CryptoPunks owner boasted “rugging” Sotheby’s by canceling NFT auction

The seller withdrew his lot from the auction just a few minutes before it started

25.02.2022 - 07:00

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1 min

What’s new? On February 9, Sotheby’s announced an auction where 104 CryptoPunks NFTs were to be sold in one lot. The lot was estimated to be worth between $20 million and $30 million. Minutes before the auction began, the NFT collector withdrew and mocked Sotheby’s on Twitter afterward.

nvm, decided to hodl https://t.co/WdQ5H7I0fl— 0x650d (@0x650d) February 24, 2022

What are the reasons? The high fees and the ideology of getting rich quickly became the reasons behind his actions. The anonymous collector went on to cover the situation by posting a meme insinuating that they were “taking punks mainstream by rugging Sothebys.” “Rugging” refers to a scam in which a developer leaves the project with the investor’s funds. Although no funds were lost, the owner did pull the rug out from under the bidder’s feet.

pic.twitter.com/M0l9wvH3T5— 0x650d (@0x650d) February 24, 2022

This clash sheds light on the ideological chasm between the non-conformist “cyberpunk” culture of Web 3 and the more restrained, “intellectual” culture of traditional institutions. The artist Shl0ms also expressed his protest against the consumer culture in the cryptocurrency community. He blew up a Lamborghini Huracan car.

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