Are Nakamigos NFTs the Predecessors of CryptoPunks? Beeple’s Satirical Video Accused of Market Manipulation

Digital Artist Beeple Holds CryptoPunks Celebration

Recently, digital artist Beeple held a celebration for CryptoPunks, during which one of the works featured a fabricated interview created through AI, claiming that Nakamigos NFT was a secret project of the CryptoPunks team, Larva Labs. The floor price of the project skyrocketed by 128%. However, the subsequent revelation of the truth led to a price crash, prompting criticism from users that the joke had gone too far.

Fictional “V0 Punks” Shocks the Crowd, Nakamigos Soars 128%

Beeple hosted an event at his studio in South Carolina to pay tribute to CryptoPunks, but the community focused on a segment of an AI interview video shown at the exhibition.

Breaking: Matt Hall and @beeple signed a statement that claims @Nakamigos is the V.0 Cryptopunks that was developed by Larva Labs in 2015. Over 1k Nakamigos swept, and floor doubled in an hour.

— GemsScope (@GemsScope) August 10, 2025

In the video, CryptoPunks creators Matt Hall and John Watkinson claimed that Nakamigos had actually been created before the launch of CryptoPunks, and was a secret project of Larva Labs. Flyers printed with “V0 Punks” at the event further fueled the trading frenzy. Within just a few hours, the floor price of Nakamigos soared nearly 128%.

Beeple’s Statement Video Throws Out Fake URL as a Joke

The video was quickly exposed as a spoof created by Beeple using his own voice and AI. In a response video this morning, Beeple stated, “I thought everyone knew this was a joke.” It was clear that neither the Nakamigos team nor Larva Labs had issued a press release, nor had they clarified on social media; the video even claimed that CryptoPunks were “shitty.”

At the end of the video, Beeple even threw out a URL that obviously mocked those who rushed to buy Nakamigos NFTs because of his work, emphasizing that he would airdrop NFTs to the victims. The domain was later purchased by Moonbirds head Spencer and redirected to Moonbirds to prevent it from being misused as a phishing link.

Community Reactions: Art of Phishing or Market Manipulation?

This incident quickly sparked heated reactions within the crypto community. NFT OG Beanie considered it a high-level trolling that brought fun back to the NFT community.

People are genuinely mad at Beeple for this obvious troll? Gtfoh I think it’s about time we start to make NFTs fun again. If you lost money trading this, it’s on you for not understanding that Beeple is an epic troll. Make some effort to learn something before blaming people.

— Beanie (@beaniemaxi) August 10, 2025

He stated, “Are people really mad at Beeple for this obvious troll? Come on.” If you lost money trading this, that’s your own problem because you should know Beeple is a super troll. Learn something before blaming others.

However, some accused Beeple of knowingly allowing such outcomes to happen, behaving as if he were manipulating the market. KOL qrime revealed that he had swept 50 Nakamigos at a floor price of 0.43 ETH, totaling $90,900, while the current floor price had dropped to 0.21 ETH, resulting in a loss of about $46,000.

Joke Escalates to Court, But Did Investors Assess Risks?

As the incident continued to escalate, it appears that investors in South Carolina have already filed a lawsuit against Beeple, accusing him of market manipulation and fraud, claiming he “knowingly spread false information to pump and dump Nakamigos during the event.”

Compensation for NFT claims requires submitting valid proof of “extremely foolish behavior” and mailing “tear samples” to a fake address, clearly another instance of mocking.

This incident once again demonstrates Beeple’s position and influence in the NFT market, as well as the negligence and carelessness of the crypto community in conducting thorough research and due diligence before investing. As noted in the absurd description posted on the compensation URL, everyone should take responsibility for their own funds.

Risk Warning

Investing in cryptocurrencies carries a high level of risk, and prices can be highly volatile, potentially resulting in the loss of the entire principal. Please assess risks carefully.