Auction house Sotheby’s NFT sale has fetched a whopping US$17.1 million. Titled ‘Natively Digital: A Curated NFT Sale,’ the innovative sale saw nearly 70% new buyers.
The sale kicked off on June 3 and featured a collection of unique artworks, including multiple first-time works. Co-curated by Sotheby’s and leading crypto artist Robert Alice, the sale wrapped up on June 10.
Sotheby’s NFT sale attracts new bidders
The landmark auction featured a total of 27 digital artists. While all the lots had a starting bid of $100, as many as 25 saw bids soaring in the final ten to fifteen seconds, reported Artnet News.
Almost 70% of the buyers were new to the auction house, implying that the NFT craze is very much alive and attracting buyers. Meanwhile, according to Crypto News, 49% of bidders were under the age of 40. Moreover, the bidders hailed from 28 different nations across North America, South America, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East.
The highlight of the NFT sale was the auction of CryptoPunk 7523 aka “Covid Alien.” The Punk fetched $11.75 million, setting a record for a single CryptoPunk. Israeli entrepreneur Shalom Meckenzie, the largest shareholder of digital sports company DraftKings, bought the rare NFT.
Made by Larva Labs in 2017, CryptoPunk 7523 is one of the only nine Alien CryptoPunks with blue-green skin. In addition, it is the only one wearing a mask, making it a much sought-after piece.
“This CryptoPunk appealed to me because It is part of the Alien collection which is the rarest of the punks and the only alien that has a mask,” Meckenzie told Artnet News. “I thought it was symbolic of covid and the popularization of NFTs.”
Meanwhile, Kevin McCoy’s ‘Quantum,’ a geometric animation considered to be the first-ever NFT, was another main attraction of the sale. The historically significant artwork was sold for $1.47 million. Covid Alien’s seller, who goes by the name Sillytuna, bought the rare artwork.
On the other hand, ‘Fade,’ an NFT by digital artist Pak, sold for $528,200. Don Diablo’s “Infinite Future,” meanwhile, sold for $927,500.
Five rare CryptoPunk to be sold this month
By the end of this month, Sotheby’s will offer five “exceptionally rare” CryptoPunks for sale. These are five of the only 24 Punks which were issued in physical form as certified prints. Moreover, they feature alluring characteristics such as ‘black lipstick’, ‘green eye shadow’ and ‘crazy hair.’ Some of the other characteristics include ‘luxurious beard’, ‘hot lipstick’, a ‘peak spike’ and ‘police cap.’
“In the anti-establishment spirit of the early days of the blockchain movement, the CryptoPunks were conceived as a collection of misfits and non-conformists in an ode to the 1970s London punk scene,” said Michael Bouhanna, Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Specialist and Head of Sale. “The appeal of CryptoPunks has transcended beyond the world of Crypto-enthusiasts, to ‘traditional’ art lovers too.”
Bouhanna added that all the Punks featured in the sale have “their own eccentric characteristics.” Moreover, their accompanying prints made pieces “even more special.”
“This is where the digital artworld meets the traditional,” Bouhanna further said.
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