A $ 70 million digital artwork buyer was announced on Friday by auction house Christie’s as a crypto fund investor who goes by the pseudonym “Metakovan”.
The auction to buy the work by digital artist Beeple, which ended Thursday, was the first ever sale by a major retailer of a non-corporate digital artwork.
The work takes the form of a new type of digital asset: Non-Funky Token (NFT). This means it is authenticated by a blockchain, which verifies originality and ownership.
Metakovan, whose real name has not been released, is the founder of Metapurse, the world’s largest NFT fund, Christie said in a statement.
The work, entitled “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” is a collage of 5,000 individual images, made one day a day over thirteen years.
It sold for $ 69,346,250 (42,329.453 ETH), paid for by Metakovan in the form of Ether cryptocurrency.
The Beeple show entered the top three most valuable live artists, Christie’s said, just dragging on David Hockney and Jeff Koons.
“When you think of high-value NFTs, this one is going to be very hard to beat. And here ‘s why – it represents 13 years of daily work, ”Metakovan said in a statement released by Christie.
“Replica techniques and skill are great, but it’s the only thing you can’t do digitally. This is the jewel of the crown, the most valuable piece of art for this generation. It is worth $ 1 billion. “