The once-popular "Ethereum Encryption Kitties" sold for millions of dollars. Now the digital art market that has attracted much attention is getting bigger and bigger, and millions of dollars are no longer scarce. This market Where will it go?

digital art market

Art meccas around the world, from Paris to New York, have for years attracted global art collectors seeking to acquire and create limited quantities of valuable art from creative artists.

Supply and demand has always been a powerful force in the art world, and with the rise of blockchain-powered “digital art,” it’s even more prevalent today.Artists are now turning to a new medium for creative expression of their craft through RARE, a blockchain-based marketplace for “digital art.”

"Separating the art market and all its components, RARE and other digital art marketplaces serve independent artists creating in new digital media formats," said John Zettler, CEO of RARE.

It is worth noting that the role of the platform is also conveyed by artists who do not provide support for large galleries,“Our attitude is to find ways to serve these artists while using the blockchain to give them a new mechanism and marketplace to sell their art.”

Limited-edition "digital art" pieces that want to be stored in computer files, uploaded by artists who want to sell their digital work online, tokenize each piece, and get 60% of the proceeds if sold, At present, blockchain and IPFS (Interplanetary File System) are mainly used to store artworks to confirm the attribution of the artists who created the works and ensure ownership.

Collectors securely buy "digital art" through Ethereum-like cryptography and choose to sell or trade the work when demand is high. If a work is sold or traded, the artist still holds authorship for each piece, ensuring that all credit ultimately goes to them.

"As a digital artist, I have a lot of stuff on my computer that can't necessarily be printed out, or exported into a painting, sculpture, or other physical work for someone to collect,"In an interview with RARE, Washington, D.C.-based artist Naturel said he uses the marketplace to sell his "digital art" pieces, while also explaining the blockchain's ability to make art valuable because they are scarce or limited.

Speaking of blockchain’s impact on art, Zettler said: “I think using blockchain to verify artwork is the first step in the first phase, and in the long run, I see a whole new world where life is full of Digital interfaces, whether it’s augmented reality, virtual reality, OLED wallpapers or some other technology that blurs the lines between the physical and digital worlds, are booming.”

Experiencing "digital art" on the blockchain is not just about staring at a smartphone screen or computer monitor, as Zettler puts it,RARE is "turning every screen into a canvas," as the company has its own app that streams artwork on Apple TV or Google's Chromecast. 

And it is also possible to display multiple pieces of "digital art" at the same time on a smart digital photo frame (such as the Meural canvas), so multiple pieces of "digital art" can be displayed at different times of the day easily under the control of the art collector.

As long as demand remains, collectors will continue to seek out new rare pieces to add to their digital collections. According to a Statista study, art sales in the online market reached $4.64 billion in 2018 and are expected to grow to $9.32 billion by 2024, opening up the search for more blockchain-based online "digital art" markets. need.

While some artists may continue to paint with brushes and framed canvases, the rise of "digital art" can now attract new collectors interested in art in a different medium.For example, a well-known piece of digital art titled "Eternal Rose" was sold for $1 million in 2018, sparking interest in the blockchain art market.

postscript

postscript

A digital photo of a red rose sold for $1 million to a group of 10 collectors during Valentine's Day 2018,They split the cost evenly in cryptocurrency, which is believed to be the highest price ever paid for a digital artwork.

The project, titled "Eternal Rose," was produced by artist Kevin Abosch and GIFTO, a virtual gift platform on the blockchain that supports cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

The 10 collectors who bought art include leaders and investors in the cryptocurrency space such as ORCA Fund, Future Money and Ink, and TLDR Capital, among others.

The original text comes from the English version of Forbes, with additions and changes. It was compiled by the Bluemountain Labs team. The English copyright belongs to the original author. For Chinese reprint, please contact the compiler.