CryptoPunk Investor Realizes $9.73M Loss
A prominent NFT trader has sold a CryptoPunk for 4,000 ETH—about $6 million—at one of the highest realized losses for an NFT. The trader had bought the NFT for 4,500 ETH, then valued at about $15.7 million, in early 2024. The sale is a nearly $10 million loss in U.S. dollar terms.
According to blockchain data provided by Lookonchain, while the ETH difference amounted to just 500, the loss in dollar terms was much greater due to Ethereum’s 57% fall in price over the past year. “Did he just lose 500 $ETH ($774K)? No—he actually lost $9.73M!” Lookonchain tweeted on X.
Top NFT Collections Failing to Recover
Despite the huge loss, the sale was the largest NFT sale in the past 30 days, based on CryptoSlam. It emphasizes the sluggish NFT market where Ethereum-based trading volume has decreased over 53% in the past month. Polygon’s NFT trading also declined by 41%.
CryptoPunks also experienced a 13% floor price increase on rumors that Yuga Labs could be set to sell the collection’s IP. However, floor prices are still over 61% off their all-time high of 113.9 ETH in 2021.
Blue-Chip NFTs Plummet As Penguins Take Flight
The downturn has impacted other leading NFT collections. Bored Ape Yacht Club’s floor price has dropped 89% from its all-time high, and Mutant Ape Yacht Club has crashed 93%, according to NFTpricefloor.
Meanwhile, Pudgy Penguins has bucked the trend. It hit an all-time high 25 ETH floor price in December 2024 and led Q1 2025 with over $72 million in sales volume.
SEC Concludes Yuga Labs NFT Investigation
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has just finished investigating Yuga Labs. The years-long investigation was examining if some NFTs should be regulated as securities. The resolution could bring clarity and relief to NFT creators and marketplaces in the future.
