Digital artwork snapped up for $69m in record sale

Everydays – The First 5000 Days

A virtual collage has fetched $69m (£49m) after being auctioned on Christie’s, in a record sale of a new type of digital asset known as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

The collage, titled "Everydays: The First 5000 Days", is made up of pieces by artist Mike Winkelmann, better known as Beeple, which he has created daily since May 2007.

The artwork is entirely digital and is part of a growing trend for buying and selling NFTs, which are said to be unique pieces that cannot be re-created on a like-for-like basis.

The items are then authenticated via blockchain, a digital ledger technology best known as the backbone of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, which shows who owns the "original" version of the work and verifies that the item is real.

Other examples of NFTs being sold include pieces of land in virtual games, exclusive cryptocurrency wallet names or virtual trading cards.

Interest in them has been growing among cryptocurrency investors, with one 10-second video created by Beeple having sold for $6.6m last month.

It marked a huge spike in its value, given it had been bought in October 2020 for around $67,000.

.@beeple 's 'The First 5000 Days', the 1st purely digital NFT based artwork offered by a major auction house has sold for $69,346,250, positioning him among the top three most valuable living artists. Major Thanks to @beeple + @makersplaceco. More details to be released shortly

— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) March 11, 2021

According to one marketplace for NFTs, OpenSea, monthly sales of the items have ballooned within the last few weeks, going from $8m in January to $86.6m by the end of February. Beeple has garnered a huge following online, and is known for having collaborated with names and brands including Katy Perry, Childish Gambino and Nike.

In the description for the virtual collage posted on Christie’s, Beeple said: "I almost look at it now like I’m a political cartoonist. Except instead of doing sketches, I’m using the most advanced 3D tools to make comments on current events, almost in real-time."

The price of the NFT ballooned in the last seconds on the auction, more than doubling in value.

Earlier this month, Noah Davis, specialist in Post-War & Contemporary Art at Christie’s in New York, said: "Christie’s has never offered a new media artwork of this scale or importance before.

"Acquiring Beeple’s work is a unique opportunity to own an entry in the blockchain itself created by one of the world’s leading digital artists."