June 4, 2021
LowPixel art image of the Cryptopunk #7523 non-fungible token (NFT) collectible created in 2017 is pictured in
this handout obtained May 31, 2021. Courtesy of Sotheby's/Handout via REUTERS
Auction house Sotheby’s hopes to appeal to
both traditional art collectors and crypto enthusiasts with a sale of digital
art in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The CryptoPunk, number 7523,
will be sold on June 10, with advanced bidding beginning on Thursday, according
to Sotheby’s. The series, which features 27 digital artists, marks the first
time a major auction house will bring a collection of the leading NFT artists
to auction, according to a news release.
Known as one of the earliest NFT projects,
CryptoPunks was launched in 2017 by Larva Labs founders Matt Hall and John
Watkinson. Originally, CryptoPunks were offered all for free, but have recently
sold for millions of dollars. CryptoPunks are 24 x 24 pixel, 8-bit-style
generated characters stored on the Ethereum blockchain, according to Larva
Labs, the studio that launched CryptoPunks in 2017. The studio says the
Cryptopunks are the first NFTs on Ethereum. There are 10,000 of them and no two
are exactly the same.
The Switch, a unique artwork by Pak, sold for $1.4 million.Source: Sotheby's & Pak
Sotheby’s first NFT auction was in April, with
digital works by the artist known as “Pak” fetching $16.8 million.Michael
Bouhanna, contemporary art specialist at Sotheby’s in London, said although the
April sale was dominated by crypto-native buyers – people who have profited
from recent cryptocurrency price gains – NFT artworks are increasingly
appealing to existing clients.
The milestones follow a wave of growth for
cryptocurrency and NFTs, an expansion that the co-curator of Natively Digital
believes was fueled by the Covid-19 pandemic. For each purchase, the NFT will
be sent to the buyer’s cryptocurrency wallet; no physical artwork changes
hands. Bidding begins at $100 and buyers can pay in ordinary money or in the
cryptocurrencies bitcoin and ether. Sotheby’s will also donate a portion of its
proceeds to nonprofit organizations within the NFT community, including the
Sevens Foundation, which focuses on elevating artists.
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