Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box show, Sotheby’s CEO Charles Stewart said the NFT space might be disruptive in the future, hence joining. However, he did not disclose further information about the partnership with Pak, including whether commissions will be paid in cryptocurrencies. According to Stewart, the decision to work with Pak is due to his history in the NFT space alongside the artists’ s growing followers consisting of digital collectors with cryptocurrency backing. In the flagship NFT sale, Sotheby’s will tokenize Pak’s works that entail one-off pieces and others offered as open-ended editions. However, details about the art works’ content and pricing haven’t been disclosed. Pak, known for creating sleek, wryly conceptual artworks in January, sold several identical-looking NFT works under the series dubbed “The Title.”
Cryptocurrency payments
Furthermore, Sotheby’s is looking at enabling cryptocurrency payments for physical artworks. This is after rivals Christie sold a digital collection to a buyer who paid $69 million in cryptocurrency (you can see that picture here). According to Stewart, the auction house was also exploring paying art collectors in digital assets. He, however, notes that there is no concrete plan but the idea is to accommodate the growing interest in artworks by cryptocurrency investors. Along with other leading art houses, Sotheby’s is seeking to leverage on the growing crypto millionaire alongside millennials to revive the sector’s fortunes. Watch the video: Sotheby’s CEO on collaborating with digital artist Pak to sell NFTs