Christieâs is getting in on nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
- The 255-year-old auction house is partnering with digital marketplace MakersPlace to sell works from Mike "Beeple" Winkelmann, a digital artist who made $3.5 million in NFT auctions late last year.
- NFTs enable collectors and artists to guarantee the provenance of artwork, verifying its authenticity and ownership securely on the blockchain.
- The Beeple work being auctioned by Christie's is a collage of the thousands of pieces of art he has posted online since 2007.
- "EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS" will be delivered directly to the buyer with a unique NFT encrypted with Beeple's signature.
- The work will be auctioned in a standalone lot online for two weeks from Feb. 25 and is the first entirely digital artwork to be offered by a traditional auction house.
