10 Pudgy Penguins sold for $129,000

Although the situation in the cryptocurrency market is far from the concept of “ideal”, however, in the world of non-fungible tokens, interesting acts of sale and purchase are still taking place. So, for example, an auction was held at Sotheby's, in which 10 non-fungible Pudgy Penguins tokens were sold.

The cost of each of them was in the range between $1,300 and $30,240. The average price was $12,900. This collection appeared last year and quickly gained popularity among NFT collectors. In the first year of the Pudgy Penguins collection, total trading volume involving non-fungible tokens from the collection exceeded 60,000 Ethereum (~$78,000,000). The most expensive “chubby penguin” cost its buyer a round price of 400 Ethereum (~$520,000). Despite quickly gaining popularity, 2022 with its downtrend has played a role in the loss of interest in the collection.

At Sotheby's, the auction was held from 18 to 30 November. Non-fungible tokens were put up there, which are difficult to find on the sites. For example, the 505th and 8074th tokens from the Pudgy Penguins collection appeared there. The first is a penguin in a sombrero, and the second shows a penguin with a baby penguin. Pudgy Penguins #505 had a starting price of $4,500, while Pudgy Penguins #8074 opened at $7,500.

Pudgy Penguins #505

Pudgy Penguins #8074

The global downtrend that we often refer to has had a big impact on overall NFT token sales. This year, every month the turnover in the market of non-fungible items became lower and lower, however, the auction house Sotheby's helped to ensure that the volume of trading did not slide to the very bottom. Sotheby's head of sales Davis Brown believes that auctions are the best way to test the market, as this way of selling can provide market participants with an open and fair assessment of collectors' interest. In addition, according to Brown, the auction helps the market set new benchmarks in terms of value.

The auction house Sotheby's began operations in 2021. The debut collection that the house sold was the set of the artist Park. She was able to attract about 3,000 buyers and raise over $16,800,000 in total. In 2021, Sotheby's was able to earn over $100,000,000 selling non-fungible tokens.

Speaking about this method of selling NFT collections, it is worth mentioning the main competitor of Sotheby's represented by Christie's. The latter hold no less spectacular auctions and collect large sums for the sale of non-fungible tokens. Christie's has launched its full-fledged marketplace for NFT tokens, where they will also be able to conduct auctions on the Ethereum blockchain, which is currently the main one in the field of non-fungible items.