$1,6 M in NFT sales was achieved at the first major NFT auction since the crypto crash

Christie’s charity sale on Tuesday June 28th tested the NFT art market despite a recent decline in cryptocurrency.

The sale, titled “Cartography of the Mind”, included NFT star artists Beeple, Refik Anadol, and Mad Dog Jones. None of the 27 offerings were priced to sell for over $250,000, but the sale still managed to reach $1.6 million total.

Mad Dog Jones (B. 1985) Silly Simon’s Psilocybin. Single-channel video with audio by La+ch 00:00:43 minutes (6000 x 4000 pixels). Minted on 16 June 2022. Courtesy of Christie’s.

“The lower estimates in Tuesday’s sale could be a sign that the art market is recalibrating levels for its digital artists”,

dealers replied to Wall Street Journal.

NFT art is a new and relatively untested market. This new technology is revolutionizing the art world and making it possible for more people to invest in and collect art. Collectors are struggling to predict the trajectory of NFT art, which is distinct from other collectible tokens. The recent crypto crash has made collectors even more cautious about investing in NFTs. However, the recent Christie’s auction shows that there is still significant interest in NFT art, even after the crash. This auction results may help to provide some clarity for collectors who are trying to understand the NFT art market.

Beeple’s “Pilgrimage” fetched a bit over it’s high estimate of $250,000 – for $252,000. This kind of attention is a far cry from what NFT art was fetching just a year ago. In fact, Beeple’s “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” sold for a whopping $69.3 million last year, helping to launch the NFT art boom.

“Silly Simon’s Psilocybin” by Mad Dog Jones was sold for $75,600. In 2021 his NFT “Replicator”  reached $4.1million at Phillips sale.

Christie’s business director of digital art sales Nicole Sales commented to Wall Street Journal:

“Collectors are sifting the best digital artists from the rest. It’s about the art now, not the speculators. The current market atmosphere is “less than ideal” for pricing works by NFT artists, but I feel hopeful about the long-term outlook.”

Courtesy of Christie’s, the full sale result is below.

Cartography of the Mind: A Curated NFT Sale to Benefit MAPS

21 June 2022 – 28 June 2022, New York

Sale total: $ 1 569 960