Digital Artwork Sells for Nearly $70 Million
2021-03-12
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1A piece of art that exists only on a computer, created by BEEPLE, sold Thursday for nearly $70 million. BEEPLE's real name is Mike Winkelmann.
2His artwork is a collection of 5,000 images called "Everydays - The First 5000 Days."
3The work he created is a common image file called a jpeg.
4It is the first time that an auction company - in this case, Christie's - sold a piece of art you cannot touch.
5Artwork similar to BEEPLE's piece is now known as an NFT, or Non-Fungible Token.
6Artists use technology called blockchain to prove they are selling original work.
7BEEPLE will keep making money each time his art sells.
8He has a contract that pays him 10 percent of the selling price each time someone new becomes the owner.
9BEEPLE makes art about technology, wealth and American politics.
10He has also made art for music performances by Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and One Direction.
11He said without the new technology that proves the identity of the owner and the creator, there was "no way to collect digital art."
12Last month, a 10-second video showing an image of former U.S. President Donald Trump sold on an NFT marketplace for over $6 million.
13When asked about his artwork selling for over 10 times that, Beeple said: "It's so crazy."
14Since the technology is so new, not many people know what the future holds for NFT art.
15Some may grow in value while others may become worthless, BEEPLE said.
16NFTs are used to sell sports videos, pieces of land in worlds that only exist on computers and even the first-ever tweet by Twitter's founder.
17BEEPLE said NFTs give people who want to invest their money an option beyond the stock market.
18Max Dilendorf is a cryptocurrency lawyer in New York City.
19He said many people who are investing in NFTs do not really know what they are getting into.
20"From my experience, participants in NFT markets are not really thinking it through carefully."
21At the same time, however, he said he expects NFTs to continue to grow.
22He said he thinks the physical art market will become digital in the next five years.
23I'm Dan Friedell.
1A piece of art that exists only on a computer, created by BEEPLE, sold Thursday for nearly $70 million. BEEPLE's real name is Mike Winkelmann. 2His artwork is a collection of 5,000 images called "Everydays - The First 5000 Days." The work he created is a common image file called a jpeg. 3It is the first time that an auction company - in this case, Christie's - sold a piece of art you cannot touch. 4Artwork similar to BEEPLE's piece is now known as an NFT, or Non-Fungible Token. Artists use technology called blockchain to prove they are selling original work. 5BEEPLE will keep making money each time his art sells. He has a contract that pays him 10 percent of the selling price each time someone new becomes the owner. 6BEEPLE makes art about technology, wealth and American politics. He has also made art for music performances by Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and One Direction. 7He said without the new technology that proves the identity of the owner and the creator, there was "no way to collect digital art." 8Last month, a 10-second video showing an image of former U.S. President Donald Trump sold on an NFT marketplace for over $6 million. 9When asked about his artwork selling for over 10 times that, Beeple said: "It's so crazy." 10Since the technology is so new, not many people know what the future holds for NFT art. Some may grow in value while others may become worthless, BEEPLE said. 11NFTs are used to sell sports videos, pieces of land in worlds that only exist on computers and even the first-ever tweet by Twitter's founder. 12BEEPLE said NFTs give people who want to invest their money an option beyond the stock market. 13Max Dilendorf is a cryptocurrency lawyer in New York City. 14He said many people who are investing in NFTs do not really know what they are getting into. 15"From my experience, participants in NFT markets are not really thinking it through carefully." 16At the same time, however, he said he expects NFTs to continue to grow. 17He said he thinks the physical art market will become digital in the next five years. 18I'm Dan Friedell. 19Elizabeth Howcroft wrote this story for Reuters. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 20Would you buy a piece of art you could not touch? We want to hear from you. Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 21____________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23auction -n. a public sale at which things are sold to the people who offer to pay the most 24token -n. something that is a symbol of a feeling, event, etc. 25original -adj. made or produced first : not a copy, translation, etc. 26digital -adj. using or characterized by computer technology 27crazy -adj. very strange or unusual 28cryptocurrency -n. money that is protected by digital security that does not have a physical form 29participant -n. a person who is involved in an activity or event