Unlocking the Future of Art: The Rise of Digital Art and NFTs in the Art World

Digital art with NFTs is taking the art world by storm, offering a lucrative avenue for making money with digital art! According to the 2022 Art Basel Report 15% of collections are now dedicated to digital art and 9% to NFTs. Sales in 2021 alone reached a staggering $2.6 billion. This blog post explores the exciting potential of the NFT market for digital art and how it’s impacting the traditional art world. It concludes that the market’s potential is strong, particularly among high net worth collectors. Get ready to discover a dynamic and rapidly growing space!


Digital art with NFTs sees a surge in interest and sales

The art world has seen a surge in interest in digital art over the past few years, with 15% of collections dedicated to digital art, including 9% of digital art works linked with an NFT. NFTs were one of the biggest trends in the market in 2021, with art and collectible-related NFTs selling for a total of $11.1 billion on external NFT platforms. The market for art-related NFTs also saw significant growth, with sales increasing over a hundredfold year-on-year to reach $2.6 billion. However, the market also attracted a large amount of short-term speculation.

HNW collectors show a steady increase in spending on digital art with NFTs

graph comparing the median expenditure of hnw collectors of digital art with nft and without nft
HNW Collectors Median Expenditure on Digital Art

Looking at the graphic, the market for digital art with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has been rapidly growing over the past few years, as more and more high-net-worth (HNW) collectors are investing in this emerging asset class. The median expenditure of this segment actively buying in 2022 shows that spending on digital art with an NFT has been steadily rising over the years.

Despite the slowdown on NFT platforms outside the art market, HNW collectors have reported even higher spending plans for the rest of the year. Combining their spending in the first half of 2022 and their plans for the rest of the year, collectors forecast that they could spend up to $96,000 each on average on digital art with an NFT. Additionally, spending on other digital art (without an NFT) is also forecast to reach a high of $76,000, which would double the level in 2021.

 

graph of hnw collectors' shares of digital art 2021 and 2022
Share of HNW Collectors Expenditure by Medium in 2021 and 2022

This data indicates that the market for digital art with NFTs is gaining momentum and is likely to continue to grow in the coming years. The ability of NFTs to provide provenance and authenticity to digital works is a major factor driving this trend. As the market matures and more digital artists and platforms enter the space, we can expect to see further growth and innovation in the NFT digital art market.

Beeple’s NFT sale at Christie’s marks the beginning of a new era in art

The sale of Beeple’s NFT at Christie’s New York in March 2021 is a prime example of the impact that NFTs have had on the traditional art market. This multi-million dollar sale was a significant milestone that marked the beginning of a new technological era, which redefined the boundaries of art. Furthermore, the sale attracted a plethora of new buyers and sellers who were eager to take advantage of the potential offered by NFTs. This has resulted in a growing number of artists and dealers entering the NFT market to produce and create digital art that can be tokenized.

Despite market fluctuations, interest in art-related NFTs remains strong

Despite the drop in values, the market in the first half of 2022 was still significantly larger than previous years, indicating the continued interest and potential of the NFT market. High-net-worth collectors’ interest in art-related NFTs remained strong, with the share allocated to digital art increasing by 5% year-on-year.


This is the first article in a series of eight posts about the impact of tokenization and NFT on the art world. Find below more blogposts and stay tuned to learn more.

Olivia Zahlbruckner

As technology advances, new possibilities arise, including in the traditionally traditional art world. Blockchain and NFTs offer artists the chance to tap into new markets. With this blog I want to explore the latest trends, opportunities, and innovations in the digital art industry.

View all posts by Olivia Zahlbruckner →

6 thoughts on “Unlocking the Future of Art: The Rise of Digital Art and NFTs in the Art World

  1. Very interesting facts about the market. It would be interesting to see when the market would switch over to NFTs completely.

  2. Wow! I had no idea it was a thing, and such a big one. :O
    Very interesting!
    Thank you for bringing it to us, Olivia!

  3. Dear Olivia, this blog post is just so interesting. I’m quite curious about what the future holds for digital art and NFTs. 🙂

  4. Hi Olivia
    Great blogpost about a market that’s gonna get even bigger in the future. Looking forward to reading more!

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