Following a series of successful sales of high-priced non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Christie’s has launched its own dedicated NFT ‘on-chain auction platform’, enabling auctions to take place entirely on-chain in the Ethereum network.
The 256-year-old British auction giant, which is also the world’s second-largest auction house by art auction revenue, said its “Christie’s 3.0” allows NFT auctions to run entirely on the ETH network “From the beginning”. finish.”
“All transactions, including after-sales, will be automatically recorded on the blockchain.”
In its past NFT auctions, payments to the winning bidder were not always made on a blockchain, but Christie’s marketplace creation allows transactions to occur in a manner very similar to the popular OpenSea marketplace, allowing payments are made in Ether (ETH). ).
Christie’s said the new marketplace was developed in partnership with smart contract development startup NFT Manifold, metaverse development company, blockchain and spatial analytics company Chainalysis.
Christie’s 3.0 enables auctions to take place on the Ethereum blockchain from start to finish. All transactions, including after-sales, will be automatically recorded on the blockchain. (2/4)
— Christie’s (@ChristiesInc) September 27, 2022
The announcement coincided with the inaugural release of a single project exclusive to the new marketplace by artist Diana Sinclair, featuring just nine NFTs viewable in an online virtual gallery created by Spatial.
Christie’s has had great success with NFT auctions in the past, such as Beeple’s “Everydays – The First 5000 Days”, which was minted exclusively for the auction house and sold for a record 69.3 million of dollars in March 2021, making it one of the most expensive NFTs. never sold
The NFT sale was then held in partnership with NFT marketplace MakersPlace.
The firm also facilitated the auction of nine CryptoPunks in May 2021 with the winning bid of nearly $17 million.
Related: Beyond the NFT hype: the need to reimagine the value proposition of digital art
Christie’s Web3 interest has moved outside of NFT auctions, in July it launched a venture fund aimed at supporting “art-related financial products and solutions” at Web3 with its initial investment going to LayerZero Labs, a company that builds decentralized applications compatible with multiple blockchains.
Rival auction house Sotheby’s has taken a similar interest in Web3 and NFTs, launching its own metaverse in October 2021 and also having its share of high-priced NFT sales.
