Amid the growing appetite for crypto risk, a single NFT has been sold for a whopping $16 million in Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH).

What Happened: A bidder recently acquired CryptoPunk #3100, one of the nine "Alien Punks" in the series, for 4,500 ether, equivalent to approximately $16 million, reported Business Insider. This sale, which took place on March 4, is the second most expensive CryptoPunk sale to date.

The CryptoPunk series, consisting of 10,000 algorithmically generated characters, gained prominence during the NFT boom of the pandemic era. An NFT is a digital item linked to the blockchain, possessing a unique signature that cannot be replicated.

Despite a study suggesting that 95% of the NFT market may be worthless, the recent $16 million NFT sale coincides with a renewed surge in crypto risk appetite. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), for instance, is nearing its all-time high of $69,000, with its demand from ETFs and the upcoming halving event overshadowing concerns about higher interest rates.

Why It Matters: The NFT market has been experiencing a resurgence, with high-value sales and celebrity endorsements. Earlier in February, former President Donald Trump's NFT collection, launched in December 2022, yielded significant returns for investors and collectors. This was followed by a $1 million loan secured by a pseudonymous NFT entrepreneur using his prized Ape Punk #8219 as collateral, further highlighting the growing value of NFTs in the financial and art sectors.

This comes at a time when Bitcoin is on the verge of breaking its all-time high. The cryptocurrency has been experiencing a remarkable rally, with its market capitalization reaching $1.33 trillion, largely due to the inflow of funds into spot Bitcoin ETFs, the upcoming halving event, and growing investor interest in the cryptocurrency.

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