Christie’s has finally come up with its own dedicated NFT on-chain auction platform following a series of successful high-priced non-fungible token sales. The new platform allows auctions to be carried out fully on-chain on the Ethereum network.
The British auction giant said its Christie’s 3.0 allows for NFT auctions to be conducted entirely on the Ethereum network from start to finish. It said all transactions, including post-sale, will be automatically recorded on the blockchain. Transactions through Christie’s marketplace will occur in a fashion as it does on popular marketplace OpenSea. Payments will be made in Ether. Previously, payments from the winning bidder were not always conducted on the blockchain.
Christie’s developed the new marketplace in collaboration with NFT smart contract development startup Manifold, metaverse development firm Spatial, and blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. This was introduced with the inaugural launch of only one project exclusive to the new marketplace by artist Diana Sinclair. The project features nine NFTs which can be viewed in an online virtual gallery built by Spatial. Christie’s has recorded major success with NFT auctions, with the likes of Beeple’s “Everydays – The First 5000 Days” which was minted exclusively for the auction house selling for $69.3 million in March 2021 – it emerged as one of the most expensive NFTs ever sold.
The company also facilitated the auction of nine CryptoPunks in May 2021, wherein the winning bid came in at $17 million. Christie’s Web3 interest has moved beyond NFT auctions. It launched a venture fund, in July, to support art-related financial products and solutions in Web3 with its initial investment going to LayerZero Labs.
