Sotheby’s CryptoPunk Auction Canceled After Seller Withdraws

“nvm, decided to hodl,” the pseudonymous consignor tweeted Wednesday after the auction was slated to kick off

article-image

Cryptopunks | Source: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • The NFTs were valued at $20 million to $30 million
  • The group of CryptoPunks were originally acquired in a single transaction by collector “0x650d”

Sotheby’s did not auction off the 104 CryptoPunks originally slated for Wednesday evening. In a turn of events for the New York auction house, the bid was withdrawn.

Derek Parsons, senior press officer of Sotheby’s Americas, told Blockworks in an email that the CryptoPunks were withdrawn prior to the sale following “discussions with the consignor.”

“nvm, decided to hodl,” the pseudonymous consignor of the auction tweeted following Sotheby’s announcement. 

The withdrawal announcement was made in the crowded auction room roughly 23 minutes after bidding was scheduled to commence. However, onlookers were encouraged to enjoy an afterparty with live music by DJ Seed Phrase

Loading Tweet..

Two sources familiar with the matter told Blockworks that there were not enough bidders on the single-lot auction. Sotheby’s declined to comment on any logistics regarding bidders. 

The group of CryptoPunks were originally acquired together in a single transaction by anonymous collector “0x650d.” CryptoPunks were released in 2017 by studio Larva Labs and currently have a floor price of $177,663, according to blockchain data dashboard NFT Price Floor.

The NFTs (non-fungible tokens) were valued at $20 million to $30 million.

Michael Bouhanna, co-head of digital art at Sotheby’s, had earlier described the sale as a “first-of-its kind” due to its focus on CryptoPunks in the auction house’s Feb. 8 announcement.

“CryptoPunks are the original PFP [profile picture] series that created the template for other NFT projects that have followed, and which helped propel NFTs to the global stage as one of the most recognizable visual styles that have become synonymous with the digital art movement,” Bouhanna said in a statement. 

Last year, Sotheby’s launched an NFT marketplace and sold $100 million worth of the blockchain-based digital collectibles, according to an annual report from the auction house.

Bouhanna told Blockworks that NFT sales have expanded Sotheby’s audience reach to a “whole new group of collectors.” 

“I think we will continue to see growth of new collectors at Sotheby’s who come to us via our NFT sales, as well as more art collectors more familiar with contemporary and modern art exploring NFTs as they continue to become more prominent in pop culture,” Bouhanna said.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Unlocked by Template (7).png

Research

Union’s improvements upon Tendermint consensus through CometBLS, coupled with ZK proving through Galois, allow for a broadly scalable, cost efficient, and low latency IBC implementation that is feasibly scalable across every existing blockchain, virtual machine and runtime. The implementation offers modular crosschain interoperability without the need for trusted intermediaries.  

article-image

Kraken’s chief security officer Nick Percoco said the exchange turned the tables on a North Korean hacker

article-image

Or is it approximately the least cypherpunk thing we could do?

article-image

Over 20% of SOL-USD swap volume goes through SolFi

article-image

CEO Vlad Tenev calls expected clarity on listing crypto asset securities “a big opportunity”

article-image

Big Tech pulled US indexes back into the green Thursday, as investors waited for two more Mag 7 first-quarter reports after the bell

article-image

Charts and takeaways from Tuesday’s jobs report and Wednesday’s GDP print, as the economy digests the tariff war