“EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS” NFT by Beeple sold for over $69 million

Art history was made yesterday as Christie’s auctioned Beeple’s (aka digital artist Mike Winklemann) “The First 5000 Days” for over 69 million USD. The fully-digital work auctioned is a non-fungible token (NFT), which gives the buyer ownership rights. This LA Times article provides a pretty good NFT introduction and some context to the incredible success of this artwork token. The sale represents the third most valuable piece of art created by a living artist, according to Christie’s tweet reported on ArtNet.

How is this relevant to what we do at Arcades Digital? For one, it moves NFTs most decidedly into the limelight - and much more widespread acceptance as an art asset. Collectors and investors are witnessing the rise of digital art NFTs, and the big question for many in the industry is how to collect digital art sensibly (and profitably). While we provide expertise on native Digital Art (One of our co-founders is a digital curation and preservation specialist) there’s another approach: Tokenized (NFT) Digital Twins of physical Fine Art works. In this way, collectors, art dealers, and auction houses can capitalize on an existing traditional art market worth 62 billion USD. Tokenization, done right, will be a disruptive force in this market. Arcades Digital is at the forefront of this development. We’re announcing new partnerships soon - stay tuned for more and use our contact form to get in touch.