Sotheby’s, the 277-year-old British auction house, said sales of its non-fungible token (NFT) works reached $100 million in 2021.
- Sotheby’s said NFTs have further expanded its audience attracting a new demographic of collectors.
- In April, Sotheby’s held its first sale of NFTs by the pseudonymous artist Pak. The sale fetched $16.8 million over a three-day drop.
- Other notable NFT sales included a single CryptoPunk that sold for $11.8 million and a single Bored Ape selling for $3.4 million.
- The auction house reported that it has seen an overall “rebound” as clients respond to a seamless digital and physical experience. Sotheby’s consolidated sales for 2021 reached $7.3 billion with auctions at $6 billion and private sales achieving $1.3 billion,
- Sotheby’s said the “meteoric rise” of NFTs and the launch of its new platform called “Sotheby’s Metaverse” has attracted a new audience, with 78% of NFT bidders being new to Sotheby’s and more than half of them under 40.
- The Sotheby’s Metaverse allows visitors to view digital artworks available at auction, as well as learn about the collectors and artists behind NFTs.
- The auction house has also created a virtual gallery in Decentraland to showcase the NFTs.
- Sotheby’s has also been accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment for physical artwork.
Read more: Sotheby’s NFT Auction With Artist Pak and Nifty Gateway Brings In $16.8M
