Arthur Hayes backs CryptoPunks to outperform Ethereum's rally

Ethereum is on the move, and the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) market is showing rare signs of life. The iconic pixelated collection, CryptoPunks, is leading a new wave of digital collectible hype. Amid the fresh surge, Maelstrom CIO Arthur Hayes predicts that the trend may be just getting started.

In a recent post, Hayes argued that CryptoPunks will outperform Ethereum in dollar terms this cycle. In his view, Ethereum holders will inevitably start flexing their wealth in NFTs, which he called “internet status games.” 

“The whole world economy outside of food and energy is a giant status game,” he said. “Why would the internet society be any different?”

His thesis is backed by the latest on-chain data. Over the weekend, Ethereum’s NFT markets recorded their busiest day since February. More than $26 million in trading volume was recorded, followed by $24.9 million on Monday.

More than half of Sunday’s volume came from CryptoPunks.app. In the past week alone, 174 Punks have changed hands, a 460% increase in weekly sales. The floor price jumped 20% to 48 ETH (worth $177,000). This was supported by ETH’s 25% price surge over the last week.

But some of the current buying frenzy has no ties to marketing or new incentives. It appears to be a pure play on culture and crypto-native prestige.

Ethereum price surged by more than 63% over the last 30 days. With the recent dump, ETH is trading at an average price of $3,675 at press time.

CryptoPunks see 8,000% volume spike

On July 21, a single whale scooped 45 CryptoPunks on OpenSea. It spent 2,082 ETH and sent the floor price soaring. Nansen data shows the whale’s wallet was newly created on July 18. It had no previous trading history and was funded via a deep-pocketed exchange address. This suggests either a new institutional buyer or an anonymous high-net-worth entity entering the space.

Reports show that 76 Punks were swept in the same window. In just 24 hours, the collection clocked over 6,373 ETH in volume, which is an 8,000% surge. A total of 135 Punks were sold in a single day, and this level of activity has not been seen since the NFT mania of 2021.

Other major Ethereum-based collections are riding the wave too. Pudgy Penguins floor prices climbed 38% to $56,000, Mutant Apes jumped 26% to $6,300, and Fidenza NFTs saw a 64% surge.

CryptoPunks data shows that the lowest priced Punk available costs around 48 ETH (worth $175K). There have been 2,156 sales over the last 12 months. However, total sales to date stood at 1.22 million ($3.13 billion), and around $3.35 million in the last 24 hours. Last week’s sales breached the $22 million mark.

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