I just reviewed the historical records of the NFT market again, and it's fascinating to see how some digital collectibles have reached absolutely astronomical prices. Pak's The Merge remains the most expensive NFT ever sold, reaching $91.8 million in December 2021. The interesting part is that it wasn't a traditional sale to a single buyer, but nearly 29,000 collectors purchased different quantities, buying units at $575 each. The concept was revolutionary at the time.

Then there's Beeple with Everydays: The First 5000 Days, which fetched $69 million at Christie's a few years ago. The guy literally drew a new piece every day for 5,000 consecutive days and compiled them into a massive collage. He started from practically nothing (initial $100) but the demand was brutal. He also has Human One, a 16K video sculpture that constantly evolves because the artist can update it remotely. That one sold for $29 million.

What really caught my attention was Clock, a collaboration between Pak and Julian Assange. A clock that literally counts the days of imprisonment, updating every 24 hours. AssangeDAO (a group of over 100,000 supporters) bought it for $52.7 million to fund legal defense. It’s art with a real political purpose, not just speculation.

Then there are CryptoPunks, which honestly dominate the list of most expensive NFTs by collection. #5822 (Alien Punk azul) se fue por 23 millones. El #7523 with a medical mask sold for $11.75 million. #4156 (monkey shape) reached $10.26 million. These punk points are practically the OGs of the entire NFT movement, launched in 2017 by Larva Labs on Ethereum. Only 10,000 existed, and now some sell for tens of millions.

TPunk #3442, known as 'The Joker,' was acquired by Justin Sun (CEO of Tron) in 2021 for 120 million TRX (about $10.5 million at that time). Part of a series derived from CryptoPunks on the Tron blockchain.

There are also works by XCOPY, that anonymous crypto artist who sold 'Right-click and Save As Guy' for $7 million to Cozomo de' Medici. The irony is that the piece is literally a joke about how people believe they can download NFTs by right-clicking. It was created in 2018 for 1 ETH ($90) and later multiplied.

Dmitri Cherniak's Ringers #109 sold for $6.93 million. It’s generative art on Art Blocks, part of a series of 1,000 pieces made of 'strings and nails.' Even the cheapest Ringer currently costs around $88,000.

And Crossroad by Beeple, that 10-second short about the 2020 elections, sold for $6.6 million. It showed two different endings depending on the result, and when it sold out, Trump had already lost.

What I observe is that the most expensive NFTs share certain patterns: extreme rarity, creators with established reputations, some unique or innovative element, and often a narrative behind. Axie Infinity has accumulated $4.27 billion in total sales volume, BAYC $3.16 billion. These are collections that have built real communities.

Honestly, the NFT market remains volatile. 95 percent practically have no value according to some analyses. But established collections maintain fairly high floor prices. The total market capitalization is around $2.6 billion as of 2026. What’s clear is that some NFTs have already made history as digital assets.