There is no greater visual symbol for the crypto age than an Alien Cryptopunk. They are synonymous with each other, reflecting not just the philosophies of pseudonymity, community and tradability that the blockchain ecosystem so highly prizes, but also the elegant simplicity of the system. What viral symbol could you make in just 24 by 24 pixels? Cryptopunks by Larva Labs are the ultimate synthesis of this crypto aesthetic, they have come to define it, indeed to co-create it. Yet as they come prominence within the mainstream, lit up on American billboards and across the metaverse, what of the stories they tell outside of crypto?

Masked Alien #7523 is one nine Alien Cryptopunks. It is the only one with a mask. The growth in the NFT ecosystem and its rapid ascension to the global cultural stage must in some part be attributed to the closing of our physical world during COVID-19. As galleries closed their doors to their communities, NFTs as a digital medium and the concept of the metaverse started to resonate with collectors globally as they looked for new cultural experiences. As the physical world closed down, the digital sphere opened up. Little did the West think of the mask before 2020 and yet it now carries the heavy symbolism of unfortunate icon of the early 21st century. This Alien, the only Alien with a mask, stands as the ultimate symbol of NFTs journey to the mainstream and, given recent times, carries more loaded symbolism to our current era - more than Matt Hall and John Watkinson could have ever imagined. Hall and Watkinson’s studio, Larva Labs, unknowingly accessorized this Alien Punk with what would become the ubiquitous symbol of the COVID-19 age. It is a symbolism that one cannot now unsee.

Launched on June 23^rd 2017, CryptoPunks were originally free to acquire for anyone with an ETH wallet. This was a true testament to the community-orientated approach of the project, and resonates highly with the hacker spirit that populated much of the early experimentation across Bitcoin and Ethereum. When released on the blockchain, the collection not only became the Ethereum network’s genesis NFTs, but it also inspired the ERC-721 standard that has come to power much of today’s digital art and collectibles. There are a total of 10,000 Punks, each with their own distinct characteristics – no two are exactly alike. The 24 x 24 pixel, 8-bit-style Punks embody an aesthetic mirroring the nostalgic punk spirit, reflecting the Crypto Anarchist philosophy that brought together many of the weird and wonderful misfits that came to build the early crypto infrastructure. The 9 Aliens represent the rarest ‘Punk Type’, with the remaining collection comprised of 24 Apes, 88 Zombies, 3840 Females and 6,039 Males. These Punks are further distinguished by a myriad of associated rarities and attributes, whether it be #7523’s ‘medical mask’, or the blue ‘bandana’ of Ape Punk #4156 – each voice their own distinctive identity. Every Punk has a unique set of attributes, with anywhere from 0 to 8 distinguishing characteristics. The 8 Punks with no attributes at all have been dubbed as the ‘Genesis Punks’, while #8348 exists as the only CryptoPunk to boast a full set of 8 features - donning a top hat and classic shades, puffing a cigarette through his buckteeth and big beard whilst also sporting an earring and a mole.

Yet Punks for all their aesthetic minimalism and generative complexity stand at the intersection of our ideas around art versus collectible. They push the boundaries of both definitions. Their tradability, and the crypto liquidity that the blockchain has geared the medium of NFTs is inherent to their being. Punks are designed to move. Indeed, they stand as the latest exemplar in art’s continued emancipation from the wall. From cave to fresco, then to canvas, and now the digital, NFTs are simply the latest innovation in our ability to move and share art. Over the millenia long period from cave to canvas, art has remained remarkably undisrupted from a medium point of view. The hyper-portability of NFTs presents us with a fully bona fide breakaway from tradition. These developments do not confine themselves solely to the processes of artistic production, but also challenge centuries old methods of collecting. While at times the liquidity and turnover of art that crypto brings is unsettling, this is the latest step in art’s emancipation from the wall. Art now flows without mediation and at unprecedented speed. Punks, in their networked community undoubtedly stretching across all corners of the world, stand as the iconic symbol of this transition. In this the spirit of collecting and trading becomes inherent to the understanding of the NFT medium, a premonition Hal Finney held all the way back in 1993:

One of the greatest minds and builders of the early crypto ecosystem, do Finney’s words not act as a perfect description of Cryptopunks. Finney talks of “fans… and… friends” drawing our focus to the idea of community that stands so central to the importance of Cryptopunks. Punks were designed as pseudonymous portraits, masks for those crypto pioneers that value the idea of privacy in the modern age. Avatars, portraits or masks, they stand as semiotic reference points to a specific internet crypto native identity that now spreads itself across social networks - particularly Twitter. More is said by a Punk as a profile picture than a portrait of the individual behind the account. Art and the history of collecting ties largely with both an intellectual curiosity about culture, the idea of conspicuous consumption, and the need to have cultural objects that reflect the collector’s place in the world. Punks revolutionise this. Instead of the private gallery, or the home as a space for discussion and private presentation of art, NFTs – and Punks in particular – fundamentally reorder this experience into the digital realm. They have become the ultimate digital flex, a unique symbol of identity in the virtual domain, with the infrastructure of the blockchain to prove ownership. Such technologies are fundamental in the idea of the Punk as an avatar, affording members of the crypto communities with an inalienable sense of self. The individuality and exclusivity that generative art provides, combined with a large edition size, allows collectors to find commonality with both the collective but also the unique edition.

As a result, it should come as no surprise that Punks reside at the heart of the NFT and crypto ecosystem. Their frequent appearance on the Twitter profiles of prominent individuals in the NFT space serves as a constant reminder of the Punk movement's capacity to offer collectors a refuge of trust amongst the wilderness of the social media jungle. The sale of #7523 presents the opportunity to join an exclusive club with one of the most coveted works in the entirety of the NFT movement, and one that specifically speaks to our times.

— ROBERT ALICE