NFT is accelerating its tentacles to every corner of traditional art. On the evening of March 11, NFT ushered in a historic moment, and the transaction price of more than 69 million US dollars successfully established the reputation of encrypted art. In fact, in the past few months, whether people and institutions from all walks of life have gathered to test the water, the number of works has exploded, or the sales prices have repeatedly set records, the market potential of encrypted art can be seen.
Cryptoart.io data shows that more than 114,000 encrypted works of art have been sold, with a total value of up to 320 million US dollars. Behind the phenomenal explosion is the recognition of the encrypted art circle from the outside world. After taking stock of the top ten high-priced encrypted artworks in the world, this article found that the encrypted artist Beeple has become the "weather vane" of the NFT boom, and his works occupy the top three in the list of the most expensive encrypted art. At the same time, various encrypted artists have completely changed the way of creating and experiencing art, which has achieved widespread resonance, and the value of their works has also been greatly recognized.
First Place: Everydays – The First 5000 Day Creator: Beeple Price: $69,346,250 (38,336.144 ETH)
"Everydays – The First 5000 Day" is composed of 5000 pictures. It is an art NFT commemorating Beeple's continuous creation of 5000 days since May 1, 2007, and insisting on one work every day. At present, this work has been auctioned by the British auction house Christie's, with a reserve price of 100 US dollars and a final price of 69,346,250 US dollars. The winning bidder will eventually get an encrypted digital file with Beeple's signature. The auction made Beeple the third most expensive living artist in the world, after Jeff Koons, the "King of Contemporary Pop Art" and David Hockney, the "Godfather of British Art".
For the encrypted art industry, "Everydays – The First 5000 Day" is of great significance as the first purely digital art work supported by a large auction house.
Second place: CROSSROAD Creator: Beeple Price: 3,693.878 ETH
"CROSSROAD" is a 10-second short art NFT. In this work, in a leisurely environment, a naked former U.S. President Donald Trump, who looks like an oversize, is lying in the grass on the side of the road, his body is covered with graffiti of various slogans, and the sidewalk connected to the grass Passers-by kept walking slowly, not paying any attention to the behemoth beside them.
The inspiration for "CROSSROAD" comes from the 2020 US presidential election. In Beeple's design, the way the piece is presented changes according to the election results. If you win the election, the Trump in the work will wear a crown and run in the fire; if you lose the election, then the Trump in the work will be forgotten and depressed.
Different from ordinary MP4 files, "CROSSROAD" is authenticated by the blockchain and has a digital signature that cannot be copied, which can ensure the ownership and authenticity of the work.
Third place: The Complete MF Collection Creator: Beeple Price: 446.734 ETH
"The Complete MF Collection" contains 20 works, some inspired by nature, technology and "Odaily Wars", such as a work showing the retro game console Game Boy under construction. Beeple once revealed that he was "fucking happy" when describing himself creating this painting.
In mid-December 2020, the buyer named "Kang" successfully bid for the work at the last second at a price of US$777,777.77. In addition to receiving this work, the winning bidder will also receive a physical token, registerable on the Beeplee website, a signed and numbered titanium backplate, and the inclusion of a hidden certification mark proving authenticity. Additionally, the NFT comes with a certificate of ownership, a cleaning cloth, and samples of Beeple's real hair.
"Obviously I can't stop you from splitting the physical token and the NFT after I send you the physical token, but I can guarantee that it will make them both worthless. They complement each other, and for me , it’s like cutting a baseball card in half and trying to sell them. No one can stop you from doing this, but it will make both halves a bit worthless,” Beeple wrote in the sale listing.
Fourth place: The EverLasting Beautiful Creator: FEWOCiOUS Price: 315.905 ETH
"The EverLasting Beautiful" is a collaboration between FEWOCiOUS, parrott_ism, Odious and Jonathan Wolfe about a fairy tale world, combining animation art and sound. On March 5, the work was purchased by Morgan Creek co-founder Jason A. Williams for $550,000.
Among them, FEWOCiOUS is one of the youngest and recognized artists in the NFT world, only 18 years old. In 2020, after FEWOCiOUS sold the first NFT work on the NFT trading platform SuperRare, the work began to become more and more popular. He was previously commissioned by Jason A. Williams for "The Innovator's Dinner".
Fifth place: Genesis Creators: josedelbo, trevorjonesart Price: 302.5 ETH
"Genesis" is a signed limited-edition animation created by Jose Delbo, creator of DC Comics' "Wonder Woman" and Marvel Comics' "Transformers," in collaboration with digital artist Trevor Jones, creator of "Picasso's Bull." Batman" themed four NFT collectibles, including two animations and two illustrations. The most striking thing about this work is the layered expression from the initial line sketch, to pencil/ink, and finally to the final paint. It very clearly shows the line outline, tone, expression form and color of the two creators control.
"I wanted to have a nostalgic feel, a 1980s superhero comic book look that I grew up with." This is what Trevor Jones wanted to express based on Jose Delbo's pencil sketches and ink. .
