Is CryptoPunks going to be acquired? Who is the intended buyer?

Author: William M. Peaster, Bankless; Translator: Tao Zhu, Golden Finance

Yesterday, the reserve price of CryptoPunks rose from 35 ETH to 42 ETH, and in US dollar terms, it reached a high of more than $135,000.

Trading volume and sales on the day rose sharply by 321% and 285%, respectively.

CryptoPunks acquisition in progress?

Recently, there have been rumors that another CryptoPunks acquisition is in the works.

Momentum began to build when Azuki researcher Wale shared on X that “multiple sources” suggested Yuga Labs “may be selling the CryptoPunks IP.”

Of course, Yuga Labs, creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club, also made a splash when it first acquired Punks from Larva Labs in March 2022.

Terms of the deal were never made public, but some estimates suggest a price of over $100 million.

Since then, Yuga has proven to be a commendably solid and largely hands-off steward of the Punks ecosystem, but they’ve also had their share of drama.

For example, in May 2024, after Yuga faced opposition to its initial Super Punks World auction setup and more, we first learned of new acquisition interest when crypto OG Cobie confirmed that he had inquired about the possibility of purchasing the Punks IP alongside a group of fellow holders.

Yuga declined, and things were quiet on that front until this week when the latest acquisition rumors began to circulate.

So, that leaves us with two main questions:

• Is the speculation true? Is Yuga in the process of doing a deal with Punks?

• If so, who are the intended buyers?

As for the first question, the official answer is no. There are reportedly no plans. Yuga co-founder Garga said as much yesterday at X.

Now, as the details of the deal are being finalized, this could be a smokescreen for a denial.

We’ve seen this sort of thing in crypto before, right? Arbitrum, for example, denied plans for a token and then launched an airdrop.

But even if we take the denial at face value and assume it’s likely true, it’s still interesting to consider how the prospect of a potential change in ownership could spark a trading frenzy.

Most of the action here is definitely whale momentum trading punks taking advantage of a new wave of excitement. But at least some of it is coming from people betting on the possibility of a new owner.

But here's the thing. What would a new, better owner look like?

Because all things considered, Yuga's relationship with Punks has been so good that if there were another ownership change, the best case scenario would be that the new owner would essentially follow Yuga's approach, just be more hands-off than they are now.

On the other hand, I don't think most other large crypto companies would be good stewards here. Most would tend to be more hands-on to get the best value for money.

That said, in Wale’s original tweet (debunked? not debunked?), he noted that he’d heard that the potential buyer of Punks wasn’t “a major Web2 brand, nor… another large existing NFT company (Pudgy Penguins, Azuki, Doodles).”

He added that it seemed that “the potential new owner’s plan is to keep the IP intact.”

So, for the sake of argument, let’s assume there really is a buyer.

To be sure, it makes perfect sense to leave the IP untouched, as the buyer would actively exploit Punks, which would damage the assets of the series, induce considerable selling pressure, and cause a revolt from the Punks and broader NFT communities.

That’s the worst-case scenario, right — a new, unwelcome owner doing regrettable things to extract as much cash as possible. That would be tragic given Punks’ history to date.

But what’s the good news?

Even if a sale were to take place, Yuga knows the stakes and would not sell to any shady party. I fully believe that. The purchaser, or purchasers in the case of the community group, would have to be very good for Yuga to agree to anything.

But again, we're just assuming. For now, it looks like the Punks will stay with Yuga, and given some of the other alternatives, that's perhaps for the best.