Visa (NYSE:V) Inc, the credit card giant, has splashed out US$150,000 on a CryptoPunks NFT created by digital artists Larva labs and sparking a surge in buying activity.
Crypto artists Larva Labs have created a series of 10,000 CryptoPunks, each with their own distinct characteristics and prices of the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been rocketing skywards in recent months.
Visa (NYSE:V) bought CryptoPunk 7610, one of 3,840 female punks, on Monday sparking a wave of buying after it was announced with a further 90 CryptoPunks bought in the following hour and 293 on the day.
Sales of CryptoPunk NFTs eventually topped US$86mln, according to tracking website Cryptoslam, and in August have now reached US$322mln, which is more than double the previous record of US$135mln set in July.
Prices have also doubled on average to around US$200,000 a pop with Visa paying a price of 49.5ethereum or US$150,000 for 7610.
In a tweeted statement, Visa said it wanted to get a feel for how the NFT market operated, which was why it made the purchase.
Visa's head of crypto, Cuy Sheffield, added "We think NFTs will play an important role in the future of retail, social media, entertainment and commerce.
"To help our clients and partners participate, we need a firsthand understanding of the infrastructure requirements for a global brand to purchase, store, and leverage an NFT."
On its website, Visa added: “Over the last 60 years, Visa has built a collection of historic commerce artifacts - from early paper credit cards to the zip-zap machine. Today, as we enter a new era of NFT-commerce, Visa welcomes CryptoPunk #7610 to our collection,” the finance powerhouse said.