• Yuga Labs sold CryptoPunks to the Infinite Node Foundation (NODE), fueling a dramatic price surge in the NFT collection.
• NODE plans to permanently exhibit CryptoPunks as digital art, ensuring its legacy and contributing to its preservation.
• The sale could impact Ethereum's network activity, further fueling momentum after the Pectra upgrade.

Yuga Labs just sold the IP rights of the CryptoPunks NFT collection to the Infinite Node Foundation (NODE), causing CP’s floor price to spike significantly. NODE plans to permanently exhibit the collection as an example of digital art’s history.

CryptoPunks is one of the largest NFT collections on Ethereum’s blockchain, and this hype may increase its network activity. ETH is resurgent after the long-awaited Pectra upgrade, and this deal could potentially contribute to this forward momentum.

Yuga Labs Sells CryptoPunks

CryptoPunks is a prominent Ethereum-based NFT collection, one of the largest on ETH’s network. After Yuga Labs acquired CryptoPunks in 2022, the firm’s creative direction for the project drew community criticism.

Earlier this year, Yuga denied selling this IP, but today, CryptoPunks and the Infinite Node Foundation confirmed that their parties reached a deal:

“When Yuga acquired the CryptoPunks IP… we did so not only because we believed in the project, but because we wanted to make sure it landed in crypto-native hands. We chose Node because we believe they’re best positioned to protect and preserve the long-term value of the Punks legacy. I trust the leadership at Node,” claimed Yuga co-founder Wylie Aronow.

Aronow also noted that Yuga will have “additional space to refocus” on its core mission after the CryptoPunks deal. None of the announcements specified how much the collection sold for, but NODE is a nonprofit focused on curating digital art.

It plans to host a permanent exhibition of the CP collection, hosting a full Ethereum node to contribute to its permanence.

After the Yuga deal took place, CryptoPunks’ floor price surged by over 8%. It’s currently the largest NFT collection with a $1.2 billion market cap. According to CoinGecko Data, the collection’s daily sales have also shot up by 40%.

This sale might have a broader impact beyond Yuga, CryptoPunks, and the Infinite Node Foundation. CP is a major NFT collection on Ethereum, which has been gaining momentum since the Pectra upgrade.

If renewed interest in CryptoPunks leads to heightened network activity, it could continue building ETH’s own forward momentum. For now, it’s too soon to say.