Sotheby’s launches blockchain-based NFT marketplace
Sotheby’s Metaverse will now offer a peer-to-peer NFT marketplace distributed on the Ethereum and Polygon blockchains.
Art auction house Sotheby’s is expanding its range of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by launching a marketplace that allows digital art collectors to purchase secondary NFTs.
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The on-chain sales system will operate on the Ethereum and Polygon networks, allowing users to pay for NFTs in ether (ETH-USD) or Polygon’s native cryptocurrency, matic (MATIC-USD).
The auction house seeks to differentiate itself from other NFT marketplaces by offering a “rotating, curated selection of leading artists handpicked by Sotheby’s specialists,” it said.
Sotheby’s Metaverse said it will maintain artist royalties via smart contracts. The platform will automatically compensate artists based on their chosen on-chain royalty rate.
“Sotheby’s commitment to honoring artist royalties comes amid a larger debate about royalties in the NFT community, and signals Sotheby’s artist-first ethos as one of the only major NFT marketplaces committed to artist resale royalties,” said the platform.
Sotheby’s also plans to unveil a new digital art gallery on web3 art gallery platform Oncyber in June, showcasing selected works from the secondary NFT market.
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Digital art collector Cozomo de’ Medici will collaborate with Sotheby’s on the curation of one of the online galleries.
It comes as the floor price for NFTs has seen a decline, with NFT market volumes at a 20-month low.
Only six of the top 20 NFT pools by market capitalization saw trading volume increase during this period, while the others experienced significant declines ranging from 20% to 99%, according to data from IntoTheBlock.
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Popular gatherings such as CryptoPunks, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, and Sewer Pass witnessed significant drops in trading volume.
However, a few projects, including Captainz’s NFT Collection and Bored Ape Yacht Club, experienced increased trade volumes.
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