THE NFT market has been booming in recent months, especially in the art world. In fact, NFT art sales have reached nearly $3.5 billion so far this year, according to the new Hiscox Online Art Trade report. Indeed, some experts see the rise of this new technology as the future of art.
Skeptics claimed that NFTs were just a speculative bubble on the verge of implosion, but the latest edition of the annual Hiscox Online Art Trade report suggests otherwise.
NFT art sales have reached nearly $3.5 billion in the first three quarters of this year. They accelerated particularly in August, reaching the unprecedented sum of $1.7 million.
The problem is that the market for these digital objects with certified ownership is extremely volatile, and it then collapsed by 69% in September.
But this is no cause for concern for the most optimistic observers.
NFT transactions previously slowed in April after a Beeple collage sold for $69.3 million at Christie's a sum that propelled him to third place among the most expensive living artists, after Jeff Koons and David Hockney.
Auction houses' favorite new technology
Although the NFT market is experiencing some fluctuations, it is steadily gaining momentum and shaking up an art world that is often wary of technological advances.
Non-fungible tokens felt the force of this in 2018, three years before they became a household acronym for professionals in the field.
At the time, the artist and artificial intelligence researcher Robbie Barrat collaborated with Christie's to offer 300 gift cards to attendees of the auction house's "Art + Tech" summit.
The cards allowed them to pick up an exclusive NFT from the artist... which only a few people present actually bothered doing.
The popularity of NFTs has since taken off, and the major auction houses are all now offering these digital objects.
Sotheby's has announced the creation of a digital space for digital art collectors, and a bi-annual sale dedicated exclusively to NFTs.
A wise choice, perhaps, given that these non-fungible tokens are breaking records at auction.
According to the Hiscox Online Art Trade report, four of the world's 10 most expensive NFTs were sold at Christie's and Sotheby's.
In a new phenomenon, many of the most coveted NFTs on the market are part of collections.
Among the best known are CryptoPunks, a collection of uniquely generated characters considered to be the pioneers of the "crypto-art" movement, not to mention the jaded monkeys of the Bored Ape Yacht Club.
These collections are made up of tens of thousands of avatars randomly generated by an algorithm so that they are all different from each other.
A new way to collect art
While some pieces stand out for their rarity, all of them buy collectors membership to a club or a community.
And this sense of belonging is worth its weight in gold, it seems, since a batch of 101 digital drawings from the Bored Ape Yacht Club sold for $24.4 million in September at Sotheby's.
Similarly, nine CryptoPunks sold in May for $16.9 million at Christie's.
"In art collecting, people don't just buy objects, they buy the stories behind them.
One lesson from the crypto-collectibles boom is the importance of storytelling in building a large community," reads the report.
Bored Ape Yacht Club plays particularly on this aspect by offering holders of its avatars the opportunity to participate in exclusive members' evenings.
Whether they confer a sense of belonging or not, NFTs have made their way into the art world.
Optimists see them as a way to empower artists, while others question their environmental impact or the lack of specific regulation around this new technology.
Nevertheless, the authors of the Hiscox Online Art Trade report are optimistic: "NFTs fill a gap that has existed in the art world for a long time, a new way of collecting art. NFTs fulfil the same urge for collectors to own something desirable, only this time in a digital, rather than physical form.
This market will have its ups and downs, but the art world should pay attention, if it is to remain relevant in the future."
Reuters
Wed Oct 27 2021
A lot of 101 digital drawings from the Bored Ape Yacht Club sold for $24.4 million in September at Sotheby's. - ETX Studio
Kegiatan haram di KL: Lebih daripada seorang pegawai kanan polis dipercayai terlibat - Azam Baki
Lebih daripada seorang pegawai kanan Polis Diraja Malaysia dipercayai terlibat dalam aktiviti melindungi kegiatan haram di ibu negara, tegas Ketua Pesuruhjaya SPRM Tan Sri Azam Baki.
Tular titah lama Sultan Nazrin di luar konteks, Pejabat Dewan Negara Perak buat laporan polis
Pejabat Dewan Negara Perak membuat laporan polis berhubung penularan kenyataan berunsur perkauman yang memetik titah diraja Sultan Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shahdalam konteks yang salah.
Cristiano Ronaldo akui dia bukan lagi ‘pemain terbaik’ Portugal?
Bernardo Silva telah dinobatkan sebagai pemain terbaik Portugal walaupun Cristiano Ronaldo masih beraksi untuk negaranya.
Cuaca panas: Orang Asli hadkan aktiviti luar rumah, masuk hutan
Bahang cuaca panas menyebabkan masyarakat Orang Asli suku kaum Temiar di Pos Brooke terpaksa mengurangkan aktiviti di luar rumah dan masa bekerja di dalam hutan.
