A non-fungible token is a form of blockchain-based digital
asset which has exploded in popularity in 2021, with prices soaring as
collectors and enthusiasts rush to buy the items which only exist in digital
form.
Last month, an NFT artwork sold for $69.3 million at
Christie’s, in the first sale ever by a major auction house of a piece of art
that does not exist in physical form.
The Sotheby's sale, called “‘The Fungible’ Collection”, had
a complex structure, including a series of digital cubes which collectors could
buy for $500 to $1,500 each, receiving a number of NFTs based on how many cubes
they own.
The artist is known only as Pak, with the Twitter handle
@muratpak.
The sale also included four limited edition NFTs which were
awarded to the winners of specific tasks, including paying the highest amount
for a Pak artwork on the secondary market and posting the hashtag #PakWasHere
to the biggest social media audience.
An NFT called "The Pixel" - an image of a single
pixel - was also up for auction, fetching $1.36 million after a 90-minute
bidding battle.
The NFTs in the collection are represented by animated
images designed by Pak. They are three-dimensional white and grey shapes on a
black background, apart from the pixel, which is just a grey square.
In each case, no physical object changed hands – the NFTs
exist exclusively in digital form, with blockchain acting as a public ledger to
verify their ownership status.
Max Moore, contemporary art specialist at Sotheby's, said
the sale was targeted towards "crypto-native" collectors.
"These new crypto investors have a very different
aesthetic and a very different taste profile than a traditional collector would
and so it's important to provide a mix and a range of collectibles at Sotheby's
to attract a wide variety of audience," he said.
The sale took place online from Monday to Wednesday on Nifty
Gateway, which is owned by Gemini. Gemini is the cryptocurrency exchange owned
and operated by virtual currency entrepreneurs Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.
Buyers were able to pay in the cryptocurrency Ether, as well as via debit or credit card.
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