Non-fungible tokens, better known as NFTs, have exploded in popularity over the past few years. The crypto community's eagerness to invest in these assets has driven their prices sky-high, with the most popular NFTs selling for tens of millions of dollars. An NFT's value comes from its uniqueness and allows digital artists to profit from their work. With all the buzz surrounding NFTs, it's a great time to take a look at the most expensive NFTs sold to date.

What Is an NFT?

You may already know what an NFT is, but let's run over a quick recap before we get into the most expensive artworks out there.

NFTs are digital certificates linked to unique digital assets recorded on a blockchain to verify their authenticity and allow buyers to confirm ownership. They can't be copied, divided, or substituted and can represent almost anything, from art to in-game currency in a video game. No two NFTs are alike, and this uniqueness and scarcity are what give them value.

So, without further ado, here are the five most expensive NFTs to date.

1. Pak's "The Merge": $91.8 Million

If someone had told you five years ago that a digital artwork would one day sell for almost 100 million dollars, you'd probably have laughed. But nevertheless, Pak's "The Merge" was sold to a collective 28,983 buyers for $91.8 million in December 2021, making it the most expensive artwork ever to be sold while the artist still lived.

You might be wondering why this NFT was sold to tens of thousands of individual buyers. Of course, artworks are usually bought by one collector alone, but this NFT auction was designed to allow users to buy small parts of Pak's piece, starting at $575 per piece. Every six hours, the price of each part increased by $25, encouraging early purchases.

In total, over 300,000 individual units of this NFT were sold, adding up to $91.8 million. No one knows who Pak, the artist, actually is, but there's no doubt that even they were taken aback by this mammoth price point. However, Pak's growing popularity has surely contributed to the increasing value of his pieces.

2. Beeple's "Everydays: The First 5000 Days": $69.3 Million

Digital artist Mike "Beeple" Winkelmann's "Everydays: The First 5000 Days" now stands as the second-most expensive NFT ever sold, next to Pak's "The Merge". "Everydays" sold for this stellar price at Christie's first-ever digital art auction on March 11th, marking the first time a major auction house has sold a purely digital NFT.

Beeple has posted an image online every day since 2007. The "Everydays" NFT is an intricate collage of over 5000 images that Beeple created and shared over the last 13 years, representing the progression of his art and technology through time. "Everydays" images depict society's obsession with and fear of technology. With "Everdays", Beeple holds the distinction of having created the third-most-expensive work from a living artist ever sold at auction.

3. Pak's "Clock": $52.7 Million

Sometimes, the money made from an NFT sale doesn't go to the artist. There are many NFTs out there that have been sold for charitable purposes, including Pak's "Clock." This piece sold for an incredible $52.7 million (or 16,953 ETH) in February 2022 and depicts a timer representing how many days Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has spent in prison.

The charitable nature of this NFT spoke to many, and over 10,000 users from an organization known as AssangeDAO pooled their funds to buy Pak's "Clock" in order to support Assange in his bid for freedom. This $52.7 million profit will be given to Assange's defense fund, giving him an even better chance of being released.

4. Beeple's "HUMAN ONE": $28.9 Million

It's no surprise that Beeple has secured two spots on our list. This hugely popular NFT artist sold his futuristic dystopian "HUMAN ONE" video NFT for $28.9 million at the famous Christie's auction in November 2021. The NFT itself comes in a physical box, which some may find a little confusing, but the cryptographically signed file itself still exists, and it's this that makes it unique.

HUMAN ONE now stands as Beeple's second-most valuable NFT to date, next to his most well-known piece, "Everydays: The First 5000 Days". It was bought by Ryan Zurrer, a Swiss entrepreneur.

5. LarvaLabs' "CryptoPunk #5822": $23.7 Million

LarvaLab's CryptoPunk collection has made waves in the NFT industry, with many of these avatar artworks selling for millions of dollars. One such avatar, known as "CryptoPunk #5822" sold for an astounding $23.7 million in February 2022. The buyer, Deepak Thapliyal, is the CEO of Chain, a blockchain-as-a-service company that builds blockchains for clients.

A key factor that contributes to the value of CryptoPunk #5822 is its properties. Among the CryptoPunk collection, zombie and alien avatars are about the rarest you can get. With #5822 being an alien avatar, its scarcity makes it highly sought-after, so it's no surprise that its sale price has secured it as one of the most valuable NFTs in the market today.

NFTs Are Now a Dominant Presence in the Art Industry

The momentum leading to these record-breaking sales of NFTs shows no signs of slowing. NFTs are on track to continue shaking up the art world for the foreseeable future, upending the rules of digital ownership in the process. Whether you believe these digitized images are worthy of comparisons to the Mona Lisa or other masterpieces, they have firmly established themselves as a formidable player in the digital world.

At the time of writing, the most expensive NFT sale was just shy of 100 million dollars. Even with the ups and downs of the NFT market, the most expensive NFT price is likely to continue to rise, especially as users find more ways to use the technology.