Yuga Labs sells CryptoPunks IP to nonprofit Infinite Node Foundation

Yuga Labs has offloaded the CryptoPunks NFT series from its portfolio to the Infinite Node Foundation, a nonprofit focused on preserving digital art, the company announced Tuesday.

“This purchase secures long-term stewardship for CryptoPunks and launches an ambitious museum-partnership program to embed them in leading art institutions worldwide,” the firm wrote in a statement. 

CryptoPunks were one of the first NFT series, created by Larva Labs in 2017. It features 10,000 cartoon images that have become a frequent sight as profile pictures on social media. 

As part of the deal, terms of which are undisclosed, NODE is also creating an advisory council comprising Larva Labs co-founders Matt Hall and John Watkinson, Yuga Labs founder Wylie Aronow, and Art Blocks creator Erick Calderon. 

"CryptoPunks sparked a cultural movement that blended code, community, and commerce," Chair of the Node Foundation Micky Malka said in a statement. "By pairing museum-grade conservation with an evergreen endowment, we intend to future-proof this landmark work and make it easier than ever for scholars, curators, and collectors to engage with it."

Yuga Labs, the design team behind the major Bored Apes NFT project, purchased Larva Labs’ IP for its Punk and Meebit series in March 2022. The company sold its Meebits property earlier this year, as it doubled down focusing on its Otherside metaverse project.

Yuga Labs began distancing itself from the CryptoPunks brand following backlash to its derivative Super Punk World project, a collection of 500 3D digital sculptures that blurred the lines between race and gender, which critics said was too “woke” and dilutive to the Punk IP. 

Rumors in 2025 about a potential CryptoPunks IP sale fueled further community discontent, which Yuga denied at the time.