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Crypto Art Sales are Soaring as Non-Fungible Token (NFT) Market Gains Traction

Crypto art being bought and sold as ERC-721 non-fungible tokens (NFT) has been making headlines based on the record-breaking sales being witnessed. This emerging market is gaining traction in spite of the uncertain economic times, according to data acquisition and analytics company DappRadar.

Crypto art pieces selling for more than $100,000

September 21st marked the first time a crypto art piece had been bought for at least $100,000, following the unprecedented sale of “Matt Kane’s Right Place & Right Time” on Async.art. This served as a signal to show the untapped potential in this emerging market.

Per the report:

“Now, under three months later a second piece has raised over $140,000. A programmable version of a scene depicting Vitalik Buterin of Ethereum dressed like a medieval harlequin leaning against a velvet chair made records this weekend when an NFT representation sold for 260 ETH or over $141,000 at the time of writing.”

The sale of the second piece serves as the icing on the cake in terms of the most paid crypto art in dollars.

The quest for a safe haven

The coronavirus (COVID-19) has triggered a global economic turmoil, and this has heightened investors’ pursuit for a safe store of value. This is one of the factors that is making the crypto art market to gain traction.

DappRadar acknowledged:

“The trend seems to be driven by a few major factors including Investors looking for a safe store of value and the space receiving heightened attention as platforms tried to integrate DeFi mechanics such as the use of NFTs as collateral, Insurance, and the delivery of governance tokens to loyal users.”

These crypto pieces seem to be giving investors value for money because they are unique artworks. For instance, Matt Kane’s ‘Right Place & Right Time’ piece is distinctive because it produces a new image daily.

Furthermore, it comprises 24 programmable layers synchronized with Bitcoin’s price volatility in the past 24 hours. The second piece is also exceptional because it utilizes a programmable technology called layering in remaking itself each day. Recently, the top 10 decentralized applications (Dapps) on the Ethereum Network surpassed 1 million daily users, and among them was Rarible, an NFT marketplace.

Beeple NFT Sells at Auction for $69.3M, The Biggest NFT Sale to Date

A non-fungible token (NFT) based on artwork has been auctioned for approximately $69.3 million on Thursday by an unidentified collector.

The auction which took place at Christie’s auction house is the biggest for a digital-based artwork and had about 33 bidders, one of whom is Tron’s Founder, Justin Sun.

The auctioned NFT was an artwork by Mike Winkelmann popular known as Beeple. The artwork, called “The First 5,000 Days” takes its origin back to 2007 when Beeple discovered digital art and he set out to create a piece per day, an exercise he has never missed a day on since then. The collection of the first 5000 pieces of creations was collated and turned into the NFT that now ranks as the biggest sale to date.

NFTs are pulling mind-blowing numbers in terms of selling prices today. Prior to this current record-breaking sale, the highest-auctioned NFT was Beeple’s own work which with the parting sum coming in at $6.6 million.

“As soon as I saw it, I saw it as this massive, massive potential for this as a platform for digital ownership of a bunch of different things, not just art,” Beeple said of the burgeoning NFT marketplace. “Moving forward, I think this will be seen as an alternate form of asset class.”

NFTs despite the hype they are generating in terms of their selling figures, have real-world use cases as they can help to register the ownership of any item on the blockchain. With NFTs, works of art cannot be counterfeited, creative contents will no longer be pirated as all ownership and authentication processes take place on a public blockchain that can be verified by anyone, anywhere.

With the pace NFT has set since the beginning of the year, this year may eventually turn out to be for NFTs, what 2020 was for decentralized finance.

Swiss Digital Asset Bank Sygnum Partnered with Artemundi to Issue Picasso NFT Painting for $6K per Share

The Swiss bank of digital asset management, Sygnum, announced that it has partnered with industry-leading art investment company Artemundi to sell the ownership stake in Pablo Picasso’s NFT painting at $6,000 per share.

According to a report by Reuters on Thursday, the painting sold this time entitled “Fillette au beret”, which was innovated in 1964. Last time, the art piece was sold by an auction house called Uppsala Auktionskammare for 21.4 million Swedish Kronor for approximately $2.48 million in 2016.

This time, this painting is tokenised through blockchain technology so that all kinds of buyers can participate in the process of owning the masterpiece. The subscription is expected to start at the end of July, with a total value of approximately 4 million Swiss francs ($3.68 million).

Artemundi company said that:

“This marks the first time the ownership rights in a Picasso, or any artwork, are being broadcast onto the public blockchain by a regulated bank.”

The transaction will be settled in Swiss francs (CHF) using Sygnum’s local Swiss Franc stable currency, DCHF, protected by Swiss law.

This is not the first time that the master’s outstanding paintings to be sold in NFT format. Crypto art being bought and sold as ERC-721 non-fungible tokens (NFT) has been making headlines based on the record-breaking sales being witnessed.

On September 21 of 2020, a crypto art piece had marked the first time and had been bought for at least $100,000, following the unprecedented sale of “Matt Kane’s Right Place & Right Time” on Async. art. This served as a signal to show the untapped potential in this emerging market.

In addition, the world’s first digital asset bank Sygnum Bank founded in Swiss and Singapore heritage announced to be the first bank accepting Ethereum 2.0 as reported by Blockchain.News on July 7.

Customers of Sygnum Bank could pledge Ethereum through Sygnum’s banking platform and safely store the Ethereum in their personal accounts. At present, it generates up to a 7% yield every year.

Steamboat Willie Enters Public Domain, Inspires NFT and Meme Coin Craze

As the calendar turned to 2024, a significant event in the world of digital art and copyright law occurred. The original version of Mickey Mouse, as seen in the 1928 short film “Steamboat Willie,” officially entered the public domain. This development marked the end of the Walt Disney Company’s copyright claim over this specific version of one of the most iconic characters in animation history. The United States law restricts copyright to a lifespan of 95 years, bringing Steamboat Willie into the public domain after nearly a century.

The Rise of Steamboat Willie NFTs

Following this event, a remarkable surge in the popularity of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) related to Steamboat Willie was observed. Three specific NFT collections, namely “Steamboat Willie Public Domain 2024,” “Steamboat Willie,” and “Steamboat Willie’s Riverboat,” quickly ascended to the top spots on OpenSea’s 24-hour trending list. The “Steamboat Willie Public Domain 2024” collection garnered significant attention, achieving around $1.2 million in trading volume and securing the number one position. Furthermore, this collection also ranked sixth on OpenSea’s 24-hour top charts, a notable achievement considering the presence of other popular collections like the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Pudgy Penguins.

Disney’s Response

Disney, in response to the expiration of the copyright for Steamboat Willie, emphasized that modern interpretations of Mickey Mouse remain protected under copyright law. A spokesperson for Disney highlighted their commitment to safeguarding their rights in these modern versions and warned against potential consumer confusion due to unauthorized uses of the character.

Mickey Mouse Meme Coins

The entry of Steamboat Willie into the public domain not only sparked a trend in NFTs but also led to the creation of meme coins featuring the character. Crypto enthusiasts swiftly capitalized on this development, minting digital tokens and meme coins to commemorate the occasion. This movement represents a significant shift in the digital representation of cultural icons, as these tokens and coins symbolize a new chapter in the digital art world. Additionally, a dedicated website for “Mickey Token” was launched, offering crypto products related to this famed Disney icon.