Kerajaan Persekutuan ambil alih projek LRT Pulau Pinang
Projek pembangunan LRT Laluan Mutiara Pulau Pinang akan diambil alih oleh Kerajaan Persekutuan tetapi dengan meletakkan syarat kepada Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang.
Pengarah syarikat dakwa pemilik RM500,000 beri keterangan esok - Ketua Polis Selangor
Pengarah syarikat yang mendakwa pemilik bagasi berisi wang RM500,000 yang ditemukan di tempat letak kereta dijangka hadir memberikan keterangan esok.
Bernas ceriakan Aidilfitri pesawah asnaf
Padiberas Nasional Berhad (BERNAS) menceriakan 45 asnaf dan komuniti pesawah sempena Aidilfitri tahun ini.
Inisiatif Gema Ramadan Menyantuni Penuh Ikhlas adalah sebagai inisiatif untuk menyumbang kepada masyarakat dengan menekankan fokus strategik ke atas impak yang lebih bermakna, melangkaui Tanggungjawab Sosial Korporat semata-mata.
Inisiatif Gema Ramadan Menyantuni Penuh Ikhlas adalah sebagai inisiatif untuk menyumbang kepada masyarakat dengan menekankan fokus strategik ke atas impak yang lebih bermakna, melangkaui Tanggungjawab Sosial Korporat semata-mata.
[TERKINI] Mahkamah Tinggi arah Isa dan Emir bayar RM3.31 juta
Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur memerintahkan Tan Sri Isa Samad dan Datuk Mohd Emir Mavani Abdullah membayar lebih RM3.31 juta kepada FGV Holdings Berhad.
KJ akhirnya dapat isi PADU selepas identiti dicuri
Khairy Jamaluddin akhirnya berjaya mendaftar dalam sistem PADU selepas mendakwa akaunnya telah didaftarkan oleh individu yang tidak dikenali.
Aset rizab rasmi Malaysia AS$114.28 bilion akhir Februari 2024 - BNM
Aset rizab rasmi Malaysia berjumlah US$114.28 bilion pada akhir Februari 2024 manakala aset mata wang asing lain adalah US$202.69 juta (US$1=RM4.73), kata Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
X buang sokongan NFT untuk gambar profil
Pengguna tidak lagi boleh menetapkan NFT sebagai gambar profil.
Cristiano Ronaldo disaman AS$1 bilion angkara Binance
Plaintif meminta ganti rugi melebihi AS$1 bilion kerana Ronaldo terlibat dalam mempromosikan Binance kepada orang ramai.
Syarikat jual-beli NFT terkenal OpenSea buang 50% pekerja
Ini hadir lanjutan daripada 20 peratus pekerja yang telah dibuang sekitar setahun lepas.
Marilyn Monroe diabadikan dalam projek 'Modern Muse'
Imej mendiang ikon Hollywood Marilyn Monroe akan diabadikan dalam projek NFT baharu yang dipanggil Modern Muse.
AEON tawar 4,800 NFT percuma
AEON CO (M) Bhd (AEON) sekali lagi menampilkan penyertaan pada arena 'Non-Fungible Tokens' (NFT) sempena sambutan kemerdekaan dengan menawarkan 4,800 NFT yang boleh ditebus sehingga 16 Oktober depan.
Di mana kedudukan Malaysia dalam dunia Web3?
Memandangkan kesemua teknologi ini masih 'muda' dan 'kelabu' dari pelbagai segi, potensi yang ada pada Malaysia cukup besar untuk menjadi kuasa besar teknologi di rantau ini.
Pandelela lancar koleksi NFT pertama 'P.Zero1'
P.Zero1 menceritakan kisah hidup Pandelela daripada seorang gadis kampung Bidayuh kepada seorang olahragawati yang diiktiraf di peringkat antarabangsa.
NFT Edisi Khas #Merdeka65 kini dibuka untuk pendaftaran
NFT #Merdeka65 akan ditempa sebanyak 65 unit yang diinspirasikan daripada perkongsian foto di media sosial kepada Astro AWANI.
Web3 Expo bakal lonjak Malaysia ke Metaverse
Web3Expo, sebuah acara mega yang akan menghimpunkan nama-nama besar dunia ekonomi digital, akan diadakan buat julung kalinya di Malaysia.
Manfaatkan NFT untuk bakat seni - Tun Mahathir
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad menyeru karyawan Malaysia memanfaatkan Non-Fungible Token (NFT) bagi mengembangkan karya seni mereka ke seluruh dunia.