- Sotheby’s has disclosed that it conducted 25 NFT auctions this year with total sales nearing $35 million
- Its single highest sale raked in $6.2 million
- The auction house revealed that it plans to increase support for digital art creators in 2024
Sotheby’s vice president Michael Bouhanna has disclosed that the fine arts auction house facilitated 25 NFT auctions in 2023. According to Bouhanna, the auctions’ sales volume neared $35 million with the single highest sale being Dmitri Cherniak’s Ringers #879 which raked in $6.2 million. The Sotheby’s executive also revealed that his firm plans to shift its focus to digital art creators in 2024, something that seems like a natural move considering it operates an NFT marketplace that honors artists’ royalties.
$12 Million from 300 Participants
In an X (formerly Twitter) post, Bouhanna described 2023 as an “exciting year for” NFTs, disclosing that 300 participants attended the firm’s first NFT auction which saw the sale of digital art worth $12 million.
2023 at Sothebys will remain one of the most exciting years for Digital Art!
🚨 What We Achieved 🚨
Close to $35 million in sales.
Launch of a fully on-chain secondary marketplace that honors creators’ royalties.
Our very first dedicated live auction with more than 300… pic.twitter.com/rabrxntz9Z
— Michael Bouhanna (@michaelbouhanna) December 23, 2023
The executive also said that Sotheby’s managed to explore “the fascinating world of [Bitcoin] Ordinals,” referring to its recent first auction of Bitcoin-based collectibles from the BitcoinShrooms NFT collection.
Three artworks from the collection were sold for a total of over $450,000 with one of the images, a pixelated Avocado, changing hands for more than $100,000. Sotheby’s also celebrated the launch of Inertia, a solo artist exhibition, and Themes of Variations, a generative art project.
NFT Artist Pulls Out
Other notable NFT auctions by Sotheby’s include one featuring the Snow Crash manuscript and artworks seized from Three Arrows Capital.
The auction house’s operations have however not been without controversy. In March, for example, Sotheby’s was forced to cancel an auction after a digital art creator pulled out citing gender imbalance on the list of featured artists.
With Sotheby’s being among the go-to auction houses for NFT projects looking to attract high-value collectors, its continued exploration of the NFT world is likely to cement its status in the collectibles space.
