Quick take:
- OpenSea has again delisted NFT collection CryptoPunks V1.
- It is a wrapped version of the popular CryptoPunks v2 collection.
- The delisting comes amid an ongoing court legal battle between the two versions.
Popular NFT collection CryptoPunks is facing another legal storm as the two versions CryptoPunks v2 and CryptoPunks v1 issue opposing legal statements to NFT marketplace OpenSea.
CryptoPunks v1 was banned on OpneSea years ago. However, the marketplace restored the collection to its listing to stem competition from LooksRare.
But due to legal pressure from CryptoPunks collectors, Larva Labs in a document dated Feb. 5 issued a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice to OpenSea, prompting the leading NFT platform to delist CryptoPunks v1.
In response, @v1Punks wrote on Twitter saying that the collection was going to respond on due course to OpenSea, meanwhile instructing collectors to trade CryptoPunks v1 NFTs on LooksRare and on its web platform v1punks.io.
Generally, users have continued to challenge CryptoPunk’s v1’s authenticity since its sprung into existence alongside the more popular CryptoPunks v2 collection. However, CryptoPunks v1 gained popularity in recent weeks as whales drove up the volume on LooksRare and other competing platforms.
OpenSea’s decision to rescind the ban seems to have backfired amid the ongoing legal battle, which adds to a list of events that have overshadowed the top NFT marketplace recently.
Despite the delisting, the battle between CryptoPunks v1 and CryptoPunks v2 seems far from over with one community member of v1Punk’s official discord channel claiming a top-tier US intellectual property attorney said the CryptoPunks v1 NFTs “lawfully able to carry on in the trade of these CryptoPunks.”
NFT holders have now renamed the collection to “CryptoPunks V1 313 WPV1,” reflecting the collection’s wrapped format, which also significantly distinguishes it from the CryptoPunks v2.
Although the collection has gained popularity to a total trading volume of about 315.44 ETH ($974,000), its continued existence could dilute the value of the main collection CryptoPunks v2 because it doubles the total punks listed to 20,000, rather than the 10,000 Larva Labs offered to the community.
Therefore, CryptoPunks v2 holders think this could significantly damage the rarity of the collection, thereby resulting in a reduction in pricing.
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