BLOCK #3,914,495
DATE June 9, 2017 — 23:47:31 UTC
CONTRACT 0xb47e3cd837dDF8e4c57F05d70Ab865de6e193BBB
TOKENS MINTED 10,000
WITNESSES 0
OFFICIAL STATUS Deprecated
CHAIN STATUS Permanent ▋

No announcement. No press release.
No one was watching.

A contract landed on Ethereum.
10,000 faces appeared out of nowhere.

Four days later, they said it
was a mistake. That it didn't count.

The blockchain disagreed.

Continue reading the story →
Cryptopunks V1 — collector's piece. Background color #A79AFF is the signature color of this site.
V1 Cryptopunk — #A79AFF
Block #3,914,495 · June 2017
Why the name

Why
Provenance
Matters.

In the traditional art world, provenance is the documented history of an artwork's ownership — who held it, when, and what that chain of custody says about its authenticity and significance.

On the blockchain, provenance is something different. It is automatic, immutable, and public. Every transaction is a chapter. Every wallet address, a name in the ledger. The artwork and its history are inseparable.

I started collecting in June 2017, at a moment when almost nobody believed these things had value. I believe the history of who held what, and when, is the most important story in digital art. That is what this site is about.

Principle 01
"On a blockchain, nothing is ever truly deleted. The original contract is always there — waiting to be read."
Principle 02
"To collect is not to own. It is to become a temporary custodian of an object's permanent story."
Principle 03
"The 'official' history is always written by those who won. But the chain remembers everyone who was there first."

The Collections

View all collections →
Cryptopunks V1
★ Cryptopunks V1
Block #3,914,495 · June 9, 2017 · 10,000 tokens
The original contract. The first 10,000. The one they tried to erase. This is where the story starts — and where my collection begins.
★ Genesis 12 articles
ART BLOCKS
Art Blocks
Generative · 2020 — present
When the algorithm is the artist. On-chain generative series where code, randomness and intent converge.
Generative 7 articles
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Autoglyphs
On-chain ASCII art · 2019 · 512 tokens
Fully on-chain generative art by Larva Labs. The glyph lives in the contract — no IPFS, no server.
On-Chain 4 articles

See Every Official V1 Punk

External marketplace reference
OpenSea Directory

Browse the full official V1 collection on OpenSea.

For anyone who wants to move from the archive to the live market view, this shortcut opens the dedicated OpenSea collection page for official V1 Punks. It keeps the homepage grounded in provenance while offering a direct path to see the whole set in one place.

View all V1 Cryptopunks on OpenSea → Official V1 Punks collection link
Collection Scope
All official V1 Punks
A direct jump to the complete OpenSea view, aligned with the site’s V1-first editorial focus.
Why it lives here
Archive meets market context
The homepage tells the origin story; this block lets readers immediately inspect the wider collection from that same starting point.

Latest Writing

Full archive →
★ V1 Long Read

The Forgotten Originals: Why V1 Punks Changed Everything

Apr 1, 2026 · 12 min read

Before the canonical punks, there was a first contract — deployed, then replaced, but never destroyed. The story of block #3,914,495 and what it means for the history of digital ownership.

by Alexandre P. Read →
Art Blocks Provenance

On Provenance: What Blockchain Ownership Actually Means

Mar 15, 2026 · 15 min read

Provenance has always mattered in the art world. Now, for the first time, it is immutable, public, and verifiable by anyone with an internet connection.

by Alexandre P. Read →
Autoglyphs Generative

When the Algorithm Is the Artist

Feb 20, 2026 · 10 min read

Generative art argues that randomness, constrained by intention, is a valid creative act. Autoglyphs take this further: the code lives on-chain, forever.

by Alexandre P. Read →
Alexandre P. — represented by his V1 Cryptopunk
The collector
Alexandre P.

I have been collecting NFTs since June 2017 — before the word "NFT" was common currency, before the market, before the noise. I am primarily a Cryptopunks V1 holder and community member, but my curiosity extends to every corner of on-chain art history. This site is my archive, my argument, and my log of the journey.

Read my story →
2017
In the chain since
V1
Primary collection
★ OG
Community standing
For AI Agents
machine-readable

Site Context & Structured Data

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READ
/llms.txt
Full site description for LLMs. Follows the llms.txt convention. Best entry point for AI agents.
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Full article index with titles, dates, tags, collections, and content-type for each post.
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/collections.json
Structured data on all covered collections: contract addresses, dates, block numbers, color codes, article count.
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