Record $56M CryptoPunk more likely a publicity stunt, says observer

A CryptoPunk non-fungible token (NFT) that reportedly sold for a record $56 million is more likely just an elaborate marketing stunt for a new memecoin, according to an NFT expert.

On Oct. 3, reports on social media suggested that someone bought Punk 1563 for 24,000 Ether (ETH) — worth $56.2 million at current prices — which is also shown on OpenSea data. 

The $56.2 million sale is more than double the highest amount ever paid for a CryptoPunk during the end of the NFT mania in February 2022. 

However, there’s much more to the sale of Punk 1563 than meets the eye. 

Flash loan fake sale

A closer look at the on-chain data shows that the supposed “buyer” who purchased Punk 1563 actually took out a 24,000 ETH flash loan from the automated market maker (AMM) protocol Balancer to buy the punk. 

After the sale had been executed the “seller” wallet then sent the 24,000 ETH right back to Balancer — a strange arrangement for a supposed NFT purchase.

While the NFT changed hands and 24,000 ETH was sent from one contract address to another, in the end, the buyer only had to part with a total of $54 to cover gas and contract execution costs. 

According to pseudonymous crypto commentator 0xQuit, the massive sale price of the NFT appears to be a marketing stunt aimed at drumming up publicity for a “Kamala Harris Punk” memecoin. 

Related: NFT sales plummet to lowest monthly volume since 2021 — CryptoSlam

In an Oct. 3 post to X, 0xQuit said Punk 1563 will be sold to the highest bidder for the NFT in seven days, a bet that someone will take interest in either the NFT or the memecoin. 

“The dev then gets 10% of the token supply, and 10% of the funds received from the presale and sale of the punk,” said 0xQuit. 

“tl;dr 24,000 ETH is a psyop to advertise what is basically a presale where, after 7 days, the punk is sold to the highest bidder with a minimum bid equal to the amount raised in the presale.”

“Also maybe a political statement given the name and the clown makeup,” 0xQuit added.

As far as flash loan NFT sales go, this isn’t even close to being the biggest.

In 2021, an investor took out a $532 million flash loan to purchase CryptoPunk 9998 and quickly repaid the balance to the AMM.

At the time the massive dollar figure generated headlines and turned heads, however, CryptoPunks creator Larva Labs said it wouldn’t classify the sale as legitimate, a precedent that was quickly adopted by many other large NFT platforms. 

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