Trader’s acquisition of $1.5M CryptoPunk for $23K raises eyebrows

A CryptoPunk worth millions was acquired for a fraction of its value through a smart contract, surprising onlookers who described what happened as either a "heist" or a brilliant play.

CryptoPunks are some of the most expensive non-fungible tokens (NFTs) around. Because of their value, some decided to fractionalize these NFTs, splitting ownership of the piece.

With smart contract mechanisms allowing fractionalization in place, a trader acquired a CryptoPunk with current bids of over 600 Ether (ETH), worth about $1.5 million, for only 10 ETH ($23,000).
Rare Ape CryptoPunk sells for 10 ETH

Punk #2386, a rare Ape-themed CryptoPunk with a headband and small shades, was one of the NFTs fractionalized through a now-defunct platform called Niftex. According to the pseudonymous developer 0xQuit, the NFT was split into 10,000 parts with 257 owners in 2020.