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CryptoPunks creators: from art experiment to cultural movement

Feb 4, 2026
John Watkinson, co-founder of Larva Labs and digital art/software maker, and Matt Hall, technologist-artist behind CryptoPunks, discuss their 10,000-character experiment that became a cultural movement. They talk about on-chain permanence, decentralization as design, how digital identity found value, museums embracing pixel art, and the tradeoffs of immutable smart contracts.
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INSIGHT

On-Chain Ownership Solves Digital Art's Problem

  • Making digital art openly viewable while putting ownership on-chain solved a core problem for collectors.
  • The blockchain made ownership transparent, accessible, and mediated by a global ledger, which clarified the value proposition.
ANECDOTE

From Free Experiment To Overnight Craze

  • Matt Hall and John Watkinson describe CryptoPunks as an experiment they hoped people would adopt and trade.
  • They launched it on an Ethereum subreddit, it was free, and within 24 hours all 10,000 were claimed after press coverage.
ANECDOTE

Surviving The Crypto Winter

  • During the crypto winter a hardcore fan base and the team kept CryptoPunks alive while prices were low.
  • Matt and John even bought back punks as someone repeatedly dumped a thousand over months, preserving the project through lean times.
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