Still a novel concept, the NFT art market has grown in volume and interest since the first NFT was created. Even with the bear market of 2022 in memory, still, there is a lot of interest in NFTs, and many artists are turning to the medium to create new and appealing artworks. The NFT art market has emerged with distinct qualities and attributes. As a collector, you might want to understand this new way of exchanging digital art.
Several things happen differently within the NFT art market concerning the traditional world. This is a new paradigm, from the appearance of marketplace platforms to smart-contract functionalities to the Web3 communities that are enthusiastic about the art. It is a whole new paradigm. One that could fuse or eat the traditional art market, so it will end up being just a new and improved art market.
Whatever ends up happening, the reality is that there is an NFT art market with distinct characteristics that you should know about. Here are some of its main attributes:
Selling in the NFT art market
There are many differences in the selling process of this new NFT art market. Users have many NFT marketplaces to choose from, with varying degrees of specialization, that allows creators and collectors to come together. One has to emphasize the hyper-segmentation that has occurred because you can find generalist marketplaces like OpenSea or Magic Eden, semi-curated art marketplaces like Foundation (you need an invitation), to fully curated operations like Nifty Gateway or SuperRare where a team fully vets the art drops and the creation of the accounts of new artists. You can even find sites like Art Blocks, by an artist that goes by the same name, that curates generative art.
In short, the NFT art market has, in a short time, allowed marketplaces to establish themselves as powerful actors. In the same period, the space has become highly specialized, with dedicated sites and marketplaces curating art and specific art movements.
The crowd in the NFT art market
Web3 and blockchain are high-tech innovations. Therefore, NFTs attract tech enthusiasts curious about their cultural appeal and are early adopters with deep technological knowledge. This type of profile is the new intelligentsia in the art world willing to invest in art, as this audience usually has deeper pockets than the average citizen. This profile has this attribute, deep pockets, in common with the traditional art collector. The fact that art buyers come from tech professions makes sense, especially in a world where money is made in tech industries.
Artists can come from tech as well, especially those creating generative art. This also makes sense, given how you need a deeper tech understanding to create digital art, move it into the blockchain, and attach all the smart-contract specifications. It is more removed from the artisanal endeavors artists are usually associated with. Still, you can create handmade art and later transform it into an NFT. SOPRG, an NFT art gallery based in Prague, Czechia, specializes in such art. They have a top-tier scanner so that the paintings are as intricate and high-fidelity as their physical counterparts as possible. And so, even when you have an NFT art gallery specializing in art done the old-fashion way, you still need top-of-the-line technology to ensure the best results. A characteristic of the NFT art market.
NFTs can be music and video, not just visual art
Non-Fungible Tokens are not just still images to see, as the concept of an NFT is the token that represents an asset. With this in mind, you can start seeing different art forms, creations, and aesthetics popping up in the NFT art market. Even content, in general, can become monetized differently, and not just through ads and privacy-invading practices through data extraction and cookies.
Musicians are currently taking advantage of the NFT art market that is being developed to sell music directly to listeners that want to support them. Filmmakers and professionals of the audiovisual arts can leverage NFTs to finance projects or monetize their creations.
This tells of broader use cases in art and that the NFT art market is here to stay. It is not merely a buzzword or a trend that might disappear.
The NFT art market will be affected by future regulations
Blockchain technology, with cryptocurrencies and NFTs, is a very novel occurrence. It is only natural that frameworks that refresh copyright laws and financial rules. These legislative efforts will affect how these assets are defined by the law will be introduced.
Anyone involved in Web3 must understand that these regulations are a matter of when and not if. And valuations, for better or worse, will be affected. These valuations can be affected directly (the price of NFT art) or indirectly (the worth of the underlying cryptocurrency, which means that the art gains or loses value).
NFT art galleries are still an important player
Even though NFT artists now have the tools to circumvent intermediaries, the truth is that collectors still seek out NFT art galleries for their taste-making role in the sector. Collectors can seek artists already known in the space and whose works are worth hundreds of thousands (maybe millions). But what if you want to discover new and emerging digital artists? You need a thriving NFT art gallery scene constantly providing audiences with exhibitions and curated shows.
So, NFT art galleries are still a big part of the larger NFT art market. These are the institutions you constantly want to check on for information and discover trends and artists.
The NFT art market, although new, has had enough of a journey to be singled out as an entity of its own. It is interesting enough to attract investors, so much so that you see significant specialization in the actors within the sector. And, like many things in the digital world and the creator economy, people from different geographies can produce, create, and thrive. The limitations are not geographical but language-based. And so, the NFT art market can create new art power centers.
Painting by Mr. Školník – you can buy the NFTs via our shop.
