Are NFTs Revitalizing the Art Market?
The art world as is the case for most other fields was devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. The interface of art with the public was cut off and artists struggled to get their art seen, let alone sold. The blockchain came to the rescue again with the introduction of NFTs for art. In a very short time, artists have been able to offer digital representations of their art in its creation or destruction in some cases in an online auction format using cryptocurrency as the medium of exchange. NFT's use of blockchain technology also provides the proof of originality of the artwork and its history of ownership. Ideally, this concept of 'provenance' is where the value of an NFT is derived from as a digital asset. The record-breaking Christie's auction of Beeple's Everydays: The First 5000 Days for $69 million has drawn the interest of many in the art world but some fear that speculation and hype will dominate the market leaving most artists disappointed. Other major art auction houses like Sotheby's, (BID) - Get Report are jumping into the NFT space along with online marketplaces SuperRare, OpenSea, and even crypto exchanges such as Binance. To some artists such as Max Denison-Pender, the new technological innovation is full of possibilities. His recent auction of self-portrait 'Take Me To The Moon' which was flown into an active volcano in Iceland was a financial success on the OpenSea NFT marketplace. His optimism about the future of NFTs remains cautious.