Whale buys 45 Crypto Punks, NFT market rallies on ETH expansion

NFTs are heating up based on the general hype and price expansion of ETH. Recently, a whale acquired 45 Crypto Punks, boosting the floor price by 20%. 

A whale acquired 45 Crypto Punk NFTs, boosting the collection’s floor price by 20%. Interest in Crypto Punks spiked for the first time since Yuga Labs sold the intellectual rights of the NFT collection. 

On-chain data shows the whale spent 2,082 ETH and acquired the NFTs through OpenSea. 

Based on Nansen data, the wallet is newly created and active since July 18. There are no data of other chains or previous activities linked to NFTs or trading. The wallet was first funded by another exchange address with a high balance. 

A whale created a new wallet(0x1bb3) and spent 2,082 $ETH($5.87M) to buy 45 CryptoPunk NFTs 4 hours ago.https://t.co/mVu8wrKhT7 pic.twitter.com/pfH4j5lYKI

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 21, 2025

Crypto Punks show increased activity

The single whale purchase was only a part of a recent reawakening for Crypto Punks. The collection has been bought up with no special events or airdrop promises, suggesting NFTs are just waiting for a general crypto rally. 

On-chain data shows a total of 76 Punks were swept up, showing significant activity outside the 2021 NFTs season. 

As a result, the collection saw its floor price rally by 20% at the peak, reaching a floor price of 47.50 ETH, up from the recent level of 41 ETH. For the past 24 hours, the collection sparked additional retail and whale interest, achieving 135 sales. 

I think this is the most spectacular CryptoPunks sweep we’ve seen since 2022 – maybe even 2021?
76 punks were acquired within 5 hours for aprox. $13.5 million. Over 35 Squiggles were also acquired during the same period. pic.twitter.com/N0bFYilRmj

— Jediwolf (@randomcdog) July 20, 2025

Crypto Punks track ETH growth

Crypto Punks transferred a total of 6,373 ETH in the past day, growing their volume by over 8,000%. The coming days will show if the activity is sustainable, or remains a one-off anomaly. NFTs are often used as tools to gain ETH, or sometimes to disguise the origin of funds. 

However, during a period of market exuberance, NFTs may be seen as a store of value and a source of potential growth. 

The recent NFTs activity also showed Crypto Punks were also bought up by a smaller number of whale buyers. A total of 50 sellers used the price spike to auction off their NFTs, while only 13 buyers mopped up available Punks. In the past day, the most expensive deal was for 69 ETH, swapping out Crypto Punk #6760.

Are NFTs making a comeback?

NFT collections are showing higher baseline activity, with some anomalous days during specific project events or promotions. Pudgy Penguins retain its status as one of the top collections in terms of activity. 

The Pudgy Penguins collection has a baseline of around 333 ETH in daily volumes, on par with regular Crypto Punks activity. 

The whale move helped all Punk holders expand their value. However, everyday NFTs activity is also a sign of a potential comeback. OpenSea users have also reported an uptick in activity, moving away from the years of stagnant trading and barely any NFT deals. 

Recently, the Ronin Network introduced batch transfers for NFT, to help gamers move their vast collections. The chain increased its transfer limit from 20 to 40 NFTs, allowing gamers to move their items and characters to a new wallet in fewer transactions.