Unlike the more recent projects it inspired, CryptoPunks didn’t initially set out to create a community. In fact, the team didn’t even have a roadmap. The project was an experiment conceived by Canadian software developers and Larva Labs founders Matt Hall and John Watkinson.

At the time, the NFT space was a far cry from the robust market we see today. As a result, CryptoPunks initially started out slow. The collection went live in June 2017. Initially, the NFTs were given away for free to whoever wanted them. Because you needed an Ethereum wallet to collect one, supply was limited to those who were already invested in crypto. “What makes CryptoPunks important is that a community grew around them organically,” explains GMoney. “There is a provenance around them because they are one of the first NFT projects on Ethereum — and they were free to claim at the start.”

GMoney says early supporters of CryptoPunks, such as now top-tier NFT influencers Pranksy, DaveDave, and SeedPhrase, “realized earlier than most that digital ownership was going to be spreading more and more on-chain. Being able to own and claim stuff on-chain was going to be very valuable.”

Since 2017, CryptoPunks has grown from a simple, niche internet fad into one of the world’s more expansive and well-known NFT projects. While it was not technically the first NFT project on Ethereum, it is one of the earliest, and it is undoubtedly the most influential. Many of those patient enough to hold have become multi-millionaires, and those lucky enough to get in before the 2021 craze are regarded as some of the most fortunate people in the NFT space. Via nftnow.com

There are 10,000 unique CryptoPunks (6,039 male and 3,840 female), all of which are made digitally scarce through the use of blockchain technology. Each one was algorithmically generated through computer code and thus no two characters are exactly alike, with some traits being rarer than others. They were originally released for free and could be claimed by anyone with an Ethereum wallet. The only costs to claim a CryptoPunk during their initial release were Ethereum (ETH) "gas fees", which at the time, were negligible due to little use of both the Ethereum blockchain and little knowledge of the project as well.[11]

Certain traits and types of characters are rarer than others. While many projects of more recent development often sample through hundreds of possible traits, the CryptoPunks project was not as complex. Most of the 10,000 total punks are humans, but there are also three special types: Zombie (88), Ape (24), and Alien (9).[12][13] Aside from character type, there was a potential of 87 additional attributes.

Via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CryptoPunks

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