In October 2020, "Genesis" was sold for 302.5 ETH on the NFT trading platform Makersplace, setting the highest price for a single edition.
Sixth place: NYAN CAT Creator: Chris Torres Price: 300ETH
Nyan Cat (Rainbow Cat) is a video uploaded to YouTube in April 2011. The content of the video is a cartoon cat flying in the universe, dragging a rainbow behind it, and accompanied by the background music sung by UTAU virtual singer Tao Yin Momo. After the video was uploaded, it quickly became popular on the Internet.
The creation of Nyan Cat was inspired by creator Chris Torres' pet cat Marty, and the original purpose of creation was to raise funds. Since then, many Nyan Cat-related games and wallpapers have appeared on the market. In January 2014, the production team of NyanCat also participated in the development of Nyancoin.
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Nyan Cat, Chris Torres recreated the animation, a cat with a pink square body running in space, dragging a string of rainbows behind him. In February of this year, the Nyan Cat digital animation artwork created by Chris Torres was sold for 300ETH on the NFT auction trading platform Foundation.
Seventh place: Right Place-Right Time Creator: Matt Kane Price: 262 ETH
"Right Place-Right Time" is a Bitcoin-themed dynamic work created by encryption artist and engineer Matt Kane that took 100 man-hours to complete, and it looks quite design. In fact, this work is not just a simple GIF image file, it has more than 400 lines of code writing and 24 layers of manual drawing.
The BTC price feed algorithm is embedded in this work, so it will be updated every 12 hours according to the BTC price change. At the same time, "Right Place-Right Time" will create 210 independent NFT tokens based on the key, historical-level trends of certain days. At present, "Right Place-Right Time" has been acquired by TokenAngels, an encryption investment institution, at a price of 262 ETH, but only sells 21% of the income rights of the work, and the rest is still reserved by Matt Kane. Of course, the acquisition of works also enjoys the right to modify the works.
Eighth place: ETHBOY Creators: trevorjonesart, alotta_money Price: 260 ETH
"ETHBOY" is a programmable encryption art NFT created by encryption artists Trevor Jones and Alotta Money inspired by Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin. In November 2020, "ETHBOY" was sold for 260ETH on the encrypted art trading platform Async Art.
In it, Vitalik, dressed in a medieval clown suit, leans back in a velvet chair and gazes at the viewer until he takes to the sky as the price of Ethereum flashes on the screen. In the next five years, this NFT work will be auctioned as a separate NFT on the encryption market OpenSea twice a year. Each mini-animation will be formed from about 182 days of ETH price changes between July 30th (Ethereum’s launch anniversary) and January 31st (Vitalik’s birthday). During this period, if the price of ETH rises, the Vitalik in the painting will gradually rise; if the price of ETH falls, Vitalik will gradually fall. The profit from the sale of each NFT will be split between the two artists and the owner of the "EthBoy".
It is worth mentioning that the only manually changeable art layer in "EthBoy" was given to Vitalik, and invited to try his participation in programmable encryption art.
Ninth place: ˈSÄ-V(Ə-)RƏN-TĒ Creator: Micah Johnson Selling price: 250 ETH, worth $435,000
"ˈSÄ-V(Ə-)RƏN-TĒ" tells the story of two real-life children, Jacque, 7, and Rayden, 8, standing in a field, facing the "Gate of Opportunity" and the astronauts. The door slowly opens each year on each child's birthday, until eventually the children come face to face with the astronaut, the tangible representation of their dream. Jacque and Rayden would disappear from the picture on their 18th birthdays.
Since "ˈSÄ-V(Ə-)RƏN-TĒ" is an interactive art installation using photography, its images will change with Jacque and Rayden's growth story.
In particular, "sä-v(ə-)rən-tē" is also a public welfare work that uses bitcoin donations to help black youth. Viewers can use Bitcoin to donate to their children's college funds on their birthdays. Since the work has a QR code for a Bitcoin wallet, each child can get their college fund at the age of 18.
In November 2020, "ˈSÄ-V(Ə-)RƏN-TĒ" was sold at a price of 250 ETH. Since the NFT work is programmable, the owner has the right to decide whether the content of the work should be made public.
Tenth place: DEATH OF THE OLD Creator: grimes Selling price: 223.395 ETH
"DEATH OF THE OLD" is an animation depicting baby angels flying around a glowing white cross in an absurd setting. This is an original song video by Grimes, a well-known Canadian musician and girlfriend of Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Grimes described the baby in the artwork as a "new century goddess," but Twitter users speculated that the baby depicted in the series actually represents Grimes and Musk's child.
In March of this year, "DEATH OF THE OLD" was sold for 223.395 ETH, and the final bidder could also want to have an exclusive audition track with Grimes. Grimes is also donating part of the proceeds from the auction to Carbon 180, an NGO working to reduce carbon emissions.
