Decentralized finance has become the center of attention throughout most of 2020, sparking talk of a renewed alt season, with many believing that mass adoption of DeFi will be coming within the next three to 10 years. Nevertheless, other sectors in the space have also been gaining traction. Nonfungible tokens are a perfect example of this. An NFT is a tokenized version of an asset, digital or otherwise. They are similar to stablecoins, for example, but are used to represent nonfungible assets like artwork, real estate or collectibles instead of a fiat currency. Popular applications for these tokens include virtual …

Christie’s auction house has announced the sale of a digital portrait of the Bitcoin code for more than $130,000. It marks the first time a non-fungible token (NFT) was auctioned at a major auction house, and the price exceeded expectations. According to the auction house, an unknown buyer purchased "Block 21," comprised of a physical piece of art and an NFT representing Satoshi Nakamoto for $131,250 at Christie's on Oct. 7 as part of its “Post-War and Contemporary Day Auction.” Bidding started at $22,000. The artwork, created by Ben Gentilli with the Robert Alice project, is one of 40 creations …

On Sept. 23, auction-house giant Christie’s announced plans to sell its first nonfungible token, or NFT, at an auction. This was just one week after the record-setting $100,000 sale at auction of a digital art piece that also used a blockchain-based token to vest the collector’s new ownership rights. Meanwhile, Anthony Pompliano, Morgan Creek Digital co-founder and partner, wrote on Sept. 21: "I personally believe that the digital art market cap will grow to become larger than the physical art market cap. This may sound ridiculous today.” Clearly, the digital art market is heating up. Duncan Cock Foster, co-founder at …

Christie’s is set to sell its first nonfungible token in an upcoming auction of what has been characterized as “the largest artwork” in the history of Bitcoin (BTC). Art historian turned blockchain artist Benjamin Gentilli, as part of the Robert Alice art collective, has created "Portrait of a Mind" — a monumental series of 40 paintings stretching over 50 meters in length. Drawing on the history of 20th century conceptualism as well as the founding myth of Bitcoin’s creation, "Portrait of a Mind" is a complete hand-painted transcription of the 12.3 million digits of the code that launched the cryptocurrency. …

Major players in the crypto community are betting big on digital art NFTs surpassing the physical art market. According to a Sept. 21 tweet from Messari analyst Mason Nystrom, sales of non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Rarible passed $5 million in September, with a volume of 5,309 of its RARI governance tokens traded. Messari reported that $1.5 million of this new volume came on a single day, on Sept. 14. In addition, the SuperRare NFT marketplace has “grown at an impressive rate” this year, according to Nystrom. This activity has caught the attention of investors seeing the potential of NFTs, which …

“Right Place & Right Time,” a digital art piece based on Bitcoin's (BTC) fluctuating price action, has sold for more than $100,000. "The Master NFT of Right Place & Right Time was sold to TokenAngels for $101,593. — but happy to call it $100,000," Matt Kane, the artwork's creator, told Cointelegraph on Friday. NFT stands for nonfungible token — a unique digital asset that does not synonymously value others like it. NFTs have begun surfacing as artwork, giving the tokenholder ownership over the art. "Right Place & Right Time" is an NFT art piece showing a creatively designed image of …

Many believe that Blockchain technology has the potential to transform the art industry. To prove this hypothesis, a blockchain firm in Switzerland is hosting, alongside Cointelegraph, its first online event devoted to blockchain in art. CV Labs, the blockchain incubator arm of Swiss blockchain investment firm CV VC, has organized an online panel to discuss the hottest issues in areas of blockchain use for art. Titled “Blockchain in Art,” the online event will feature major industry players such as Niko Kipouros, CEO of 4ARTechnologies; Christina Steinbrecher, co-founder of Blockchain.art, a digital platform for artists and collectors; Nanne Dekking, CEO of …

Tommy Leas, professionally known as DJ PLS&TY in the electronic dance music industry, has launched the vinyl record of his “Very Special” EP record on the Ethereum-based art and culture exchange platform, Foundation. Foundation allows artists to sell limited-edition art, and it prices their work based on the demand it creates over time. The EP was originally released in April and the artist is now targeting crypto and blockchain enthusiasts, with a starting price of $50. With each record sold, the price of the vinyl is expected to increase due to rising demand. According to an Aug. 26 announcement, the …

An ‘artwork’ doodled by famed That 70s Show star Ashton Kutcher has been digitized and will be auctioned on the new non-fungible token (NFT) and digital art marketplace Cryptograph. The auction will raise funds for ecological conservation non-profits Global Wildlife Conservation and Oxygen Seven, with bidding set to commence on August 25 from 10 am PT and remain open for three days. After digitizing the drawing, Kutcher set the original on fire, with Cryptograph describing the incineration of the hastily scribbled piece as “turning it from the temporary physical world into the immortal digital world.” Some might argue that immortalization …

The art world has had a tough time lately. The coronavirus pandemic has forced many galleries and museums to close, with sales of premium pieces also affected. But there could be a solution that helps the industry get back on its feet and achieve much-needed digitization: blockchain. Here, we talk to Niko Kipouros, founder and CEO of 4ARTechnologies, about how this technology could transform the way we purchase and own artwork — and even ensure that the provenance and authenticity of masterpieces are never doubted. 1. What are the biggest challenges facing the art industry right now? The surge of …

Nifty Gateway, a leading marketplace for nonfungible tokens with the backing of the Winklevoss brothers, recorded its largest-valued auction to-date on July 23 when the digital artwork and NFT “Picasso’s Bull” sold for $55,555.55. The milestone comes as benefits of fractionalized ownership, decentralized provenance verification and the global liquidity pool enabled by blockchain technology are enticing both art creators and investors to explore NFTs. A surreal couple of days. #NFT art records broken by Picasso's #Bitcoin Bull. Huge excitement & now followed on Twitter by people like @JWilliamsFstmed @tylerwinklevoss @APompliano 🤯 I do enjoy a challenge but I'm feeling the …

The Winklevoss-backed marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and digital art Nifty Gateway recorded its largest-valued NFT transaction to-date during an auction two weeks ago. On July 23, artist Trevor Jones’ one-of-a-kind piece ‘Picasso’s Bull’ sold for $55,555.55 to Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile of the Museum of Crypto Art (MOCA) on Nifty. The marketplace describes the transaction as “shattering all previous records for the sale of a digital artwork in the form of a non-fungible token” in an August 5 blog post revealing the sale. Cointelegraph spoke to Jones to learn about his journey with crypto and NFTs. Jones discovers crypto in 2016 …