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Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. is already known for his flashy moves on the gridiron and in the fashion world as one the most stylish athletes today. Now, OBJ is taking on the booming world of cryptocurrency with his recent purchase of Cryptopunk; an NFT developed in 2017 by software developers Matt Hall and John Watkinson.
Noah Davis, a specialist in Post-War & Contemporary Art at Christie’s Auction House, called Cryptopunks “the alpha and omega of the CyptoArt movement.” So what kind of Cryptopunk did OBJ get? Well, one of himself, of course.
The precise NFT that Beckham bought was CryptoPunk 3365, a pixelated avatar of the 2014 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and he has been showing it off on all his social media accounts. What makes this one unique is its particular set of features: its 5 o’clock shadow (1 of 526 “punks,” as they’re also called), wild hair (1 of 447 punks), and smile (1 of 238 punks).
Based on all the possible combinations of gender, skin tone, hair, smiles, etc., there reportedly are more than 10,000 different punks someone can buy. OBJ’s punk originally belonged to blockchain enthusiast Soby before the star wideout paid a cool 888 ETH ($2.17M) for it.
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However, the randomness of Cryptopunks means that some are worth much more than others because of each one’s relative rarity as well. In June, DraftKings shareholder Shalom Meckenzie dropped $11.8 million for CryptoPunk 7523. His NFT is one of nine alien punks and the one to wear a mask, earning it the name “Covid Alien.”
Michael Bouhanna, the contemporary art specialist at Sotheby’s, spoke to CNBC about the tokens’ popularity in the crypto world. “CryptoPunks have become among the most sought-after NFTs on the market,” he said. “We’ve seen strong interest from both traditional art clients and collectors from the NFT community — and bidding starts at only $100.”
