305

Shortly after the CryptoPunks IP was acquired by Yuga Labs in 2022, they announced the CryptoPunks Legacy Project to further establish CryptoPunks within the contemporary art world, and museum donations were a primary focus. Under Natalie Stone's stewardship as director of CryptoPunks at Yuga, the donation of punk #305 to the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami (305 being a nod to Miami's area code) was the first example of this effort. Punk #305 was unveiled at a live event at ICA, hung next one of Andy Warhol’s Society portraits intentionally making the association that those portraits were in many ways precursors to the present-day phenomenon of prestigious PFPs.

“My co-founder Gordon [Goner] and I are both from Miami and felt donating during Art Basel Miami Beach was the perfect way to give back to the community,” Greg Solano, Yuga Labs’s co-founder, told Artnet News. “It’s a really incredible Punk with a very pop-art vibe. We believe CryptoPunks deserve to be on the walls of contemporary art institutions.”

Interestingly, 305 was not the punk originally set to be donated to ICA Miami. In early 2021 it was announced that CryptopPunk 5293 had been donated to the museum and would be placed on display later that summer. In the press release sent out at the time, ICA Miami Artistic Director Alex Gartenfeld stated:

"Larva Labs challenged and revolutionized our understanding of the meaning of art objects and ownership when they pioneered the creation of some of the first-ever NFTs in 2017. In doing so, they helped to launch a 'cryptoart' movement that is emblematic of the ways that our digital and physical worlds are merging and becoming inextricably intertwined--influencing contemporary art and culture in a myriad of ways. ICA Miami's collection represents the most pressing and pioneering art and ideas of the present moment, across cultures and mediums, as well as historic work that influences artistic production today. CryptoPunk 5293 joins the ICA Miami collection as a work that is truly representative of the cultural zeitgeist and will have historic significance for generations to come, reflecting ICA Miami's commitment to fostering an expansive understanding of contemporary art and cultural production in the 21st century."

Unfortunately after the announcement was made, but before 5293 could be transferred to the museum, the donor clicked on a malicious wallet drainer link which resulted in the punk being stolen. As ICA Miami had already announced they were accepting a CryptoPunk into their collection, given Yuga Labs connection to Miami it made perfect sense for them to jump into that conversation and donate an even more appropriate punk.