The NFT market continues to evolve within the crypto sector, with Sotheby’s, a prestigious auction house, generating nearly $35 million in sales from NFT art in 2023. Michael Bouhanna, Vice President and Head of NFTs at Sotheby’s, highlighted the year as one of the most exciting for the NFT space.
Bouhanna revealed Sotheby’s digital art sales results on December 23rd, noting the success of their first live digital art auction with 300 participants and $12 million in sales. A notable sale included NFT artist Dmitri Cherniak’s “Ringers #879,” which fetched $6.2 million, setting a record for NFT artwork.
Sotheby’s has conducted over 25 auctions focused solely on NFTs or incorporating them into contemporary art sales. Following these developments, the auction house launched Sotheby’s Metaverse, an on-chain NFT marketplace.
Looking forward, Bouhanna stated that Sotheby’s will concentrate on supporting creators and enhancing primary market strategies. Since its first NFT venture in April 2021 with Turkish NFT artist Murat Pak, Sotheby’s has made a series of record-breaking NFT sales.
The NFT sector experienced a resurgence with a near $1 billion trade volume in November, coinciding with a Bitcoin bull run. The average value of NFT transactions rose by 114%, indicating a growing user interest in higher-value trades.
The progress in the NFT market is closely tied to the successes of blockchain ecosystems. Solana‘s NFT sales surged following a price increase, while Ethereum‘s ecosystem has yet to reach desired levels due to ETH prices and transaction fees.