Late Monday, non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, once again removed the CryptoPunks v1 suite of the OpenSea platform, which merged with the popular CryptoPunks v2 suite due to a smart contract error. Presumably this is due to the DMCA takedown notice that CryptoPunk v2 developers Larva Labs sent to OpenSea. Since the company is also the creator of the CryptoPunks v1 suite, this move seemed strange to some.
For years, OpenSea banned the CryptoPunks v1 suite as users denied its authenticity. However, the group’s recent listing on competing NFT platforms such as LooksRare has increased visibility and led to OpenSea lifting its first ban. At the time of publication, CryptoPunks v1 Packed Collection has surpassed 315.44 Ether (ETH) ($974,000) in total trading volume and is still running.
But the battle over the authenticity of the NFT group appears to be raging. In an announcement posted on the official Discord of CryptoPunks v1, developer Velinova.eth claims that they have spoken to a “tier-one IP lawyer from the US”. who claim that they “can legally continue to trade with these CryptoPunks”. In the meantime, the community is preparing a counter warning about the OpenSea takeover. Furthermore, NFT holders have decided to rename the collection “CryptoPunks V1 313 WPV1”, in part to reflect the encapsulated nature of NFT to fix the aforementioned bug.
CryptoPunks V1 Community Announcement | Source: Discord
The issue of CryptoPunks’ credibility could have serious financial implications. With a total turnover of 824,947.17 ETH ($2.55 billion), CryptoPunks v2 is the most popular NFT suite in the world. However, part of the collection’s high demand is due to its rarity, with a supply of 10,000 pieces. If the additional 10,000 images from CrptoPunks v1 are legalized, it could weaken the brand, which could lead to a rapid drop in NFT prices.
