• People who own a CryptoPunk use it to symbolize their affiliation to a select group within the crypto community.
• The popularity of punks is due to the fact that every crypto investor who views a cryptocurrency punk sees himself there.
• CryptoPunks kickstarted the “digital ownership” revolution as they empowered new artists to find a liquid marketplace for their creativity.

CryptoPunks wouldn’t exist without you. Crypto Twitter (NYSE:) would not be so secretive, and we wouldn’t be reporting over $1 billion in CryptoPunk sales. But that’s not the case, and this article will explain why CryptoPunks’ ethos aligns with the value brought forth by cryptocurrencies, as digital societies continue to embrace the transcendence towards an ownership economy.

We’re All Punks to Someone!

Societies are divided according to their personalities and values. The 70’s punk culture is in antithesis with consumerism and capitalistic culture. The culture around crypto was similar. It developed and strengthened a subculture that is antithetical to centralized financial and governing bodies.

Punks were disruptive and opposed to all norms of society. They were embraced by people who didn’t like a linear order and outcasts. William Force suggests that the formation of countercultures such as punks was based on their belief systems and manifesting them. However, Force’s 2005 research paper argues otherwise.

Punk culture can be identified as self-constructing, which is built around similar values. As media discourse made it necessary, punk culture became mainstream. There are similarities between cryptocurrency and punk cultures, especially when you consider how they were propagated.

Although we all belong to a certain type of counterculture, CryptoPunks should not be treated as a counterculture. CryptoPunks and people who have interacted with them should be considered countercultural. It is via constant digital discourse, reinforcement on social media platforms, that counterculture has been created.

Simply Blockchain Misfits

Released in 2017, CryptoPunks gained mass recognition as the DeFi sector continued to expand. NFTs and the expansion of the digital cultural sector helped CryptoPunks explode, reaching sales of $7.5 million or being auctioned at Christie’s.

Unlike the NFT market, which, according to Andres Guadamuz, transformed into a speculative bubble where people purchase them as “assets first and art second,” CryptoPunks helped define the NFT market. However, their intention was purely innovative, as Larva Labs’s founders algorithmically programmed the creation of the pixelated artworks.

The holders are ultimately able to see the intrinsic value in their resilience and that they were almost given away for free. CryptoPunks have a long history of being a part of any association, and are more than just a financial asset. It is the “ultimate flex” to own a CryptoPunk, firstly because of the high price association and secondly because those who own them display their prescience of the NFT boom. CryptoPunks can be seen as an exclusive label to those who took part in the initial stages of the smart contract platforms boom.

On The Flipside

• The high floor price for cryptopunks, is forcing investors to invest in copycats, which have higher associated risks
• NFTs are still speculative and most of the trades are taking place in an illiquid market.
• Larva Labs creators kept 1,000 CryptoPunks for themselves when launching the project “just in case.”

The Crypto Art Genesis

As CryptoPunks become pieces of art, they signify the genesis of the digital art movement. These cryptopunks are a symbol of the digital dependency of the world, preserving their history in the online archives. CryptoPunks were not created for profit, instead, their development and creation generated a “paradigm-altering model” that opened the discussion for “digital ownership”.

Digital artists didn’t have access to an effective marketplace before. The growth of the NFT sector through CryptoPunks’ extension facilitated more opportunities for digital artists and overlooked cultures to showcase their creative value.

CryptoPunks are becoming a symbol not because of their monetary value and the number of VC/YouTubers/poker players who invest in them, rather, they have become a symbol because they’ve given voice to a subculture that spends their time on Reddit or Twitter, who ultimately help grow and expand a digital ownership sector.

CryptoPunks are a symbol of the beginning era in digital ownership, much like the anti-governmental punk movement. Those who’ve held CryptoPunks will gain social capital and will continue to frame the identity of those belonging to the crypto space.

What are you supposed to care about?

These cryptopunks are more than just digital jpegs without meaning. Because they were instrumental in launching a digital revolution, their value rose to an exorbitant level. Because CryptoPunks are the symbol of a new generation, we believe they will be a global defining IP.

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