The Infinite Node Foundation, a new nonprofit focused on digital art conservation founded by venture capitalist Meyer 'Micky' Malka and Becky Kleiner, has acquired the full intellectual property rights to CryptoPunks from Yuga Labs. The purchase price is reported to be around $20 million. CryptoPunks, created in 2017 by Matt Hall and John Watkinson, is one of the earliest and most famous NFT collections, credited with sparking the 2021 NFT craze. Yuga Labs, the parent company of Bored Ape Yacht Club, had bought the rights in 2022 for an undisclosed sum. The foundation's advisory board includes Web3 figures such as Yuga Labs co-founder Wylie Aronow and Art Blocks founder Erick Calderon.
This acquisition matters because it marks a significant shift in the stewardship of a landmark digital artwork from a for-profit entity to a nonprofit dedicated to conservation and scholarly access. The move comes amid a dramatic collapse of the NFT market, with 95 percent of NFTs considered 'dead' and average owners facing steep losses. By placing CryptoPunks under a foundation with an endowment, the founders aim to 'future-proof' the work and make it accessible to scholars, curators, and collectors. The transfer also highlights ongoing efforts to legitimize digital art within traditional museum contexts, as CryptoPunks are already held by institutions including ICA Miami, LACMA, and the Centre Pompidou.