A trader acquired a rare Ape-themed CryptoPunk, valued at approximately $1.5 million, for only 10 ETH, equivalent to $23,000.
The acquisition used a smart contract mechanism known as a "shotgun buyout," which allows shareholders to propose a buyout price for fractionalized NFTs.
The CryptoPunk in question, Punk #2386, features a headband and small shades. Originally fractionalized on the now-defunct platform Niftex in 2020, the NFT was divided into 10,000 parts, with 257 owners.
Despite the decommissioning of Niftex, the underlying smart contracts remained active on the blockchain, enabling the recent buyout.
On August 28, a trader proposed the buyout for 10 ETH. The developer behind Niftex, known as 0xQuit, explained that other shareholders had the opportunity to counter the bid. Notably, NFT collector gmoneyNFT attempted to intervene but was unable to submit a sufficient counterbid. Consequently, the buyout proceeded without opposition.
This NFT had previously attracted bids upwards of 900 ETH (approximately $2 million) as recently as January. In a related sale, another Ape-themed CryptoPunk, #6915, sold for $1.5 million on September 6.
The CryptoPunk community has reacted with a mix of surprise and different interpretations of the events. Some have described the acquisition as "one of the biggest CryptoPunk heists of all time," while the developer behind the smart contract mechanism, known as 0xQuit, has called it the "steal of the century."
