Yuga Labs sells IP rights to cryptopunks for 20 million
The Infinite Node Foundation takes over the rights to the iconic NFT collection cryptopunks, which the creator team of the Bored Apes “Yuga Labs” acquired 2021. The new non-profit owner aims to anchor the collection in the traditional art context.
This goes from a media release out. At the request of cvj.ch, the foundation announced no buying price, with regard to anonymous sources estimates the NFT portal NFTNOW at around $ 20 million. Node plan to physically present the entire collection and anchor institutionally – with cooperations from museums to educational institutions. The development could NFT-Markt reveal something that has been difficult to get going since 2022.
From the NFT meme to the museum: Cryptopunks on the way to the canon of art
Die CryptoPunksCreated by Larva Labs in 2017 and later taken over by Yuga Labsare considered obstetricians in the NFT culture. With total sales of over $ 3 billion since the creation and a trading volume of 377 million in 2024 alone, the “punks” are one of the most famous digital collections in the world. Nevertheless, they have so far remained largely unaffected by the established art business.
The Infinite Node Foundation would like to change this, according to the media release to the takeover. In addition to the acquisition, the organization has provided a foundation capital of $ 25 million in order to promote exhibitions, research and educational projects around the punks. A separate permanent gallery in Palo Alto is planned, as is cooperations with international museums. The original Cryptopunks creators Matt Hall and John Watkinson and Yuga co-founder Wylie Aronow remain advisively involved.
New perspectives for NFT culture
The deal marks a decisive change in the perception of NFTS – from speculative assets to cultural heritage. Node relies on long -term and contextualization: The cryptopunks are to be understood as a digital counterpart to the classic avant -garde and made publicly accessible. The project was capitalized by the venture capitalist Meyer “Micky” Malka and Becky Kleiner. The foundation confirmed to cvj.ch that the existing IP rights for using the cryptopunks remain unaffected. This allows owners of an NFT to market their digital property through the creation of derived works – without having to press off without license fees.
