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Christie's surpasses $100 million in NFT sales

Post-War & Contemporary Art

28 September 2021

New York – Christie’s announces that it has shattered the $100 million ceiling in NFT sales worldwide. Pushing Christie’s over this historic mark was the record-setting success of Christie’s first ever NFT auction in Asia, which closed online in Hong Kong on 28 September and achieved a total of HK$122 Million (USD $15.6M).

This landmark moment, which Christie’s shares and celebrates with the NFT community and its artists, began less than a year ago with the first NFT sale at Christie’s in October 2020 and hit headlines worldwide when Beeple’s monumental Everydays: The First 5,000 Days sold for $69 million in March 2021, setting the record for the most expensive work sold online and the third highest price for a living artist at auction. After becoming the first international auction house to sell an NFT of a purely digital work of art, Christie’s continued to forge new ground in this revolutionary collecting category through iconic sales of Larva Labs’ Cryptopunks, digital artwork by FEWOCiOUS, curated sales, NFTs by Bored Ape Yacht Club, and partnerships with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, established artists like Jenny Holzer and the estate of Nam June Paik, as well as NFTs in the field of luxury and design with Misha Kahn and fashion brands such as Gucci and collectibles giants Superplastic.

Guillaume Cerutti, Chief Executive Officer of Christie’s, commented: “Exceeding this $100 million milestone is huge for Christie’s and for all the creators and collectors in the NFT community. This confirms that the NFT market is here to stay. We will continue to invest in the opportunities NFTs offer us to deeply engage with new audiences and artists, an exciting new generation of collectors, and more expansive and inclusive markets.”

Noah Davis, Head of Digital Art and Online Sales at Christie’s, commented: “I’m equal parts humbled, astonished and euphoric about this milestone. The last 6 months have been a crucible for Christie’s and this proves just how battle-ready we are now for presenting premier programming in The NFT Space. I’m grateful to our consignors for their trust, our bidders and buyers for their tenacity and—most of all—I’m deeply proud of the artists and creators, without whom we would have nothing to brag about. Looking forward to what’s next, whatever that may be…”

Christie’s Inaugural NFT Sale in London

Christie’s also announced today that it is bringing NFTs to the UK for the first time, offering an exceptional clean red laser beams Bored Ape along with its M1 and M2 Mutants (by creators Bored Ape Yacht Club) as a group lot in in the live 20^th / 21^st Century evening sale in London on 15 October.

NFTs Next in New York

As part of our Post-War to Present sale on October 1, Christie’s will next feature a full set of highly sought after Art Blocks and Curio Cards collections in addition to a new video and performance art NFT by artist Dread Scott.

CHRISTIE’S NFT FIRSTS

2018
First international auction house to record sales of works on a Blockchain, partnering with industry leader, Artory, in An American Place: The Barney A. Ebsworth Collection

2020 Oct
First to introduce NFTs to the global auction stage, with the sale of Robert Alice’s Block 21 from Portraits of a Mind, which also included a physical painting.

2021 March
First to sell an NFT of a purely digital work of art, the revolutionary online sale of Beeple’s Everydays that achieved $69 million and set the record for the most expensive work sold online and the third highest price for a living artist at auction

2021 continued
Introduced curated NFT sales, gave a platform to digitally native artists like 18-year-old FEWOCiOUS and LarvaLabs (for their iconic Cryptopunks), and partnered with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and established artists like Jenny Holzer and the estate of Nam June Paik, as well as fashion brands such as Gucci and collectibles giants Superplastic

2021 Sept
First international auction house to hold an NFT auction in Asia. No Time Like Present,
an online-only auction that achieved a record total of HK$121,642,750

2021 Oct
First to accept live bidding exclusively in ETH (cryptocurrency) for our live
Post-War to Present sale taking place 1 October

Christie’s announced today it will offer NFTs for the first time in London at its
20/21 Evening Sale on 15 October

About Christie’s

Founded in 1766, Christie’s is a world-leading art and luxury business with a physical presence in 46 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, and flagship   international sales hubs  in New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva. Renowned and trusted for our expert live and online-only auctions, as well as bespoke Private Sales, Christie’s unparalleled network of specialists offers our clients a full portfolio of  global services, including art appraisal, art financing, international real estate and education. Christie’s  auctions span more than  80 art and luxury categories, at price points ranging from $500 to over $100 million. Christie’s has sold 7 of the 10 most important single-owner collections in history, achieved the world record price for an artwork at auction, launched the first  fully on-chain auction platform dedicated to exceptional NFT art and manages an investment fund to support innovative startups in the art market. Christie’s is also committed to advancing  responsible culture  throughout its business and communities worldwide. To learn more, browse, bid, discover, and join us for the best of art and luxury at christies.com or by downloading Christie’s apps.

* Please note when quoting estimates above that other fees will apply in addition to the hammer price - see Section D of the Conditions of Sale at the back of the sale catalogue. *Estimates do not include buyer’s premium. Sales totals are hammer price plus buyer’s premium.