Cryptopunks Descend On New York City

Christie’s is auctioning off some of the original Cryptopunks owned by the founders of LarvaLabs today and the moment is being kicked off with a month long SaveArtSpace installation. As was the case with Miami, SaveArtSpace will be placing Cryptopunks on billboards across the city.

The non-profit organization which replaces billboard advertisements with art, made a splash in the world of NFTs thanks to co-founder Justin Aversano (who was one of my first interviews). In cooperation with Gmoney (also a former podcast guest), he has been actively recruiting Cryptopunks owners to become part of the installation and that effort has paid off.

There are over 157 installations throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. For a city that is just beginning to recover from the ongoing global pandemic, having a major art auction combined with a city-wide art installation is huge.

Pixelated is being kicked off with an RSVP-only event this evening at Superchief Gallery NYC (the same one I covered for hosting the first in-person NFT gallery). There may just also be a live stream of the Christie’s auction which will be occurring at the same time.

While it’s not clear how much the Christie’s punk auction will fetch, I’ve already seen groups of existing punk owners attempt to raise more than $20 million to place a bid. Given that the previous NFT auction by Christie’s was the historic $69 million Beeple sale, all guesses are possible.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Pixelated installation you can watch the video below or visit the Save Art Space website.