Million-Dollar Digital Collectibles: An In-Depth Look at the Top 10 Most Expensive NFTs Sold This Year

2021 is coming to an end and one prominent theme this year in the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology most definitely belongs to non-fungible token (NFT) assets. This year NFTs became a billion-dollar industry and many NFTs have sold for millions of dollars. The following is a look at the top ten NFTs, in terms of sale value in 2021, as they are considered the most expensive NFTs on earth.

Billions of dollars in digital assets have been traded for NFTs and various collections have significantly sized market valuations. For instance, according to dappradar.com metrics, the Axie Infinity NFT collection has captured $3.81 billion across 11.4 million sales. Cryptopunks is the second-largest NFT collection in terms of overall sales with $2.32 billion.

The Cryptopunks collection itself has a market capitalization of around $3 billion today, while Bored Ape Yacht Club’s market cap is $2.5 billion. There’s also a list of the most expensive NFTs ever sold and single NFTs that have sold for multi-millions in digital currency. The list below excludes the controversial Cryptopunk #9998 sale that took place two months ago for 124,450 ether or $529 million.

While Beeple held the top position in terms of the most expensive NFT ever sold for most of 2021, at the end of the year a non-fungible token designed by the NFT artist Pak sold for $91.8 million via Nifty Gateway. The NFT called “The Merge,” however, was fractionalized and distributed to 28,983 traders who obtained roughly 312,686 fractionalized pieces of “The Merge” NFT crafted by Pak.

The American artist Michael Winkelmann, otherwise known as Beeple, made history this year when he sold the NFT “Everydays: The First 5,000 Days” for $69.3 million via a Christie’s auction. This particular sale helped propel NFTs into the limelight and non-fungible token assets were noticed by mainstream audiences. Beeple is one of the most well-known NFT artists today and he also launched his own NFT marketplace called We.new.

On November 9, Beeple took the third position in terms of the next most expensive NFT ever sold with “Human One.” The “Human One” NFT is a life-sized 3D sculpture NFT shows an individual in a silver-colored space suit but can change on the whims of the artist. Beeple promises he will update “Human One” during his lifetime, so the art can change and vary from day to day. The 21st Century Evening Sale auction of “Human One” saw a realized price of $28,985,000.

Last June, at London’s auction house Sotheby’s, Cryptopunk #7523 sold at auction for $11.75 million. Besides Cryptopunk #9998, Cryptopunk #7523 is considered the most expensive Cryptopunk NFT from the Cryptopunks collection crafted by Larva Labs. Cryptopunk #7523 is also a rare styled Cryptopunk dubbed: “Covid Alien.”

Two weeks ago, Cryptopunk #4156 sold for 2,500 ether or $10.35 million according to dappradar.com stats. Cryptopunk #4156 is a rare ape-styled Cryptopunk and only 24 exist. Dappradar.com’s site estimates it’s worth around $3.75 million and it has a floor price of around 66 ether or $275,285.

Dappradar.com stats show Cryptopunk #7804 sold for $7.56 million or 4,200 ether. The blue Cryptopunk with a hat, sunglasses, and a pipe sold for that price ten months ago. The NFT is the sixth most expensive NFT on the planet, according to today’s metrics, while Cryptopunk #3100 sold for a touch less.

The bald-headed Cryptopunk #3100 with a headband sold for $7.51 million ten months ago as well. Dappradar.com stats indicate that Cryptopunk #3100 has a floor price of around 66.95 ether or $275,285, but estimates the worth to be around $1.69 million.

Three weeks ago, the NFT artist Xcopy’s “Right-click and Save As guy” NFT sold for 1,600 ether or $7.09 million. The NFT was purchased by Snoop Dogg’s NFT alias ‘Cozomo de Medici’ via Superrare.

Ringers #109 from the Art Blocks collection sold for 2,100 ether or $6.93 million, according to dappradar.com metrics. The sale was executed three months ago and there’s a total of 99,000 Art Block NFTs in existence. The Art Block NFTs are on-demand art generative-styled collectibles.

Once again, Beeple, takes the tenth position with his animated 10-second short called “Crossroad.” The animated NFT featuring former U.S. president Donald Trump sold for $6.6 million at the end of February. “Crossroad” was first sold on Nifty Gateway, but the $6.6 million sale was executed via a secondary market.



Other notable NFT sales this year include Xcopy’s “A Coin for the Ferryman,” which sold for $6.03 million. Cryptopunk #8857 for $6.64 million, the Ross Ulbricht Genesis NFT sold for $6.28 million and has been fractionalized. The fractionalized Doge NFT is worth $124.61 million according to the market cap growth over time, and Etherrock #72 has a market valuation of $18.55 million today, but it didn’t originally sell for that value.

What do you think about the top ten non-fungible token collectibles in terms of price? Would you spend this kind of money on an NFT? Let us know what you think about these expensive NFTs in the comments section below.