Christie’s Goes On-Chain with Ethereum’s NFT Auction Platform

After successfully selling a series of high-value non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Christie’s launched its own dedicated NFT “On-Chain Auction Platform”, allowing auctions to run entirely on-chain on the Ethereum network. did.

The 256-year-old British auction giant, which is also the world’s second-largest art auction house by revenue, says ‘Christie’s 3.0’ will allow NFT auctions to run entirely ‘from scratch’ on the ETH network. said. end. ”

“All transactions, including post-sales, are automatically recorded on the blockchain.”

In past NFT auctions, payments from winning bidders were not always done on the blockchain, but Christie’s creation of the marketplace allows transactions to occur in a similar fashion to the popular marketplace OpenSea, You can now pay with Ether (ETH). ).

According to Christie’s, the new marketplace was developed in partnership with NFT smart contract development startup Manifold, metaverse developer Spatial, and blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

Christie’s 3.0 allows auctions to run from start to finish on the Ethereum blockchain network. All transactions, including post-sales, are automatically recorded on the blockchain. (2/4)

— Christies (@ChristiesInc) September 27, 2022

The announcement is paired with the initial launch of one project by artist Diana Sinclair dedicated to the new marketplace, featuring only nine NFTs that can be viewed in an online virtual gallery built by Spatial.

Christie’s has had great success with NFT auctions in the past. Beeple’s “Everydays – The First 5000 Days” was minted exclusively for the auction house in March 2021 for his record $69.3 million, making him one of the most expensive NFTs. I have sold.

At the time, NFT sales were done in partnership with NFT marketplace MakersPlace.

The company also facilitated an auction of nine CryptoPunks in May 2021, with a winning bid of approximately $17 million.

Related: Beyond the NFT Hype: The Need to Rethink the Digital Art Value Proposition

Christie’s interest in Web3 has moved outside of NFT auctions, and in July he launched a venture fund aimed at supporting Web3’s “art-related financial products and solutions,” with initial investments in multiple blockchains and We went to LayerZero Labs, a company that builds compatible decentralized applications.

Rival auction house Sotheby’s has similar interest in Web3 and NFTs, launching its own metaverse in October 2021 and also capturing a share of high-priced NFT sales.