- In light of the rise of NFT marketplaces cutting creator rebates, Sotheby’s has released a new NFT marketplace.
- Sotheby’s takes an artists-first approach by enforcing royalties via Ethereum and Polygon smart contracts.
Sotheby’s, the iconic auction house famous for selling curated art pieces, including rare CryptoPunks, is again making waves in the NFT sector.
After repeatedly selling some of the most expensive jpegs in history, the art house seeks to scale up with an NFT marketplace that empowers users, collectors, and artists.
Given the rising popularity of ‘no royalty’ and ‘reduced creator rebates’ stances among popular NFT marketplaces such as Blur, OpenSea, and LooksRare, Sotheby’s new platform doubles down on standing out with its artist-first approach.
Sotheby’s Artist-First NFT Marketplace
279-year-old British-American auction house Sotheby’s has rolled out its new on-chain marketplace that enables digital art collectors to trade curated NFTs hand-picked by the art house’s specialists.
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The new NFT marketplace fully features on-chain peer-to-peer transactions executed on the Ethereum and Polygon blockchains, allowing users to pay in ETH or MATIC. Additionally, it showcases all the essentials that leading NFT marketplaces offer except for when it comes to royalties.
In a press release, Sotheby’s shared:
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“Sotheby’s commitment to honoring artist royalties comes amidst a larger debate about royalties within the NFT community and signals Sotheby’s artist-first ethos as one of the only major NFT marketplaces committed to artist resale royalties.”
Many notable platforms, such as OpenSea and Blur, are cutting creators out of the equation with their trader-first approach. On the other hand, Sotheby’s stands out with its artist-first approach and ensures creators are paid for their work.
Many on Twitter celebrated the launch as a big step for artists.
Sotheby’s NFT marketplace will debut with a select group of artists rotating every few months. The platform will feature works from 13 artists, including Tyler Hobbs, XCOPY, Diana Sinclair, Pindar van Arman, and others.
On The Flipside
- Sotheby’s has announced that it would auction off NFTs from the Grails collection, part of now-defunct hedge fund 3AC’s asset portfolio.
- Marketplaces like Blur account for over half of the trading volume generated by NFT traders. This, in turn, has prompted leading NFT marketplaces like OpenSea to follow suit and cut rebates to stay relevant.
Why You Should Care
Sotheby’s is one of the oldest auction houses in the world. The auction house took a big step when it embraced Web3 in 2021, but this time it took an even more significant step by staying committed to artist royalties when many NFT marketplaces are rolling back on supporting creator royalties.
Read how Jack Dorsey’s ventures are shaking up Web3:
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Read how OpenSea Dethroned Blur:
