A work by digital artist Mike Winkelmann sold for more than $69M at Christie's

 

NFT Mania Continues

A work by digital artist Mike Winkelmann, also known as Beeple, sold for more than $69M at Christie's auction house yesterday. The work was sold as an NFT—a non-fungible token—and marks a record amount in the spiraling crypto art craze. The sale price exceeds that of any work from artists like Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dalí, and others.

NFTs are conceptually similar to digital certificates of authenticity that are completely unique and can't be forged. Similar to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, NFTs rely on blockchain technology (see 101), which uses decentralized networks to verify legitimacy and ownership. Since digital art (and other digital assets) can often be easily duplicated, these characteristics are viewed as the future of the digital art market. Go deeper on NFTs here.

The spectacular sales price appears mostly due to the pioneering use of the technology. Before last fall, the most Winkelmann had ever sold a piece for was $100.

See the piece here (but don't try and copy it).