It is sorta surprising, because there isn't really anything intrinsic to that baseball. It was a witness to history, but in a very passive way. A few moments earlier it was identical to every other baseball. Without its certificate of authenticity, it's still just another baseball.

That doesn't really answer the question here, except to note that this is kind of a a self-bootstrapping thing. The crypto money itself is only worth $X because people say it is -- without even a government fiat behind it. And in so doing it makes itself famous, which is why we're talking about it.

Once money becomes that far divorced from the base of the Maslowe pyramid, it all becomes pretty wonky. It really is the same as paying money for a "famous" baseball that has no real claim to fame, either.