ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CRYPTOPUNKS

2 min readNov 2, 2021

Three years ago, software program builders created an unusual artwork task referred to as Cryptopunks that posed a critical and provocative question: Could some strains of code translate to a sense of significant ownership? It turned into a loopy concept that could require, of their words, ‘a conceptual leap.’ Three years later, that task is rightly seemed as the start of today’s CryptoArt movement.

1. Cryptopunks began as an experiment.

In 2017, Matt Hall and John Watkinson, founders of New York-primarily based totally software program corporation Larva Labs, created a software program application that could generate hundreds of different, strange-searching characters. At first, they notion they could have had the makings of a telephone app or game. What they ended up with changed into a model version for the digital artwork marketplace and an undertaking to the idea of ‘ownership’ itself.

2. Larva Labs launched Cryptopunks on June 23 2017.

There are 6,039 male Punks and 3,840 female Punks. A general of 696 put on warm lipstick, at the same time as 303 have muttonchops. There are 286 Punks with three-D glasses, 128 rosy-cheeked Punks, ninety four Punks with pigtails, seventy eight Punks with dollar enamel and forty four beanie-carrying Punks. There also are 8 Punks called Genesis Punks but the most effective one with seven attributes is CryptoPunk 8348 a large bearded, bucktoothed, cigarette-smoking Punk with an earring and a mole, carrying conventional sun sunglasses and a pinnacle hat.

3. The London Punk scene was the major inspiration.

The inspiration behind the early Cryptopunks was drawn from the raucous anti establishment spirit to the early days of the blockchain movement. The vibe was that they needed to be a collection of misfits and non-conformist and the London Punk movement of the 1970 felt like the right aesthetics.

4. Anyone or everyone can view any of the Cryptopunks.

Anyone can save a copy of the image file to their memory stick or hard drive; Each punk also has its own page detailing features and transaction history.

Then most importantly, only ONE person can officially own a Cryptopunk.