DJ Seedphrase, an early bitcoin investor and prominent personality within the non-fungible token (NFT) community, sold his rare CryptoPunk 2924 on Wednesday to a buyer in Texas for 3,300 ether (ETH), or about US$4.45 million.

The Punk, one of only 24 Apes punks, was last sold in November 2020 for 150 ETH ($71,300) to DJ Seedphrase, the pseudonym of Danny Maegaard. Maegaard currently owns 20 other punks, including his signature CryptoPunk 8348, which features a top hat, big beard, shades and a cigarette.

He told CoinDesk that he had been negotiating with a buyer who operates a family office out of Texas for the last week before deciding to sell his coveted hooded Ape punk.

"I was running low on liquidity and NFT sales volume has taken a nosedive recently, so I knew it would take an exceptional grail to get some market movement," he told CoinDesk. "I’ve regularly received private offers for the hoodie ape, so I knew the interest was there. It was just a matter of finding the right price."

The buyer had used a wallet that had been dormant for over five years to purchase the punk, leading some to question the transaction's legitimacy. In October 2021, Punk 9998 was traded between two wallets for 124,457 ETH, worth around $532 million at the time. The trade raised suspicions and ultimately turned out to be an insider deal known as a wash trade.

However, CryptoPunk NFTs, which are widely credited with starting the modern crypto art movement, have been known to fetch millions in resale. In June 2021, CryptoPunk 7523, also known as "Covid Alien," sold for $11.7 million – the highest sale ever for a CryptoPunk NFT.

The sale of Punk 2924 is notable during the current "crypto winter" as cryptocurrency prices have plummeted and NFT sales have stagnated.