A CryptoPunk’s NFT Crowdsale for $56 Million Raises Speculation About the Next Kamala Harris Meme Coin

A CryptoPunk NFT has made headlines for being sold for $56.3 million.

This comes amid claims it was a carefully orchestrated promotional tactic for an upcoming meme coin called “Kamala Harris Punk.”

The sale of NFT

Punk 1563, which depicts a pixelated woman with dark hair and blue eyes, recently sold for 24,000 ether (ETH), worth about $56.3 million. However, several red flags raise questions about the legitimacy of the sale.

Punk 1563 bought for 24,000 ETH ($56,292,000.00) by 0x9cbb3d at 0xba1349. https://t.co/FqDvGZvg05 #cryptopunks #ethereum pic.twitter.com/hWimHKYb0x

— CryptoPunks Bot (@cryptopunksbot) October 3, 2024

Last month, the NFT sold for less than 30 ETH, roughly $69,000, indicating that this latest transaction represents a profit margin of nearly 81,000% compared to previous listings. Punk 1563 also lacks any rare features, typically placing it at the lower end of the collection’s price range.

On-chain data also reveals that this sale was facilitated through flash loans, which are unsecured crypto loans that must be repaid within the same transaction. In this case, the buyer borrowed 24,000 ETH from the DeFi Balancer protocol, which was later repaid by the seller. Although the NFT was transferred to a different wallet, no real profit was made and the transaction only incurred network fees.

Token Presale Marketing Tactic

Further investigation by anonymous chain researcher 0xQuit suggests that the flash loan is tied to the planned release of the Kamala Harris Punk meme coin, indicating that the sale may have been designed to build hype for the upcoming presale of the token.

According to 0xQuit, Punk 1563 will finally be sold to the highest bidder after a week-long presale phase.

“The contract is set to accept the highest bid for Punk #1563 after a seven-day period, provided the bid meets or exceeds the amount raised in the presale,” they explained.

They added that the developer would receive 10% of the token supply and 10% of the funds raised from both the pre-sale and the Punk sale, while the remaining proceeds would be combined with a new batch of tokens to establish a pool of liquidity at Uniswap.

However, this ambitious plan comes with risks. They expect to earn more than the actual value of the NFT, currently estimated at around $63,400. The blockchain sleuth believes that if the plan fails, the contract can be updated, which offers some protection.

In short, OxQuit characterized the entire transaction as a “psyop”, claiming that it is a marketing tactic for a pre-sale rather than a genuine NFT sale. They also suggested it could be a political statement given the “clown’s name and make-up”.

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