BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has declared that the OG NFT collection CryptoPunks will outperform Ethereum (ETH) in this cycle, citing internet status culture as the primary driver.

With NFT market volumes exploding and Ethereum showing bullish momentum, his forecast has ignited debate among analysts and collectors alike.

Scarcity, Status, and Sentiment

Hayes believes that as ETH gains institutional traction, holders will increasingly flex their wealth through digital art and status NFTs like CryptoPunks.

“Cryptopunks will outperform $ETH this cycle in $ terms bc $ETH bag holders will flex in NFTs,” he tweeted. “It’s an internet status game.”

According to the Maelstrom Fund CIO, the entire global economy is built on status, and the “internet society” is no different. His argument has resonated across the NFT community, with investor Parzival highlighting the scarcity factor:

“8,000,000,000 people on earth, 10,000 CryptoPunks. Do the math.”

Others, like digital art collector Balon, highlighted the skyrocketing floor 12 hours earlier:

CryptoPunks floor is already at 100 ETH? Things are about to get crazy.

This frenzy isnt theoretical either; NFT enthusiast Jediwolf reported on July 21 a spectacular sweep of 76 Punks for approximately $13.5 million within 5 hours, the largest since 2021.

On that same date, CoinGecko brought attention to a massive $1 billion single-day surge in NFT market cap, jumping from $5.1 billion to $6.3 billion. Daily volumes spiked 287% to $37.4 million, fueling renewed speculation that non-fungible tokens could be entering a fresh phase of explosive growth.

Animocas Yat Siu noted the correlation in a recent post on X, stating that the last time ETH peaked in late 2021 was also NFT season. CryptoPunks leads the charge, and their floor price is now at 48 ETH, which is about $175,726, according to live NFTpricefloor data.

Ethereum Demand Surge Sets Stage for NFT Boom

Hayes prediction comes amid a roaring ETH rally powered by growing institutional demand. Since May 15, spot Ethereum ETFs and corporate treasuries have bought 2.83 million ETH for more than $10 billion. This is over 32 times the net new supply, and Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan has projected demand to hit $20 billion in the next year.

At the time of this writing, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency was consolidating around $3,672, down 1% in the last 24 hours but up more than 63% across 30 days. Earlier in the week, the asset broke past $3,800, and the NFT ecosystem, built mainly on Ethereum, appears to be riding shotgun on its bullish wave.