A collection of 104 CryptoPunks non-fungible tokens (NFTs) were withdrawn from a Sotheby’s auction by the seller minutes before it was expected to start.
The holder, who goes under the pseudonym 0x650d on twitter, tweeted he decided to hold the collection just before it was expected to go ahead.
The lot, titled ‘Punk It!’ by the auction house, was expected to be sold for US$30mln, with the holder having paid US$7mln for the collection back in July 2021.
According to CoinDesk, a potential reason for the sudden change of heart was the rumoured unenthusiastic reception the lot received, with CoinDesk sources saying the highest pre-bid offer was US$14mln, which was also the reserve price.
The cancelled sale would have been the second NFT auction hosted by Sotheby’s, with the first being a US$24.4mln collection of 101 Bored Apes back in September.
Traditional auction houses have increasingly been holding NFT auctions over the past 12 months, with Sotheby’s reporting over US$100mln in digital art sales in 2021, and competitors Christies also hosting several auctions over the course of the year.
CryptoPunks, created by Larva Labs, has generated roughly US$2bn in sales since its inception in 2017.