Video | Explanation of the NFT phenomenon: does art live in a bubble?

It was the summer of 2021 when a collage of images in digital format was sold in a traditional auction house for more than 50 million euros.

The stratospheric amount is difficult to understand if it is not contextualized: Beeple, the author of the work, became the third most expensive sale in the history of Christie's after two creations by Jeff Koons and David Hockney.

Since then, the growth of this type of art has skyrocketed.

How is it possible that a

and a digital file cost the same?

We have proposed that you understand what NFTs are and evaluate to what extent we are facing a bubble in the art market.

Let's start with the basics, what is an NFT?

The literal translation into Spanish is: single non-fungible object.

Yes, a very complicated term to understand.

They are digital and unique works.

I'll give you an example: you can buy a poster of 'Las Meninas', that doesn't mean they are yours, 'Las Meninas' is a painting from the Prado Museum.

Something similar happens with NFTs.

You can see memes, GIFs, stickers, photos reproduced in many places... Everything can be on the Internet, but the work, the unique object is yours, it is your property.

But how are they certified?

Who are the main players in this market?

How has this new revolution affected traditional auction houses?

What kind of art can be considered as NFT?

To try to clarify it, we have spoken with Filip Custic, a young artist from the Canary Islands, creator of all the visual imagery of the album

which premieres with an NFT based on a work created with María Forqué, artist and daughter of the deceased Veronica Forqué.

Enrique Moris, an expert in cryptocurrencies, explains how this type of currency has become an essential requirement to buy these works.

Beatriz Ordovás, one of those responsible for Christie's in Spain, narrates how a traditional auction house has found a new way of selling in this market.