A comprehensive monograph chronicling the phenomenal rise of CryptoPunks – one of the world’s first and most sought-after crypto collectibles and trailblazer for digital art and web3 culture.

CryptoPunks: Free to Claim   explores the meteoric rise of a pre-eminent NFT collectible: what began as an experiment in digital ownership has become the catalyst for a digital art movement and a dynamic subculture synonymous with a new age of the internet.

Minted on the Ethereum blockchain in 2017, the CryptoPunks – 10,000 uniquely generated pixel characters – have produced more than $2.3 billion in cumulative sales and entered the permanent collections of major institutions including LACMA and Centre Pompidou, meanwhile fostering a passionate and decentralized online community.

All 10,000 CryptoPunks are presented in a special 400+ page catalogue raisonné within this book, with a comprehensive listing including Punk, number, type, colors, attributes and image hash. A timeline provides a zine-like assemblage of community member posts and tweets as they happened; while an extensive glossary defines more than 100 anonymously authored terms and ideas with guest contributions from Beeple, Emily Segal, Venkatesh Rao, and more.

With an in-depth interview between Hans Ulrich Obrist (Artistic Director, Serpentine Galleries) and CryptoPunks founders Matt Hall and John Watkinson, this cult and category-defining book features a kaleidoscopic collection of texts, interviews, and visual essays exploring this emerging world of web3 and digital culture at large – inspiring a first wave of visual books on this groundbreaking subject.

The book is for all levels of knowledge and features unique contributions from fascinating figures in tech, design, fashion, finance, and contemporary art including: Anika Meier, Alexis Ohanian, Mat Dryhurst, Noam Segal (Guggenheim), Philippe Bettinelli and Marcella Lista (Centre Pompidou), Michael Connor (Rhizome), Mindy Seu, Chris Lyons (a16z), Salome Asega (NEW INC), Simon Denny, Shumon Basar, Martina Tiefenthaler, Jack Butcher, Sean Bonner, 6529, among others.

Review

About the Author

Zak Kyes   is a Swiss-American creative director and founder of London-based creative office Zak Group. He has curated, edited and designed a range of cultural and commercial projects for the Architectural Association, Anne Imhof, Frank Ocean, MoMA, Nike, Prada, Virgil Abloh, and others.

Phaidon   is the premier global publisher of the creative arts. For over 100 years, Phaidon has been producing the world’s most beautiful and innovative books on art, photography, design, architecture, fashion, food, and travel.

Yuga Labs   is a web3 lifestyle and media company building culture on the blockchain, and the owner of the most significant IP in web3, including Bored Ape Yacht Club, MAYC, Proof, 10KTF, Meebits, and CryptoPunks. Since acquiring the CryptoPunks brand in 2022, they have been stewarding the original collection into the future – guided by the core pillars of legacy, community, and innovation.