Christie’s to host Art Blocks auction

British auction house Christie’s is journeying into uncharted territory for auctions by organising a non-fungible token (NFT) auction with live bidding in Ethereum (ETH). Christie’s will be host to the sale of Art Blocks Curated: Sets 1-3. The sets are a part of a ‘Post-War to Present’ auction series. 

The groundbreaking announcement

NFT auctions will inevitably take place in all auction houses. However, Christie’s is pioneering the process and has been involved for quite a while now. The popular British auction house first dipped its toes into the NFT world in September 2020 when the firm showcased Block 21 of “Portraits of a Mind.” 

The auction house has also created “Christie’s Encrypted,” a subsection dedicated towards NFTs.

Ever since then, the company has continued to present NFTs. Now it is preparing to auction off a unique set of NFT collectibles called Art Blocks Curated: Sets 1-3.

There are many artists who are currently featured on the Art Blocks platform founded in November 2020 for Ethereum-based generative art drops. For context, when a user decides to purchase an original Art Block, a random seed is generated which determines specific attributes of the artwork such as design, color, and background within preset themes. As seeds are randomly generated, neither the artist nor the buyer knows what the final artwork will look like until it is purchased and generated. 

The future of NFT auctions

We have already seen similar NFT auctions previously, however this listing will be the first time that live bidding will be ETH-first.

We're proud to announce the sale of Art Blocks Curated: Sets 1-3, as part of the Post-War to Present auction in New York on 1 October. Bidding for this lot will be conducted live in ETH—a first for any leading auction house. #NFTs #digitalart #onlineauction @artblocks_io pic.twitter.com/jDNK6VviYi

— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) September 7, 2021

Chromie Squiggles are arguably the most popular Art Block projects. Squiggles are changing hands around £36,000 in recent weeks; in August, this Squiggle was sold for 750 ETH (over ~£1.8 million at present value). This is the most expensive Squiggle to date. 

Art Blocks will be the first of many more auctions to come for Christie’s that are Ethereum-first when it comes to bidding. NFT artists and holders are often criticised. However, the market continues to grow due to individuals such as Edward Snowden, Elon Musk, and Banksy.

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