The prestigious auction house is moving to the Ethereum blockchain. This will allow it to auction of NFTs and carry out transactions on its own, from initiation to completion.
Christie’s is taking NFT trading to the next level
Following a series of successes related to the sale of high-priced NFT tokens, auction house Christie’s is betting on its own on-chain auction platform. In its past operations, Christie’s has not always conducted NFT auctions based on the blockchain. Meanwhile, thanks to Ethereum’s support, this will change. The new space, in a way, is expected to resemble the OpenSea marketplace. Its similarity to the solutions in place there will certainly attract many users.
Christie’s is a 256-year-old auction house that is a giant in its industry. It is the clear market leader in the UK and the second largest house in terms of revenue worldwide. Company representatives do not hide their satisfaction with the technological leap they are currently experiencing. Thus, they note that “all transactions, including after sales, will be automatically recorded on the blockchain.”
The new marketplace was developed in cooperation with NFT smart contract development startup Manifold, metaverse development company Spatial and with blockchain company Chainalysis.
Christie’s successes to date
The above announcement coincided with the launch of Diana Sinclair’s exclusive NFT collection. It contains just nine graphics. It is now possible to view the artist’s department in a virtual gallery, built with the support of Spatial. Bidding will start any minute now.
Christie’s boasts great successes in NFT auctions. Famous among them is the “Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days” collection. This was a series of prints minted specifically for the auction house, which, moreover, sold for a huge sum of $69.3 million. The operation took place in March 2021. Thus, Beeple’s Everydays became one of the most expensive collections in the history of the NFT.
The company also facilitated the auction of nine CryptoPunks. This took place two months later, and the winning bid was just under $17 million. In both of the above situations, however, it was necessary to use external NFT trading tools.
Expansion continues
Christie’s with blockchain technology decides to tighten its ties even more. In July of this year, this auction house launched a venture fund to “support art-related financial products and solutions” on Web3. Meanwhile, rival auction house Sotheby’s is not far behind. It too boasts successes in the NFT market. Moreover, in October 2021, it launched its own metaverse space. Thus, there are many indications that the race in the industry has only just begun.
