British auction house Sotheby’s reported a substantial achievement with approximately $35 million in digital art sales, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in 2023.
In a December 23 post on Twitter, Michael Bouhanna, vice president and co-head of digital art sales at Sotheby’s, deemed 2023 “one of the most exciting years for Digital Art.”
The post highlighted the notable milestones in digital art sales throughout the year, starting with the launch of Sotheby’s Metaverse, its Web3 arm, and continuing with the addition of a secondary NFT marketplace.
Among the 25 auctions focusing exclusively on digital art or incorporating it into contemporary art sales, the standout was Dmitri Cherniak’s digital artwork “Ringers #879 (The Goose),” which achieved a record all-time high price of $6.2 million.
In May, Sotheby’s reported on the outcomes of the Part 1 auction for “GRAILS,” a collection of significant NFTs from the now-bankrupt Three Arrows Capital (3AC) corporation, with sales reaching nearly $2.5 million.
More recently, Sotheby’s held the “BitcoinShrooms” by Shroomtoshi NFT auction, the first featuring Bitcoin NFTs for the auction house, surpassing expectations and amassing $450,850. Individual NFTs sold 5-8 times higher than estimated prices.
These results underscore the increasing popularity and appreciation of digital art, particularly on-chain, addressing challenges such as authenticity, provenance, and value in the market.
In light of these developments, Sotheby’s plans to expand its strategy in the digital art domain. Bouhanna, in his post on X, stated, “Next year, our focus will be on supporting creators and enhancing their primary market strategies.”
