NFT Artist Beeple Auctions Latest Work for $28.9M at Christie’s

The second most expensive non-fungible token (NFT) just sold for $28.9 million via Christie’s auction house on Tuesday.

Artist Beeple’s “Human One” depicts an astronaut-like figure walking in an almost seven-foot-high translucent box, describing it as “the first portrait of a human born in the metaverse.” 

Elsewhere, Beeple compared “Human One” to a “subscription service,” adding that the owner is also “buying continual access to me updating this piece.” (The artwork runs on Ethereum blockchain, allowing Beeple to update and change the work.)

“While the piece was sold last night, [it] is not complete,” he said in a webinar on Wednesday. “I’m going to keep changing the piece and keep updating the artwork over the course of the rest of my life. That is something that is very exciting to me, and I think is much more analogous to how people will appreciate art in the future.”

Ryan Zurrer, a former venture partner at Polychain Capital, claimed the artwork.

“This is how people will view art in the future as a dynamic thing. You come down in the morning, and the piece looks one way. You come home from work, and the piece looks a different way,” Beeple said. “It just continues to evolve, surprise and just adds to its beauty.” 

Mike Winkelmann, who goes by Beeple, made headlines in March of last year for selling his NFT, “The First 5000 Days” for over $69 million at the same auction house. It remains the highest-selling piece of crypto art for Christie’s. 

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