Christie’s recently announced that it has shattered the $100 million ceiling in NFT sales worldwide. Pushing Christie’s over this historic mark was the record-setting success of Christie’s first-ever NFT auction in Asia, which closed online in Hong Kong on 28 September and achieved a total of HK$122 Million (USD $15.6M).
This landmark moment, which Christie’s shares and celebrates with the NFT community and its artists, began less than a year ago with the first NFT sale at Christie’s in October 2020 and hit headlines worldwide when Beeple’s monumental Everyday: The First 5,000 Days sold for $69 million in March 2021, setting the record for the most expensive work sold online and the third-highest price for a living artist at auction.
After becoming the first international auction house to sell an NFT of a purely digital work of art, Christie’s continued to forge new ground in this revolutionary collecting category through iconic sales of Larva Labs’ Cryptopunks, digital artwork by FEWOCiOUS, curated sales, NFTs by Bored Ape Yacht Club, and partnerships with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, established artists like Jenny Holzer and the estate of Nam June Paik, as well as NFTs in the field of luxury and design with Misha Kahn and fashion brands such as Gucci and collectibles giants Superplastic.
“Exceeding this $100 million milestone is huge for Christie’s and for all the creators and collectors in the NFT community. This confirms that the NFT market is here to stay. We will continue to invest in the opportunities NFTs offer us to deeply engage with new audiences and artists, an exciting new generation of collectors, and more expansive and inclusive markets.”
Guillaume Cerutti, Chief Executive Officer of Christie’s
Noah Davis, Head of Digital Art and Online Sales at Christie’s commented:
“I’m equal parts humbled, astonished and euphoric about this milestone. The last 6 months have been a crucible for Christie’s and this proves just how battle-ready we are now for presenting premier programming in The NFT Space. I’m grateful to our consignors for their trust, our bidders and buyers for their tenacity, and—most of all—I’m deeply proud of the artists and creators, without whom we would have nothing to brag about. Looking forward to what’s next, whatever that may be…”
Christie’s Inaugural NFT Sale In London
Christie’s also announced today that it is bringing NFTs to the UK for the first time, offering an exceptional clean red laser beam Bored Ape along with its M1 and M2 Mutants (by creators Bored Ape Yacht Club) as a group lot in the live 20th / 21st Century evening sale in London on 15 October.
NFTs Next In New York
As part of our Post-War to Present sale on October 1, Christie’s will next feature a full set of highly sought-after Art Blocks and Curio Cards collections in addition to a new video and performance art NFT by artist Dread Scott.
CHRISTIE’S NFT FIRSTS
2018 – First international auction house to record sales of works on a Blockchain, partnering with industry leader, Artory, in An American Place: The Barney A. Ebsworth Collection
2020 Oct – First to introduce NFTs to the global auction stage, with the sale of Robert Alice’s Block 21 from Portraits of a Mind, which also included a physical painting.
2021 March – First to sell an NFT of a purely digital work of art, the revolutionary online sale of Beeple’s every day that achieved $69 million and set the record for the most expensive work sold online and the third-highest price for a living artist at auction
2021 continued – Introduced curated NFT sales, gave a platform to digitally native artists like 18-year-old FEWOCiOUS and LarvaLabs (for their iconic Cryptopunks), and partnered with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and established artists like Jenny Holzer and the estate of Nam June Paik, as well as fashion brands such as Gucci and collectibles giants Superplastic
2021 Sept – First international auction house to hold an NFT auction in Asia. No Time Like Present, an online-only auction that achieved a record total of HK$121,642,750
2021 Oct – First to accept live bidding exclusively in ETH (cryptocurrency) for our live
Post-War to Present sale taking place 1 October
Christie’s recently announced that it will offer NFTs for the first time in London at its
20/21 Evening Sale on 15 October
