tl;dr
The Infinite Node Foundation, a new nonprofit endowment, has acquired the intellectual property of the Ethereum NFT collection CryptoPunks from Yuga Labs, the creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club. The Foundation, which previously announced a $25 million grant to support digital art, will now steward the ...
The Infinite Node Foundation, a newly established nonprofit endowment, has acquired the intellectual property (IP) of the iconic Ethereum NFT collection CryptoPunks from Yuga Labs, the creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club. This move ensures the preservation and expansion of the 10,000-piece CryptoPunks collection, originally created by Larva Labs in 2017.
The Foundation had previously announced a $25 million grant dedicated to supporting digital art and now takes on stewardship of CryptoPunks, focusing on preservation, community engagement, and expansion of the collection. Yuga Labs CEO Wylie Aronow emphasized the importance of finding a permanent home for the collection to protect its legacy, which the Infinite Node Foundation is set to provide.
Advisory board members will include original creators Matt Hall and John Watkinson of Larva Labs, along with Yuga Labs CEO Wylie Aronow and Art Blocks founder Erick Calderon. Together, they aim to facilitate scholarly research and public exhibitions, beginning with a major show planned in Palo Alto, California.
CryptoPunks have experienced a significant resurgence in value, with the price floor soaring more than 19% in a single week and the collection's lifetime trading volume surpassing $3 billion since its inception. The prize floor's latest rise to $123,086 correlates with Ethereum’s roughly 45% price increase over the same period.
Former CryptoPunks General Manager Natalie Stone, who will transition from Yuga Labs to the Infinite Node Foundation as an advisor, confirmed that financial details of the acquisition remain undisclosed. The Foundation's mission is to combine museum-grade conservation with an enduring endowment, ensuring CryptoPunks' status as a cultural and artistic milestone continues indefinitely.
Hall and Watkinson highlighted CryptoPunks as a pivotal example of digital permanence and decentralized art, praising the Infinite Node Foundation as the ideal custodian to promote these values. The collection’s origins as freely claimed NFTs underscore its unique place in the history of blockchain-based art and the pioneering wave of digital collectibles.