CryptoPunks: A Collection of Unique Pixel Art Characters on Ethereum
CryptoPunks were created in June 2017 as 10,000 algorithmically generated pixel art characters on Ethereum by Canadian software developers Matt Hall and John Watkinson through their studio Larva Labs.
The pair built an algorithm that generated unique portraits inspired by the 1980s London punk scene and 1990s cyberpunk culture. Each character was assigned a random combination drawn from 87 distinct attributes, including hairstyles, accessories, and facial features.
The ERC-721 standard, which formally defined non-fungible tokens on Ethereum, was not proposed until late 2017 by Dieter Shirley of Dapper Labs.
CryptoPunks generated over $377 million in secondary sales during 2024 alone and have accumulated $3.07 billion in total historical trading volume.