Digital Artist Sells NFT Artwork for $69.3 Million in a World First

Artist Beeple's work is the most expensive digital artwork, for now.
Fabienne Lang
Everydays: The First 5000 DaysBeeple/Christie's

Yesterday, March 11, a digital non-fungible tokens (NFT) art collage made by a digital artist sold for a whopping $69.3 million at a Christie's auction

The sale places Mike Winkelmann, the artist known as Beeple, among the world's top three most "valuable living artists," said the auction house in an interview with The Verge.

The work, called "Everydays: The First 5000 Days" is a collage of over 13 years of digital art that Beeple made every day. This marked the first time Christie's auctioned NFT digital art.

This is a historic moment in the art world, which may change how it operates following the sale of NFTs.

NFTs have been gathering speed and popularity in recent weeks. These are unique files that verify an artist's ownership of digital artwork, and that live on a blockchain. Those who buy the NFTs have some rights to display the digital artwork.

So why was Beeple's art so precious?

For starters, he has a decently-sized fan base of around 2.5 million followers across various chanels, as The Verge uncovered. And for this $69.3 million digital artwork, it's a one-of-a-kind collage given he created and posted a new piece of digital art every single day for nearly 14 years. 

Not to mention the fact Christie's auction house stepped in for the sale. Christie's has been in operation for 255 years, so it's easy to see why it's such a trusted platform, espcially given the incredible and famous artwork it's previously auctioned, from Leonardo da Vinci to the only known portrait of William Shakespeare.