Author: Zen, PANews

The pioneer of NFTs, CryptoPunks, has officially changed hands again after being sold to the developers of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Yuga Labs.

On the evening of May 13, the iconic NFT and crypto art piece CryptoPunks was officially acquired by a foundation named Infinite Node (abbreviated as "NODE") from Yuga Labs. Although the terms of the deal have not been disclosed, media outlet NFT Now cited several informed sources stating that NODE paid approximately $20 million for the acquisition. Following this news, the floor price of CryptoPunks rose from 42 ETH to 47.5 ETH.

CryptoPunks and the New "Home" NODE

The "ancestor of NFTs," CryptoPunks, was launched in 2017 by Larva Labs and is widely regarded as a catalyst for the modern digital art movement. Larva Labs is a creative technology company founded by Matt Hall and John Watkinson. Thanks to the significant importance and far-reaching impact of CryptoPunks, which has accumulated over $3.07 billion in transaction volume, these two creators have become some of the best-selling living artists.

In March 2022, Larva Labs transferred the intellectual property of CryptoPunks and another work, Meebits, to Yuga Labs. Three years later, CryptoPunks has changed hands again, finding a new home at NODE.

Wylie Aronow, co-founder of Yuga, commented: "We have always been committed to enhancing and protecting their cultural legacy, but we have always understood that Punks need a permanent home to carry on. Seeing this vision realized with the help of the Node Foundation feels like returning to the original starting point. They are the most capable of protecting the cultural legacy of Punks."

The NODE Foundation, founded by Ribbit Capital's Micky Malka and Becky Kleiner, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, research, and exhibition of digital art. Its aim is to elevate the status of internet-native artworks and integrate them into broader cultural and academic discussions.

In April of this year, the NODE Foundation announced it had received a $25 million grant from Malka and Kleiner to advance its vision for the future of digital art. The organization describes itself as a "perpetual fund, mission-driven," and stated that this acquisition "opens up a new model for protecting internet-native culture."

Bridging the Gap to Mainstream Art

Even though CryptoPunks' sales exceed those of all living contemporary artists, it has never made it onto traditional art rankings or entered mainstream discourse. NODE believes that addressing this cultural gap requires redefining the experience of digital art.

"Our goal is to build a networked framework that allows digital art like CryptoPunks to thrive in the digital realm while also being integrated into the grand narrative of art history." NODE stated that it will continue and promote the Punk spirit through three main pillars:

• Preservation: Utilizing advanced blockchain infrastructure to ensure the technical integrity and long-term availability of CryptoPunks;

• Community: Building a vibrant ecosystem that connects digital innovators with art enthusiasts;

• Expansion: Creating new scenarios where CryptoPunks can serve as examples of technological innovation and as subjects for research and exhibition as artistic achievements.

NODE plans to establish a permanent exhibition hall in Palo Alto to showcase all 10,000 CryptoPunks. The hall will also run an Ethereum full node to enhance the accessibility and sustainability of the collection. Micky Malka stated: "Through museum-level preservation methods combined with a perpetual donation fund, we aim to establish future-oriented safeguards for this milestone work and make it easier for scholars, curators, and collectors to interact with it."

To achieve these goals, NODE has formed an advisory committee composed of well-known figures from the CryptoPunks community and the crypto art world, including Matt Hall and John Watkinson, Wylie Aronow, and Art Blocks founder Erick Calderon (also known as "Snowfro"). During the transition period, Natalie Stone will be hired as an advisor to the NODE team to manage the project.

Protecting Cultural Purity

After the announcement of the acquisition, the community generally interpreted it as a positive development. Subsequently, the floor price of CryptoPunks rose from 42 ETH to 47.5 ETH.

"This is undoubtedly good news for Punks," said CryptoPunks holder @VonMises14, who expressed high praise for the acquisition, believing that "this means the Punks IP has found its 'final destination,' where it can grow and thrive without any form of monetization or corruption."

Due to some blue-chip NFTs "self-destructing" and CryptoPunks having previously faced the risk of being "contaminated," the Punks community is particularly concerned about brand value and cultural purity.

A year ago, Yuga Labs launched the Super Punk World NFT series based on CryptoPunks, which faced strong opposition and criticism from the community. Most believed that the excessive "woke culture" displayed in Super Punk World severely deviated from the core of the original Punks, with many outright stating that Yuga Labs was ruining Punks. After facing strong backlash, Yuga Labs co-founder Greg Solano immediately stated: "We will no longer touch CryptoPunks; we will only decentralize it and keep it on the blockchain," and mentioned plans to support museums and institutions in acquiring it to promote the original work to the public.

However, protecting the cultural value of CryptoPunks as an artwork may also require controlling its use, reproduction, or monetization methods. As lawyer @jabranthelawyer, who focuses on the Web3 field, pointed out: "If NODE follows traditional 'cultural protection strategies,' it is not hard to imagine new restrictions: will the freedom to commercialize Punks be reduced? Will the control over derivative projects become stricter? Will there be limitations imposed in the name of 'cultural integrity'?"

Yuga Labs had immediately granted IP usage rights and commercialization licenses to NFT holders after acquiring CryptoPunks, allowing them to freely create, display, and monetize on personal and commercial levels. Whether NODE will retain these commercial rights after this acquisition remains uncertain for now.

That said, this may not be the primary concern of the Punks community; for them, perhaps the best choice is to avoid unnecessary turmoil.

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