The suspected-bot buyer also paid very high "gas" fees - which determine how quickly the Ethereum network processes a transaction - of 8 ETH ($32,000), to ensure the sale went through almost instantly.
Imagine if money charged you $32k on a $3k purchase to process that sale "almost instantly". NFTs should be an opt-in card for organ donation.
As long as one computer is running the Bitcoin code, the Bitcoin network can keep processing transactions. There's already a decent size OTC market for tax dodgers and criminals and there's always the old "lost it in a boating accident" trick.