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TL;DR: We’re about to enter another NFT cycle.
$ETH ( ▼ 0.65% ) is comfortably holding above $2,500. NFT floor prices are creeping up. And more importantly, NFT mindshare is rising again. Quietly. Organically. Not with hype, but with movement. That’s when we get in.
RektGuys, Bitcoin Ordinals and even pixel punks gaining traction.
And whenever a new cycle brews, it helps to look back at the legends who shaped the last one.
There’s no better place to start than with Pranksy—a pseudonymous collector, cultural catalyst, and minting machine who turned $600 of ETH into a digital empire… and never looked back.
The $600 Bet That Started It All
In late 2017, someone told Pranksy about CryptoKitties. They were breeding cats on Ethereum. The idea sounded ridiculous—and like any good degen move, he jumped in anyway.
He bought $600 worth of ETH to mint the cats. He’s never bought ETH again.
That initial leap triggered a multi-year streak of collecting, trading, and betting big on new NFT experiments. Pranksy wasn’t chasing hype; he was early to everything. He’d mint relentlessly, reinvest profits into artists and ecosystems, and let conviction drive his plays.
By 2020, NFT Twitter dubbed him the “King of the Mint.”
CryptoPunk #6275 – once owned by Pranksy
The BAYC Bet: 1,250 Apes at 0.08 ETH
Pranksy’s initial tweet on BAYC
On May 1st, 2021, a new PFP (Profile Picture) project launched: Bored Ape Yacht Club. Each mint cost 0.08 ETH.
Pranksy minted 250, tweeted about it, and then ramped up to 1,250 Apes.
At the time, nobody saw what was coming. No wild presale. No 2-minute sellouts. The collection took a while to mint out.
But a few hours later, all 10,000 Apes were gone—thanks largely to big mints from Pranksy and j1mmy.eth.
That single mint set up the greatest ROI in NFT history. Holding just one Ape could’ve yielded ~$1M in value through airdrops: BAKC, MAYC, ApeCoin, and Otherside land.
And Pranksy? He minted over 12% of the entire collection.
The Trader, the Whale, the Matchmaker
Pranksy didn’t just mint and hoard. He traded, gifted, and sent Apes to friends and celebs.
He cut deals with Josh Hart, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Tinie Tempah—sometimes swapping Apes for signed jerseys, sunglasses, or just to onboard new people into the space.
He did it not for hype, but to grow NFTs as a movement. He knew that if NFTs were going to stick, it needed pop culture touchpoints. People needed to see them everywhere.
Zombie Punks, Wild Profits, and 45,000 NFTs
On Sept 4, 2021, Pranksy bought Zombie CryptoPunk #6275 for 1,000 ETH ($3.89M) and sold it the same day for 1,320 ETH ($5.12M). That’s $1.23M profit in 24 hours.
That kind of speed and conviction doesn’t happen by accident—it’s the result of years of immersion.
Today, Pranksy holds over 45,000 NFTs in his wallet. His bags are filled with early projects like Avastars and CyberBrokers, and he’s still betting big—just with more strategy.
A Builder at Heart: NFTBoxes and House of Pranksy
In 2021, he launched NFTBoxes, a curated collection of art NFTs bundled into a monthly drop. It was built to spotlight artists, make collecting easier, and bring art into the hands of more people.
Now, Pranksy’s focused on a new project: House of Pranksy—a shift away from hype and toward culture, community, and legacy. Less speculation, more meaning.
The Bullish Case for Sports NFTs
Pranksy’s conviction runs deep for sports NFTs too.
He was one of the top NBA Top Shot collectors during its peak and is now a promotional partner with Sorare, spending over 1,000 ETH on fantasy football NFTs. His belief? “Sorare is the best fantasy sports product in the world.”
He sees a long future for tokenized sports, stats, and fandom—and he’s still putting his ETH where his mouth is.
Final Nuggs
This isn’t just a nostalgia trip. It’s a reminder that legends are forged early—not in bull runs, but in bear cycles.
Pranksy minted Apes when nobody cared.
He aped into CryptoKitties when people mocked them.
He built through bear markets and bet on artists before the word “meta” meant anything.
As NFT floors heat up and attention returns, remember what made the last cycle worth it.
It wasn’t hype—it was people like Pranksy.
Collectors. Builders. Conviction players.
We’re early again. Don’t miss the next one.
Have a killer weekend everyone. ✌🏼
-Nick
Founder, CryptoNuggs