes it special: it wasn’t a single NFT that a collector owned, but a collective phenomenon. Nearly 29,000 collectors bought together over 312,000 units, each priced at $575. The more units you bought, the bigger your share became. A pretty innovative model, if you ask me.

For a long time, Beeple was #2 with Everydays: The First 5000 Days for $69 million in March 2021. This guy created a digital artwork every day—over 5,000 days—and compiled everything into one huge collage. At Christie’s, the thing sold like hotcakes, even though the starting price was only $100.

Then there was The Clock, also by Pak, but in collaboration with Julian Assange. A political statement in NFT form—a timer counting the days of Assange’s detention every day. AssangeDAO paid $52.7 million for it in February 2022. This shows that NFTs weren’t only about art, but also about activism and messages.

Beeple’s Human One was also impressive—an over-two-meter-tall kinetic sculpture with a 16K video that constantly changes. $29 million in November 2021. The artist can even update the work remotely, so it’s basically a living artwork.

With CryptoPunks, things got really interesting. CryptoPunk #5822—one of only nine Alien Punks—brought $23 million. Larva Labs’ series is truly a classic: 10,000 unique avatars that were distributed for free in 2017. Now they’re worth a fortune. There are other expensive examples too: #7804 für 16,42 Millionen (März 2024), #3100 for 16,03 million (März 2024), #635 for 12,41 million (April 2024).

CryptoPunk #7523—an alien with a medical mask, knit cap, and earring—earned $11.75 million at Sotheby’s in June 2021. Unbelievably rare.

TPunk #3442 is interesting because Justin Sun, Tron’s CEO, bought it in August 2021 for 120 million TRX, which at the time was about $10.5 million. Known as The Joker because of its resemblance to Batman’s nemesis. That was the most expensive NFT on the Tron blockchain.

CryptoPunk #4156—a monkey-shaped NFT—changed hands in December 2023 for $10.26 million. Crazy that it was sold for $1.25 million ten months earlier. Only 24 monkey Punks exist.

Then CryptoPunk #5577, also a monkey, for $7.7 million in February 2022. With a cowboy hat, which only 1% of the Punks have.

Ringers #109 by Dmitri Cherniak—an on-chain generative art series on Art Blocks—brought $6.93 million. The whole series consists of “cords and nails,” and even the cheapest pieces still cost around $88,000.

XCOPY’s Right-click and Save As Guy is also noteworthy—$7 million. A work about works, so to speak, since many think NFTs can just be saved with a right-click. Cozomo de’ Medici, a legendary collector, bought it.

Beeple’s Crossroad from February 2021 for $6.6 million was a big deal back then—a 10-second film about the 2020 U.S. elections with two different endings depending on the outcome. Pretty political for an NFT.

What I find interesting: the NFT market is completely different today than in 2021–2022. Many of these works are worth less today, but established series like CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club have stayed relatively stable. The market capitalization of NFTs is currently estimated at about $2.6 billion—clearly far below the hype back then.

The lessons from these most expensive NFTs are clear: scarcity, artist reputation, and community engagement drive prices. Pak’s innovative selling model for The Merge showed that it doesn’t have to be only about individual pieces. Beeple proved that established names from the art world can also work in the digital space. And CryptoPunks showed that early projects with real utility and a community remain valuable long term.

Today, the NFT market has become more mature, more volatile, and more selective. Not every NFT is profitable—according to data, about 95% are practically worthless. But what about the top collections? They keep their value and continue to attract collectors. Anyone who was early back then made incredible gains in some cases. Today it’s harder, but not impossible if you find the right projects.