Many new artists and collectors are coming to the NFT market, and in late 2020, more than $8 million worth of NFT art changed hands. The reasons for this rise in NFT art activity are varied, and it comes at a time when more and more action is happening in the NFT space.
2020 has been a difficult year for many people, with the pandemic and people staying at home as much as possible. This new economy seems to be pushing people into the online space, and both the ETH network and NFTs are rising in popularity.
Museums and galleries have also been hit by this new trend. The cryptoart scene seems to be filling the gaps, and sales of NFT artwork have taken off, with sales figures reaching an all-time high in December.
NFTs are Getting Big
There are already good suppliers in the cryptoart field, and we will likely see the cryptoart develop professionally as the market needs more and more projects.
According to data from CryptoArt.io, a cryptocurrency art analytics platform. In November 2020, non-fungible token (NFT) artwork traded for a total of $2.6 million, while in December it hit an all-time high of $8.2 million.
In a post published on the new website, Richard Chen, creator of CryptoArt.io, says crypto natives are beginning to understand the value that NFTs bring to verifying the authenticity of original artwork.
In addition, Beeple, a well-known digital artist has also discovered NFTs and how they can open up new business models for artists beyond commissions.
New Ways to Use Blockchain
CryptoArt.io is a platform that tracks numerous digital art markets. In 2019 it was acquired by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss who also own Async Art, KnownOrigin, MakersPlace, SuperRare, and Nifty Gateway.
Chen mentioned that for most NFT the purchases using Ether (ETH) or Ethereum-based stablecoins, while some platforms also accept credit card payments as Nifty Gateway and MakersPlace
With the crypto economy becoming more and more prevalent this year, it may be a good time to enter the cryptoart market. Many new artists and collectors are looking to find deals that may rise in value over the coming years.
An Untapped Market
In the art world, more and more artists are presenting their work in online showrooms, and the NFT-based art scene can meet the needs of the art world – and offer new lanes for artists to show their work.
cryptoart.io and NFTArtPulse are growing. The field is still very young and we will probably see more platforms emerge. While the popularity of Ethereum probably won’t impact the cryptoart market, high gas fees are affecting other areas of the NFT market.
The Price of Success
Aavegotchi recently announced that it would have to delay the launch of its mainnet, as high gas prices are impacting the viability of its NFT platform.
According to the company, “insanely high gas costs,” are pushing the company to look for other solutions. While many projects can cope with these high costs, many can’t The company is looking for other ways to operate, including L2 systems that eliminate many of Ethereum’s drawbacks.
To wit, “Aavegotchi on L2 means no gas fees, faster transaction confirmations, and a great gaming experience.”
The good news that with the rise of Ethereum’s popularity, deep functionary in the form of many different third-party platforms have also entered the marketplace. Companies aren’t stuck using the main ETH blockchain and can tap into other solutions that won’t impact the way a project works.
While blockchain has been around for more than a decade, it appears that there are new markets emerging. There is no way to know if cryptoart will be a lasting success, but from how it looks at the moment, there is nothing but blue sky for digital artists and their NFT-based work.
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