
Possible 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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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.
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.
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.


