CryptoPunks were created by Larva Labs, an experimental software company, and were intended to be its first foray into NFTs and art. Larva Labs Co-Founders Matt Hall and John Watkinson built a game and a few mobile applications by the time they started working on CryptoPunks. They likely had no idea that this simple art project would outshine everything they have accomplished before. Larva Labs minted 10,000 unique characters with a myriad of different attributes that anyone with an Ethereum wallet could have redeemed 1 for free at release. They were all quickly claimed and have since risen dramatically in price.