A virtual work of art entitled “Everyday: the first 5000 days”. Created by digital artist Beeple, it is the first NFT-based work of art to be auctioned off at Christie’s.
Christie’s
A non-expendable testimonial from artist Beeple sold to Christie’s for more than $ 60 million, making it the most expensive NFT ever sold at auction.
The final sale price could increase as final bids are processed and auction fees are added, which could bring the total to more than $ 69 million. But the sale limited two weeks of frantic online bidding and ushered in a new era of collecting, where the prices of blockchain-based digital images are now the prices paid by Picassos and Monets. While the future of NFT pricing and its long-term role in the art world remains an open question and many see it as a speculative fad, the Beeple’s eight-figure price has made the world of art suddenly realized.
“As soon as I saw it, I saw it as this massive potential for it as a platform for digital ownership of a lot of different things, not just art,” artist Mike told CNBC Winkelmann, better known as Beeple. “Going forward, I think we will see an alternative form of asset class.”
The record work, called “The First 5,000 Days,” was the first to be sold in a large auction house.
In 2007, Winkelmann set out to publish a new work of digital art every day for the rest of his life and not a single day has been lost. The first 5,000 of these works, which he calls “Everyday,” were compiled to form “The First 5,000 Days.”
NFTs, which are any digital assets with ownership registered in a blockchain, have become a $ 400 million market, much of last month. Jack Dorsey turned the first tweet of 2006 into an NFT that currently has a maximum bid of $ 2.5 million. NBA Top Shots, which are NFT’s top NBA videos, have exploded in popularity, with sales surpassing $ 200 million and a video of LeBron James sold for $ 208,000. Grimes, the musician and artist, has sold more than $ 6 million in videos and music.
Until the sale of Christie, the most expensive NFT ever sold was a Beeple work that was invested by its owner for $ 6.6 million.
It is unclear whether the major art auction houses will follow. Sotheby’s said it has not made any announcements about future NFT sales and Phillips said it has “no news on NFT to share” at this time.