Christie’s to Hold Ethereum NFT Auction on OpenSea

In a bid to solidify its identity as the place for digital art auctions, Christie's has partnered with non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea for what Christie's calls a series of curated auctions starting December 1.

The collaboration, called "Christie's X OpenSea," will be hosted on the OpenSea website with bidding and payments made using Ethereum. To participate in the auction, bidders will go to the OpenSea website and place bids on the digital art being showcased.

The collection will feature digital art by Andre O'Shea, Alpha Centauri Kid, Ash Thorp, Beige, Blake Kathryn, CyberKongz, DotPigeon, EtherRock, FriendsWithYou, Fvckrender, GMUNK, Joshua Davis, KESH, Krista Kim, Maciej Kucera, Mad Dog Jones, Tom Sachs, Olive Allen, Oseanworld, Victor Mosquera, WhIsBe, and Recur.

The team heading up the collection curation are Christie's Head of Digital and Online Sales Noah Davis, entrepreneur Ronnie Pirovino, and NFT news and analytics site NFT Now.

In March 2021, Christie's sold its first NFT, "Everydays: The First 5000 Days” by Beeple, for a record $69 million. Since then, it's continued hitting the NFT market, reporting more than $100 million in NFT sales last month. Earlier this month, Beeple's HUMAN ONE, a moving 3D sculpture, sold for $28.9 million at Christie's.

NFT Artist Beeple Sells Latest Work for $29 Million at Auction

It's not quite $69 million. But, hey, $29 million isn't too shabby. Beeple, the digital artist whose tokenized artwork "EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 500 DAYs" sold for a record $69.3 million at a Christie's auction this March, has followed it up with a $28.9 million sale today of a hybrid physical and digital work. It's the second-largest sum paid for an NFT—or, at least, a piece of art accompanied by a "dynamic" NFT. HUMAN ONE is a 3D moving sculpture depicting a person in a spacesuit moving through a...

While Christie's has become a popular place for digital artists to showcase their work, this marks the first time an NFT marketplace has partnered directly with the auction house for a series. A prominent partner, as well: OpenSea has become the largest marketplace for digital art with over $11 billion in trading volume since its launch in 2017, according to Web 3 analytics website DappRadar.

"With this collaboration, we are bringing the Christie's brand boldly onto the blockchain," said Davis in a press release. "Our collaboration with OpenSea allows us to combine our expert curation and prestigious provenance with the convenience of decentralization."

Beginning December 1-3, potential buyers can browse the collection of NFTs. Open bidding goes from December 4-7.