Nonfungible token, or NFT, became such a tech buzzword in 2021<\/a> that even Collins Dictionary declared the abbreviation its word of the year and Google searches for NFTs spiked<\/a> to record levels.<\/p>\n Behind the term is a market that approaches $17 billion<\/a>, according to Cointelegraph Research. And the NFT marketplace OpenSea is responsible for processing most of these transactions, with a trading volume that recently surpassed $10 billion<\/a>.<\/p>\n NFTs\u2019 potential reaches far beyond art to include music, sports collectibles and video games, while its utility encompasses ownership as well as exclusive access to unique functions and features.<\/p>\n From CryptoPunks and Beeple\u2019s collage to NBA Top Shot and RTFKT, the following collections stood out, not only in numbers but for their growing communities.\u00a0As we wrap up 2021, let\u2019s take a look at the top 10 collections and sales in NFTs this year.<\/p>\n CryptoPunks are the OG of NFTs, according to DappRadar. The collection launched back in 2017 before the ERC-721 NFT standard existed. Larva Labs released all 10,000 punks for free to Ethereum users and since then, CryptoPunks\u2019 popularity and value on the secondary market have boomed.<\/p>\n In June 2021, an alien punk sold<\/a> at Sotheby\u2019s for $11.75 million. In August, Visa acquired<\/a>\u00a0a $150,000 CryptoPunk for its corporate collection and Hollywood agency UTA inked<\/a> a deal to use CryptoPunks in mainstream media. August 2021 saw a record $400 million spent on CryptoPunks<\/a> in a single month. In September, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian attended the Met Gala sporting<\/a> a CryptoPunk badge.<\/p>\n CryptoPunks has seen the highest trading volume on OpenSea with\u00a0756,984 Ether (ETH<\/a>) ($3.03 billion). Its increasing value and historical relevance makes it the top NFT collection.<\/p>\n The collection with the second highest historical trading volume is<\/a> Bored Ape Yacht Club, or BAYC, with 266,843 ETH ($1.07 billion).<\/p>\n The core team behind Yuga Labs is made up of four friends who wanted \u201cto make some dope apes, test our skills and try to build something ridiculous\u201d this year, according to their website. The lead artist behind BAYC is All Seeing Seneca.\u00a0As an owner of one of the 10,000 Bored Apes, an NFT can double as a Yacht Club membership card and grant members-only access to THE BATHROOM, the Bored Ape Kennel Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club, or MAYC.<\/p>\n In September, Sotheby’s sold a collection of 107 BAYC NFTs<\/a>, made up of 101 Bored Apes and six Mutant Apes, for $24.4 million. This is the third-highest off-chain NFT art sale at an auction house to date, after Beeple\u2019s NFT pieces.\u00a0In November, a surge in OpenSea sales appeared to be connected with a more than 900% uptick in the sale volume<\/a> of BAYC and MAYC NFTs, likely due to celebrity buyers like Jimmy Fallon, Post Malone who featured BAYC NFTs in a music video<\/a> and Rolling Stone magazine Bored Ape and Mutant Ape covers. Most recently, BAYC was part of a four-way collaboration between PUNKS Comic, Gmoney and Adidas Originals for the launch of Adidas’ “Into the Metaverse” NFT project<\/a>.<\/p>\n Thrilled to have collaborated with @RollingStone<\/a> on their first-ever NFT covers. Auctions for these two 1 of 1’s close Monday on @SuperRare<\/a>:<\/p>\n BAYC:\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/t.co\/MrW9yK2w1P<\/a> \u2014 Bored Ape Yacht Club (@BoredApeYC) November 13, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n On Tuesday,\u00a0Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs surpassed the floor price of CryptoPunks<\/a> for the first time indicating bullish public sentiment toward the future of BAYC.<\/p>\n NFT artist Mike Winkelmann, better known as Beeple and self-described as a “dude who makes crap,” holds the record for first and second-most expensive digital art pieces sold at public auction and off-chain as of November 2021,\u00a0according<\/a> to Art Market Research. <\/p>\n Following British auction house Christie\u2019s $69.3 million sale of Beeple\u2019s \u201cEverdays: The First 5000 Days\u201d<\/a> in March 2021, Beeple\u2019s \u201cHUMAN ONE\u201d piece sold for $28.9 million in November. \u201cHUMAN ONE\u201d is a tangible seven-foot-tall rotating box made of LED screens. It can be physically displayed, unlike most NFTs that live in digital wallets. The footage on the screens will be periodically edited and updated using blockchain by Winkelmann in response to current events,\u00a0according<\/a> to Christie\u2019s statement.<\/p>\nCryptoPunks, Larva Labs<\/h3>\n
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Bored Ape Yacht Club, Yuga Labs<\/h3>\n
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MAYC:\u00a0https:\/\/t.co\/lk7WxZP5jK<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/lU9kbsWnje<\/a><\/p>\nBeeple<\/h3>\n