You know, I've been following the NFT market for a long time, and honestly, the numbers there are just crazy. When you see that the most expensive NFT collections are sold for tens of millions, you start to understand that a real revolution has taken place in the world of digital art.

Let's figure out what's really happening in this market. The Merge by Pak is a whole separate story. Sold in December 2021 for $91.8 million, it became an absolute record holder. But here's the catch: it's not just one NFT, but an entire collection of 312,000 pieces, purchased by nearly 29,000 collectors. Each paid about $575, but together they created the most expensive NFT in history. Brilliant scheme, honestly.

As for other top works, Beeple's Everydays: The First 5000 Days ranks second with $69 million. The guy drew one picture every day for 5,000 days, then compiled it all into one collage. It was auctioned at Christie's in March 2021. The starting price was just a hundred dollars, but bids skyrocketed thanks to his popularity in the crypto community.

Next is Clock — the very NFT Pak created together with Julian Assange. $52.7 million in February 2022. It’s not just art; it’s a political manifesto — a timer counting down the days of Assange’s imprisonment. It updates daily. It was bought by the organization AssangeDAO, with over 100,000 supporters. The proceeds went toward his legal defense.

Human One by Beeple is a kinetic sculpture over seven feet tall with a 16K screen. It constantly changes because Beeple can update it remotely. Sold in November 2021 for $29 million. This is no longer just an NFT; it’s a living piece of art.

Now, about the most expensive NFT collections in terms of series. CryptoPunks are legendary. Launched in 2017, 10,000 unique avatars. Some pieces are worth millions. CryptoPunk #5822 (инопланетный панк) ушёл за 23 миллиона. CryptoPunk #7523 sold for $11.75 million. These are actually the first NFT projects that set the tone for the entire market.

There’s also TPunk #3442 — bought by Justin Sun for 120 million TRX (about $10.5 million). It’s called the Joker because it resembles the villain from Batman. It’s a derivative project from CryptoPunks but on the Tron blockchain.

By the way, regarding the most traded NFT collections: Axie Infinity leads with $4.27 billion, Bored Ape Yacht Club with $3.16 billion. These are truly mass-market projects.

There are also interesting works: XCOPY sold “Right-click and Save As Guy” for $7 million — a joke about those who think NFTs can just be downloaded with a right-click. Ringers #109 by Dmitry Chernyak sold for $6.93 million. It’s generative art made of strings and nails.

Beeple’s transition is a political NFT. A 10-second film about the 2020 election. If Trump had won, the film would show his victory, but since he lost, it shows a naked man on the street with offensive inscriptions. Sold for $6.6 million in February 2021.

What amazes me is that the most expensive NFT collections are often created by artists who were unknown before. But as soon as their work hits the auction block, the price skyrockets. This shows how subjective the value of digital art is.

The NFT market is extremely volatile — 95% of NFTs are worth almost nothing, but those that make it to the top become investments worth millions. It all depends on rarity, the artist’s reputation, and how much the community believes in the project.

Overall, looking at this story as a whole, NFTs are not just a speculative bubble. They are a new form of art, where each piece has its own unique story and creator. And yes, the prices are wild, but they reflect the real interest of people in digital art and collecting. Interesting times in crypto art, definitely.