Sotheby’s Launches NFT Marketplace on Ethereum and Polygon Networks
Sotheby’s, one of the major auction houses, has recently launched a non-fungible token (NFT) secondary marketplace that allows users to buy curated NFTs on the Ethereum (ETH) and Polygon (MATIC) networks. The platform is fully integrated and on-chain, allowing buyers to pay in ETH or MATIC, the native token of the two blockchains. Additionally, Sotheby’s Metaverse, the Web3 arm of the art auction house, enables direct transactions between the platform’s users.
According to the platform, there is a 2.5% seller fee, and artist resale royalties will be honored directly on-chain through marketplace smart contracts. The platform will automatically pay artists based on the royalty rate they select. However, Forbes reported that “NFT owners are also free to take their NFTs to other exchanges that don’t honor royalties.”
Thirteen artists, including Tyler Hobbs, Claire Silver, and Sarah Zucker, have been approved to sell their NFTs even before Sotheby’s has seen them. They will be able to sell existing and yet-to-be-created artworks.
“The opportunity to expand Sotheby’s Metaverse with a fully on-chain peer-to-peer market is an important step forward in our evolution within the digital art and collectible space,” said Michael Bouhanna, Sotheby’s vice president and head of NFTs and digital art in a press release.
Sotheby’s Entry into the NFT Space
Sotheby’s entered the NFT space back in April 2021 and made several record-breaking sales that year. For example, a CryptoPunk sold for $11.8 million, and a Bored Ape Yacht Club piece sold for 3.4 million. In March of this year, Sotheby’s hosted a benefit auction titled “My Body, My Business” in collaboration with UnicornDAO, a collectors’ decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) devoted to women’s and gender-fluid NFTs.
In mid-April, the house revived its “Glitch: Beyond Binary” NFT auction after facing backlash over the lack of diversity with the initial launch. Several days later, it was revealed that Sotheby’s was preparing to host an auction for a collection of the NFTs seized from the now-defunct crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC).
The Grails collection, comprised of digital artwork that belonged to 3AC and its Starry Night Capital NFT-collecting fund, will be auctioned by Sotheby’s in a bid to recoup a portion of the $3 billion the collapsed fund owes to creditors.
Conclusion
Sotheby’s has launched an NFT marketplace that allows users to buy curated NFTs on the Ethereum and Polygon networks. The platform will be integrated and fully on-chain, enabling direct transactions between the platform’s users. Artist resale royalties will be honored directly on-chain through marketplace smart contracts. Sotheby’s has also approved thirteen artists to sell their NFTs, even before the auction house has seen them.
