Yuga Labs Sells CryptoPunks IP to Digital Art Nonprofit
The Infinite Node Foundation (NODE), a nonprofit organisation dedicated to preserving internet-native culture, has acquired the intellectual property rights of the iconic CryptoPunks NFT collection from Yuga Labs. The announcement, made on 13 May, did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.
A Landmark Deal in the NFT World
Alongside the acquisition, NODE received a $25 million endowment, positioning it as the most well-capitalised nonprofit in the United States focused solely on digital art. The foundation stated that this strategic move marks a significant step toward safeguarding the legacy and influence of the CryptoPunks collection within both the digital and traditional art landscapes.
“CryptoPunks changed the art world by existing outside of it and sparked a cultural shift that continues to reshape our digital world,” NODE shared in its statement.
Advisory Board Formed to Oversee Collection
To guide the future of the collection, NODE has assembled an advisory board comprising notable figures from the NFT and digital art communities. This includes Matt Hall and John Watkinson, the original creators of CryptoPunks, as well as a representative from Yuga Labs. The board’s role will be to ensure that CryptoPunks continues to thrive while maintaining its artistic and cultural significance.
NODE further elaborated, “Our role is to build a networked architecture that allows digital art like CryptoPunks to thrive within both digital and art-historical canons.”
CryptoPunks: The Crown Jewel of NFTs
Launched in 2017 by Larva Labs — co-founded by Hall and Watkinson — CryptoPunks consists of 10,000 algorithmically generated pixel art characters. Since its inception, the collection has generated over $3 billion in total sales, with individual NFTs commanding massive sums. The highest-grossing CryptoPunk was sold for nearly $24 million in 2022.
According to CoinGecko, as of 13 May 2025, CryptoPunks remains the most valuable NFT collection globally, with a market capitalisation nearing $1.2 billion. NFT holders also receive royalties from secondary sales, which has contributed to the collection’s enduring popularity and value.
Yuga Labs’ Evolving NFT Strategy
Yuga Labs, the creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club — currently the third-largest NFT collection by market capitalisation — acquired CryptoPunks and Meebits (another Larva Labs project) in 2022. However, the company has since shifted focus, selling Meebits earlier this year and now transferring the CryptoPunks IP to NODE.
This latest move follows Yuga Labs’ March announcement that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had concluded its investigation into the company, a decision Yuga called “a huge win for NFTs.”
With CryptoPunks now under the stewardship of a dedicated cultural nonprofit, the NFT world watches closely to see how NODE will honour and preserve one of the most influential digital art collections ever created.
