The Sandbox buys CyberKongz NFT for almost $800k

Virtual metaverse project The Sandbox has acquired a legendary CryptoKongz for 185 ETH, approximately $800,000.

The Sandbox confirmed the purchase on Tuesday, noting that the proceed from the sales will be used to support the efforts of Virunga National Park.

CyberKongz is a collection of 4,769 pixelated apes that feature a plethora of attributes and accessories. The Sandbox purchased CyberKong #201, a special ‘skeleton’ edition from the collection. It is classified as a ‘Genesis Kongz,’ which allows holders to earn passive income through the ‘$BANANA’ token.

The Genesis collection is the first 1,000 NFTs to be released by the project on March 1. They were originally touted as the “OG profile pictures of the 2D social world,” and in October, Genesis holders received what could be described as the first real case of NFT utility in the Metaverse. 10 $BANANA tokens, worth around $900 back then, were being given to owners.

The latest auction was made possible through a collaboration between Christie’s and OpenSea. The partnership formed the auction house’s first ‘on-chain’ NFT auction. Bidding for several artworks began on December 4 and closed on Tuesday.

The partnership has so far helped Virunga National Park raise about a million dollars to support its ‘biologically diverse protected area.’ It has also featured a “cutting-edge selection of collectibles and new 1/1’s” from some of the most notable NFT artists, including CyberKongz, Tom Sachs, 3LAU, and Ether Rock.

Apart from Genesis Kong #201, Genesis Kong #46 was also on auction. An NFT collector named Keung paid 96 ETH ($416,000) for the piece.

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