KEY POINTS
Sotheby’s Web3 division, Sotheby’s Metaverse, has unveiled a new auction featuring non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Named the “Digital Art Day Sale,” the auction features 55 artworks created and/or shaped by algorithmic codes or mathematical formulas.
One standout piece is Dmitri Cherniak’s “The Wrapture #41,” starting with a bid of $30,000. Its uniqueness lies in its rarity, determined by the actions of the holders. If no one trades, sells, or lists their edition for sale within a year, no additional editions will be minted. However, breaking this rule will open up the remaining 666 editions for public minting.
Tyler Hobbs’ works, “Fidenza #180” and “Fidenza #740,” are also notable highlights with starting bids at $90,000 and $60,000, respectively, alongside Kjetil Golid’s “Archetype #240” with a starting bid of $50,000.
Included in the auction lot are also two NFTs from The Igloo Company, the parent firm of the popular NFT collection Pudgy Penguins. These Ethereum-based NFTs — #6167 and #4636 — start with bids at $10,000, estimated to reach between $15,000 and $20,000.
The auction started today, on March 28, and is slated to continue until April 9, 2024.
This sale underscores Sotheby’s ongoing commitment to spotlighting digital art. In 2023, the auction house reported $35 million in digital art sales.
Earlier this month, Sotheby’s introduced “R(Evolutionaries),” an NFT auction commemorating a decade of blockchain art. Prior successful auctions include the “Natively Digital” Bitcoin NFT sale in January, generating over $1 million, and the December 2023 “BitcoinShrooms” NFT auction, which exceeded expectations by amassing over $450,000, with individual NFTs selling 5-8 times higher than estimated prices.
