Did A Fake Banksy NFT Just Sell For $336,000?

A mysterious NFT that appeared on Banksy’s website has blogs across the web asking whether or not a “fake” NFT just sold for $336,000.

On the morning of August 31, a link was posted on Banksy’s website to an auction for an NFT. The link showed an image similar in style to those of CryptoPunks, a collection of NFTs that have been selling for astronomical prices. 

According to the blog Elliptic, when the NFT was posted, it had the title “Great Redistribution of the Climate Change Disaster”.

It was liked to an NFT marketplace called OpenSea, where an NFT featuring the image sold for 100 ETH, or about $336,000.

The page was then promptly removed from the Banksy website and the OpenSea auction ended early, leaving some to wonder whether or not the NFT was actually an “authentic” Banksy or whether his website had been hacked to promote a scam.

Even the bidder who bought the piece, an NFT investor named “Pranksy”, speculated that it could be a “very elaborate hoax”.

So my bid of 100 ETH was accepted for the potential #Banksy first #NFT on @opensea.

The link was removed from his website so it could have been a very elaborate hoax, my guess is that is what it will be, only time will tell!https://t.co/EEmElqIvBZ pic.twitter.com/Pbs5zrht05

— Pranksy 📦 (@pranksy) August 31, 2021

Banksy’s agency then denied involvement with the NFT, telling CNBC that he “has not created any NFT artworks.”

The agency said: “Any Banksy NFT auctions are not affiliated with the artist in any shape or form.”