Sotheby’s NFT Sales Reach $100M in 2021

The auction house said in a report that it has seen an overall “rebound” in sales as clients respond to a seamless digital and physical experience.

Dec 15, 2021 at 7:08 p.m. UTC

Updated May 11, 2023 at 7:13 p.m. UTC

NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Traffic flows up York Avenue past Sotheby's June 10, 2004 in New York City. Property from the estate of the late actress Katharine Hepburn is being offered at auction and sales are expected to exceed $1 million. (Photo by Stephen Chernin/Getty Images)

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.

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Tanzeel Akhtar

Tanzeel Akhtar is a reporter based in London,UK.

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