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Sotheby’s, which accounts for 24% of global art auction sales, has launched an online secondary marketplace for its curated non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as the 279-year-old auction house for fine art expands its push into digital assets.
Fast facts
- Sotheby’s tweeted on Monday that its new $NFT marketplace, built by its Sotheby’s Metaverse unit, will feature a rotating, curated selection of artists hand-picked by Sotheby’s specialists, and collectors can make transactions on its platform.
- “Fully on-chain peer-to-peer transactions will be executed on the Ethereum and Polygon blockchains,” Sotheby’s said in the tweet, adding that artist resale royalties will be “honored directly on-chain through marketplace smart contracts.”
- The secondary marketplace will host $NFT artwork on rotation, featuring works from digital artists, including XCOPY, Tyler Hobbs and Claire Silver, the company said.
- Sotheby’s is an early adopter of cryptocurrency in the auction world. In July 2021, the company sold a 101.38-carat diamond for HK$95.1 million (US$12.1 million) in an unspecified cryptocurrency at an auction in Hong Kong.
- Last month, Sotheby’s said it will hold sales of the so-called “Grails” art collection, which consists of $NFT artwork that belongs to the bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, during its Marquee Sale Week at Sotheby’s New York starting May 19.