A
hallmark
of
the
last
cryptocurrency
bull
market
was
the
remarkably
high
sale
prices
for
various
non-fungible
tokens
(NFTs).
The
world
has
largely
moved
on
from
NFTs,
with
enthusiasm
for
crypto
products
embellished
with
quirky
images
now
directed
toward
memecoins
–
so,
so
many
memecoins.
Yet,
on
Thursday,
a
sign
of
bull
markets
past
returned:
A
CryptoPunk
NFT
just
sold
for
a
record
price
of
$56.3
million.
The
prior
all-time
high
of
$23.7
million
was
set
in
February
2022,
months
before
the
crypto
winter
got
truly
dark.
Punk
1563,
depicting
a
pixelated
woman
with
dark
hair
and
blue
eyes,
fetched
24,000
ether
(ETH)
in
the
transaction.
As
recently
as
September,
it
was
offered
for
sale
for
less
than
30
ETH
–
meaning
the
latest
deal
represented
a
huge
markup
versus
recent
pricing.
NFTs
have
historically
seen
all
manner
of
weirdness
around
sales.
There
was
the
time
in
2021
when
another
CryptoPunk
technically
sold
for
$532
million,
though
blockchain
data
clearly
show
the
same
person
was
on
both
sides
of
the
trade.
And
there
have
been
allegations
that
NFTs
were
used
for
money
laundering.
It’s
not
clear
what
the
motivations
were
for
Punk
1563,
though.