Non-fungible tokens(NFTs) are digital assets, including art, multimedia, or videos, secured and tokenized on blockchain technology. Each token is associated with a unique identification code generated from metadata via encryption. These tokens are stored on a blockchain and their associated assets are typically stored off-chain. The connection between the token and its asset is what defines and ensures its uniqueness.
You can buy, sell, or exchange NFTs for money, cryptocurrencies, or other NFTs. The NFT market’s revenue reached $683.9 million in 2024. In the global market, the United States led in 2024, generating the highest revenue of $119.8 million from the sale of NFTs, including some of the most expensive ones on record.
The price of an NFT is determined by market demand and trends. For example, you could create a drawing of a smiley face on a banana, photograph it (embedding metadata in the image), and tokenize it on a blockchain technology. Ownership of the private keys to that token grants rights tied to it.
Cryptocurrencies are also tokens, but the critical distinction is fungibility. Two cryptocurrency units of the same type are interchangeable (fungible). In contrast, even if two NFTs from the same blockchain appear identical, they are inherently unique and non-interchangeable.
To have a better understanding of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in digital ownership and why are NFTs selling for millions, let’s explore their origins first.
History of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
NFTs were created long before they became popular. The Quantum is the first-ever NFT that was created by Kevin McCoy in 2014 and tokenized on the Namecoin blockchain. It was later reminted on the Ethereum blockchain and sold in 2021.
NFTs are commonly developed using the ERC-721 standard (Ethereum Request for Comment #721), which defines protocols for transferring ownership, verifying transactions, and ensuring secure transfers across applications.
Expanding on this, the ERC-1155 standard, released six months after ERC-721, improves efficiency by enabling the grouping of multiple NFTs within one contract, cutting transaction costs significantly.
Before moving toward the most expensive NFTs, it is important to understand how NFTs work.
How do NFTs work?
NFTs are created through minting in which the data is encrypted and recorded on a blockchain. In this process, a new block is created that validates NFT’s information via a blockchain validator. Minting often includes deploying smart contracts that assign ownership rights and manage the transfer of NFTs.
Once minted, NFTs are given a unique identifier linked to a specific blockchain address. Each token has a distinct owner, and this ownership information is publicly accessible on the blockchain. Even if 5,000 NFTs of the same asset are minted, each one is uniquely identifiable through its individual token ID. Ownership is represented by hashed metadata and cryptographic key pairs generated by the owner’s crypto wallet
While NFTs are broadly recognized across various blockchains, they may be referred to differently. NFTs are called Ordinals on the Bitcoin blockchain. Unlike Ethereum-based NFTs, which create tokens to represent assets, Bitcoin Ordinals assign serial numbers to satoshis (the smallest unit of Bitcoin). However, both Ethereum NFTs and Bitcoin Ordinals can be bought, sold, and traded.
Understanding how NFTs work clarifies why they have gained value and reached record-breaking NFT sales in the global market. Let’s explore some of the most expensive NFTs ever sold.
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Top Most Expensive NFTs In 2025
At the peak of the market, some NFTs were sold at groundbreaking prices, with the most expensive one selling for over $90 million.
Here is the list of the most expensive NFTs ever sold in history.
| Rank | NFT | Price | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Merge | $91.8 Million | Murat Pak |
| 2 | Everydays: The First 5000 Days | $69.3 Million | Beeple |
| 3 | Clock | $52.8 Milion | Julian Assange and Pak |
| 4 | HUMAN ONE | $28.95 Million | Beeple |
| 5 | CryptoPunk #5822 | $23.7 million | Larva Labs |
1. The Merge
Artwork Details: The Merge is a type of NFT where the artwork changes based on external factors such as the number of people who acquire it. This feature makes it unique compared to other NFTs.
Artist: The project was created by Murat Pak, an unknown artist or a group of people in the digital art world.
Sales Details: The artwork was sold for $91.8 Million in December 2021 during a 48-hour sale window. Instead of selling as a single piece, it was divided into smaller units called “mass.”
Record-breaking: A total of 295,417 “mass” units were bought by 28,893 collectors, setting a record as the most expensive NFT ever sold at that time.
2. Everydays: The First 5000 Days
Artwork Details: It is a digital collage consisting of 5,000 individual images.
Artist: Each image was created by the artist Beeple (Mike Winkelmann) a renowned digital artist for over 13 years. The work reflects his journey and evolution as an artist over time.
Sale Details: It was sold for $69.3 Million in 2021 by Christie’s, a prestigious auction house known for selling iconic art pieces by artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Sir Joshua Reynolds.
Cultural Impact: The sale marked a milestone in digital art and NFTs, showcasing their growing acceptance in traditional art spaces.
3. Clock
Artwork Details: The NFT features a real-time counter that tracks the number of days Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has spent in prison since his arrest in April 2019. This makes it a unique piece of digital art with a strong political and humanitarian message.
Artist: It was designed by Pak, a digital artist in the blockchain and NFT space, the same artist or group behind “The Merge”, one of the top-selling NFTs of all time.
Purpose: The amount received from the sale was donated to the Wau Holland Foundation, which supports the legal defense of Julian Assange.
Sale Details: The NFT was sold for $52.8 million It was purchased by AssangeDAO, a decentralized group supporting Assange’s cause.
Cultural Impact: The project highlights the use of NFTs as tools for advocacy and fundraising for social causes.
4. HUMAN ONE
Unique Hybrid Artwork: The human one combines a physical sculpture in a transparent glass box with a digital NFT. It displays a continuously evolving video of an astronaut.
Artist: Beeple (Mike Winkelmann) retains remote access to the artwork. He updates the digital display, ensuring the artwork evolves.
Sale Details: It was sold for $28.95 Million on November 9, 2021, at Christie’s and Purchased by Ryan Zurrer, a prominent figure in the Web3 space.
Cultural Impact:The NFT shows Beeple’s innovative fusion of digital and physical art and how NFTs can change traditional digital formats by integrating with physical elements.
5. CryptoPunk #5822
Artwork Details: This is an image of an alien CryptoPunk who is wearing a blue bandana.
Artist: It belongs to the CryptoPunk series by Larva Labs, a groundbreaking NFT project that helped shape the modern NFT landscape. This particular CryptoPunk holds the record as the most expensive one ever sold.
Sale Details: CryptoPunk NFT value is $23.7 million. It was sold to Deepak Thapliyal, founder of chain.com on February 12, 2022, and was purchased by This NFT had a significant price appreciation, as five years before this sale, it was only bought for $1,641
Cultural Impact: Highlights the rapid growth in the value of rare NFTs and their significance as digital collectibles.
Looking to Build A Successful NFT? Clustox Can Help!
In a nutshell, the world of NFTs has seen some jaw-dropping sales, with digital art and collectibles crossing the price range of traditional art masterpieces. As the market for NFTs continues to expand, these most expensive NFTs highlight the growing acceptance of digital assets as valuable commodities.
The future of NFTs is exciting, with limitless potential for artists, creators, and collectors to shape new forms of digital ownership and investment. Partnering with a reliable technology provider like Clustox can help businesses and creators to successfully monetize NFTs.
Clustox offers blockchain solutions and digital product design and development services, ensuring that your NFT projects are built with the best technology and secure underlying infrastructure.
Reach out today to discover how we can help you achieve the best out of your NFT projects!