Sotheby’s Metaverse NFT auction hits $387,500 average per lot price
20:13, 26 October 2021
Sotheby’s completed its inaugural non-fungible token (NFT) Nativity Digital 1.2: The Collectors auction Tuesday over its new Sotheby’s Metaverse NFT platform, including lots sold from the collections of celebrity socialite Paris Hilton and DJ Steve Aoki.
Of the 53 lots offered, five sold for over $1m, including works from well-known digital artists Pak and Yuga Labs each closing for seven figures. Overall the auction sales totalled $18.6m (£16.04m), for a $387,500 average lot price. Five of the lots did not sell. Final sale prices include the Sotheby’s Buyer’s Premium auction house fee.
Steve Aoki sold three lots for a $255,278 total, averaging $85,092 per lot. Paris Hilton also sold three lots at the auction for a $66,780 total, averaging $22,260 per lot.
Top sale $3.65m
The top sale was titled Pepenopoulos , by Rare Pepe sold by TokenAngels for $3.65m. The second-highest sale was Bored Ape #88917 – Bored Ape being the most well-known NFT collection – by artist Yuga Labs, which sold for $3.40m. A bidder only identified as rhincodon was the winning bidder for both lots.
Other notable works selling at the auction included: Self Portrait #1 by Dimitri Cherniak, which sold for $2.68m; Digital Zone of Immaterial Pictorial Sensibility by Mitchel Chan, which sold for $1.53m; and Rubik's Lure by Pak, which sold for $1.12m.
“The high volume of bidding and number of record sales that took place during (Natively Digital 1.2 auction) reflects the ongoing demand for high quality and extremely rare NFTs, with a world record for a pre-ethereum NFT, and Rare Pepe PEPENOPOULOS, among others,” said Sotheby’s co-head of digitial art sales Michael Bouhanna.
“[M]aalavidaa portrays patterns of colour that convey positivity amidst chaos,” Hilton said on Twitter about Fractures, one of the lots she sold for $27,720. “It makes me feel empowered and inspired as a woman."
World Series connection
In other NFT news, Candy Digital, a sports-based NFT creator – and the official NFT licence-holder for Major League Baseball – has launched an NFT series in conjunction with Game 1 of the 2021 World Series, which opens tonight.
The MLB 2021 Icons Blind Pack consists of three collectable NFTs featuring a different MLB player, similar to baseball cards, from the 2021 MLB All-Star teams. Digital Candy plans a future NFT series, dubbed Uncut Diamonds Series, featuring three top prospects from each MLB team. There are 25,000 packs available at $50 per pack.
Additionally, Candy Digital will be offering a new NFT series featuring the World Series Champion, either the Atlanta Braves or the Houston Astros.
Read more: Funding round values NFT platform candy digital at $1.5 billion