An “Ape” CryptoPunk—number 1021—changed hands on 5 August for 720 ether, worth about $2.58 million at the time of the transaction. On-chain data show the token was sold by the original minter, “Beauty and the Punk,” to the over-the-counter trader PunksOTC. The sale is the largest in U.S.-dollar terms for an Ape-trait CryptoPunk in roughly two years. The record purchase has coincided with a sharp pick-up in activity across the 10,000-piece CryptoPunks collection. Over the following days at least 13 punks were sold within a three-hour window, and a separate punk (#4937) fetched 69.69 ETH, or about $270,000. Bids are also rising: one collector offered 172 ETH (≈$728,000) for Punk 7846. Heavy trading has lifted the collection’s floor price—the lowest price for any listed punk—to about 55 ETH, or $235,000, up from roughly 52 ETH before the surge. The renewed demand has fueled speculation that blue-chip non-fungible tokens are regaining momentum after an extended slump.