As a sign of its strong interest, the auction house launched a dedicated platform called Sotheby’s Metaversenamed next to the virtual universe announced as the next age of the internet.
An auction house built in 1744 that dared the NFTs and the metaverse? A logical continuation of Sotheby’s history, in terms of audience and interest “Very big” for these digital things, according to his boss Charles Stewart.
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“The reason Sotheby’s has existed for 277 years is that we have a history that includes innovation. That’s why there is no difference between NFTs.”, he explained during an AFP interview, held on the sidelines of the Barcelona Mobile World Fair. NFTs have proven to be unique digital objects, thanks to technology blockchain (block chain), also used for cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.
“The audience and the interest is huge. We’re seeing a new generation, younger (…) interested in this new art form. That’s why we’re spending so much time and resources.” of NFTs, identifies the New York-based home boss, which was bought in 2019 by Franco-Israeli telecom magnate Patrick Drahi. NFTs made a remarkable entry into the art market in 2021, as the web -based computer program, sold for $ 5.4 million in July at Sotheby’s.
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The use of blockchain , a large public registry considered tamper-proof, makes NFTs theoretically tamper-proof. Something that can reassure collectors against the risk of copying.
After a year of 2020 marked by pandemic, Sotheby’s reached in 2021 the highest sales number in its history, at 7.3 billion dollars, especially thanks to a new audience and buyers. in Asia. In this assessment, the share of NFTs is small (100 million), but the auction house is improving its digital pawns. As a sign of its strong interest, it launched a dedicated platform called Sotheby’s Metaversenamed next to the virtual universe announced as the next age of the internet.
Reaching a wider audience
More than a new source of income or covering a wider audience, the interest in immersing yourself in the universe of cryptoassets is also in the mutual enrichment between the old and the new world of art, he said. Charles Stewart. “The mainstream art world has heard a lot about NFTs. A lot of people don’t understand it. Some have adopted it. But there’s a curiositysaid the former chief financial officer of Altice USA. “The same is true in another way. (For) many young technology investors – especially entrepreneurs – NFTs have become the gateway to the broader art market ”he added.
Symbol of the new profile of collectors, The nose by Alberto Giacometti was bought for $ 78.4 million by the founder of the Tron cryptocurrency platform, Chinese-American businessman Justin Sun, 31.
The NFT market, in art but also in other cultural sectors such as video games, will explode in 2021 with exchanges representing 44.2 billion dollars worldwide, according to data from company Chainalysis. “It was only a year ago that NFTs exploded in our collective consciousness, and we have seen an explosion of interest since then”pointed his Charles Stewart. “Even if prices go up or down, if interest is there, if the deal is there, if new creators connect with the public through NFTs and cryptocurrencies, this is an important trend that we will invest in.”he added.