The Man Who Bought 100 CryptoPunks—Before They Were Famous

“I used to be only a man having enjoyable behind his laptop,” Dan Polko informed Decrypt. “I by no means imagined the whole lot that was going to occur.”

Polko purchased 100 CryptoPunks, price hundreds of thousands at their peak, again when no person cared in regards to the iconic NFT assortment.

The French native found CryptoPunks only a few days after they had been first launched in June 2017, after studying an article.

As an early adopter of Bitcoin and a eager follower of Ethereum, Polko’s pursuits naturally gravitated in direction of NFTs.

To him, CryptoPunks wasn’t simply one other digital artwork assortment. It was a nostalgic ode to his love for cyberpunk, science fiction, and traditional rock.

“The pop artwork aesthetics, the funky colours, the pixel artwork, jogged my memory of the video video games of my childhood, comparable to Donkey Kong, Tetris, and Pac-Man,” he informed Decrypt.

After leaving his laptop for 2 months of trip, his resolution was made when he went again: he needed to take the wager.

“I used the ETH that I had purchased for lower than $10, because the CryptoPunks had been on the equal of $300,” Polko informed Decrypt. “It was like shopping for a lithograph in an artwork gallery. By October-November, I began to build up. I purchased one, then two, three, 4, and I could not cease”.

Over the following 4 to 5 months, he acquired 100 CryptoPunks.

“It was low cost, you possibly can discover nice ones as a result of there have been perhaps three patrons on the planet, as nobody cared,” Polko stated. “There have been 5 guys on Discord, at all times the identical, joking about the truth that these can be as invaluable as Warhol in 50 years.”

Impressed by legendary artwork collectors

After a two-year break from the crypto and NFT area, the Covid lockdown introduced Polko again to his laptop, reigniting his curiosity about CryptoPunks.

Across the identical time, he found a vibrant neighborhood on SuperRare, that includes artists like XCOPY, Robbie Barrat, and Hackatao. Nevertheless, liquidity constraints held him again from investing of their artwork.

However the tide was about to show.

“Twitter was the catalyst for CryptoPunks,” he stated. “I started utilizing my CryptoPunk as my profile image. There have been the outdated timers like Snowfro, and plenty of others who’ve since disappeared.”

When CryptoPunks’ costs started skyrocketing, Polko, who had merely hoped for an honest return, discovered himself reaping rewards past his wildest imaginations.

“It was surreal,” he informed Decrypt. “I grew up listening to icons like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, and now I used to be seeing Snoop flaunting a CryptoPunk on his social profiles.”

But, when the market confirmed indicators of faltering in mid-2022, Polko strategically started divesting.

“The priciest I offered went for 95 ETH,” he disclosed. “The purchaser was the identical particular person who purchased a Punk for $24 million. He purchased just a few from me, all priced between 80 to 95 ETH.”

The logic was clear.

“I thought of the potential of the market not bouncing again and determined to safe my earnings. The joys is simple, but it surely’s additionally in regards to the monetary reward.”

Although he offered 42 of his CryptoPunks, he nonetheless retains 58 in his assortment.

With the liquidity he acquired, Polko determined to return to his position as a digital artwork collector.

He managed to accumulate works by XCOPY, Sarah Zucker, and plenty of different French artists.

“I delight myself as the first collector of Pascal Boyart’s works,” Polko informed Decrypt. “I personal a good portion of the Apparent assortment, and items by Agoria. It is vital for me to repatriate this to France and never let it’s dominated by the English-speaking realm.”

The brand new Impressionists

He’s enthused about being concerned in a motion, and a part of a neighborhood of artists and collectors.

“I discovered it enjoyable to be a part of one thing new,” he informed Decrypt. “I at all times come again to the Impressionists, the start of contemporary artwork, the place artists, collectors, and artwork sellers mingled in Paris. Now, with social networks, it isn’t in Montmartre cafés however on Twitter or different social networks. It is a international factor, and that is why it labored as a result of it is worldwide.”

The connections he made generally led to gross sales; after changing into buddies with artist Justin Aversano, Polko offered him a CryptoPunk—taking one in all Aversano’s Twin Flames NFTs as partial fee.

Moreover, Polko is a patron of the brand new crypto artwork motion, serving to artists to arrange exhibitions.

“It’s superb,” he informed Decrypt. “In France, we have triumphed as a result of contributions of figures like Benoît Couty, Jean-Michel Pailhon, Apparent, Agoria, and Pascal Boyart. Personally, I’ve at all times strived to raise the French contact, drawing inspiration from artists like Daft Punk, and drawing a connection between CryptoPunks and the essence of French tradition.”

He highlights the pivotal position of Paris’ NFT Manufacturing unit and IHAM gallery, hubs devoted to NFT exhibitions and studying. “A vibrant French neighborhood has gathered round this new digital motion,” Polko stated. “We had been competing with cities like New York, however I consider Paris has now set the tempo.”

As Polko envisions a future devoted to touring and gathering extra digital artwork, he’s optimistic about the way forward for the area.

That the Nationwide Museum Centre Pompidou not too long ago added a CryptoPunk donated from Yuga Labs to its assortment solely strengthens his conviction.

However he additionally stresses the worth of endurance.

“It was when the MoMA in NY acquired Pollock and Rothko items that the careers of these artists exploded,” he stated, noting that the Centre Pompidou solely acquired its NFTs six months in the past.

However, he added, “We see that it is accelerating.”

Polko once more invoked the legends of Paul Guillaume and Ambroise Vollard.

“They championed artists like Manet and Monet,” he reminisced. “They birthed total artwork actions. Our ambition is to usher in an analogous renaissance, however this time, with digital artwork.”