NFTs

Infinite NODE Foundation Acquires CryptoPunks IP

Infinite Node Foundation (NODE), a newly formed nonprofit based in the United States, has acquired the intellectual property rights to the popular NFT collection CryptoPunks. NODE has announced plans to exhibit the full 10,000-piece collection in a new physical space in Palo Alto, California. The transition marks a change in governance from private ownership to nonprofit management, with NODE aiming to focus on preservation and public access rather than commercialization. Alongside the acquisition, NODE has committed $25 million in funding to support the long-term stewardship of the collection.

The Infinite Node Foundation (NODE) is a nonprofit organization formed in 2025 by Micky Malka and Becky Kleiner. Its stated aim is to preserve, study, and exhibit digital artworks, particularly those created on or linked to blockchain technology. With the CryptoPunks acquisition, NODE becomes one of the best-funded digital art nonprofits in the United States. The organization plans to open a permanent facility in Palo Alto that will serve as an exhibition space and technical infrastructure hub, including the operation of a full Ethereum node.

NODE’s governance includes an advisory board comprising figures associated with CryptoPunks and digital art more broadly, such as Larva Labs founders Matt Hall and John Watkinson, Yuga Labs co-founder Wylie Aronow, and Art Blocks founder Erick Calderon. Natalie Stone, a longtime contributor to the CryptoPunks community, will serve as a consultant during the transition.

The transfer of IP rights from Yuga Labs to NODE marks the second major change in the collection’s management. Yuga Labs acquired the rights from Larva Labs in 2022, promising to protect and promote the project. With this latest handover, control shifts from a commercial entity to a nonprofit structure focused on preservation rather than monetization.

“CryptoPunks sparked a cultural movement that blended code, community, and commerce,” said Micky Malka, Chair of the Node Foundation. “By pairing museum-grade conservation with an evergreen endowment, we intend to future-proof this landmark work and make it easier than ever for scholars, curators, and collectors to engage with it.”

NODE has said it will maintain the project as originally intended by its creators, without introducing new commercial initiatives. Its focus will be on technological preservation, community engagement, and recontextualizing CryptoPunks within the broader history of digital and contemporary art. “The Punks were created to be truly decentralized, and have become a defining example of digital permanence and online network effects,” said Matt Hall and John Watkinson of Larva Labs. “The NODE foundation was created to explain and promote these ideas as a new art medium, and are the perfect long term home for the punks.”

Terron Gold