Should we buy NFTs (“Non Fungible Tokens”, in French “tokens non fungible”), these lines of code referring to a digital work and a certificate recorded in the blockchain?
Collectors most open to novelty are wondering. The record of 69 million dollars (about 58 million euros) won in March at Christie’s by an NFT of the American artist Beeple has panicked their compass. The often kitsch aesthetic of “crypto-art” makes them gasp. Are these still or moving images, sometimes childish, in garish colors, which “hysterize” the market, are they really works?
Since spring 2021, the speculative bubble has exploded. But trade volume remains strong, at around $ 2.5 billion in the first half of the year.
To the point that patented stars, like Urs Fischer and Damien Hirst, or their younger brother Neïl Beloufa, have rushed into the breach, followed by powerful galleries, such as Almine Rech or Pace. “There are fewer speculators, and we are now in a logic very close to the more classic art market”, advises New York councilor Fanny Lakoubay.
Twelve figures not to lose …
Not easy, despite everything, to take the plunge, especially since it is necessary to first master a new English-speaking sabir. Brian Beccafico, a 24-year-old student at Sotheby’s Institute, has a long history of jargon. But, he admits, he hesitated before buying his first NFT, a work by Beeple, which was taken in one click for $ 1,500 in September 2020. “I received several buyback offers, including $ 150,000, but I did not sell”, he wants to clarify.
The young man, who in a year has accumulated more than a hundred NFTs, generally consults them on his smartphone, his Instagram account and in the virtual gallery of his computer.
“The Seeker” by DesLucreces, from the personal collection of Brian Beccafico.
Conquered, he encouraged his mother, Odile Finck, 63, to do the same. A seasoned collector for nearly forty years, this businesswoman has narrative figuration artists and new realists. But, she confides, “NFTs are more fashionable than the classic things we see at art fairs and which no longer make me dream”.
Today, Odile Finck does not hesitate to stay awake late at night so as not to miss the sale of NFTs by artists who interest her. “We have between one and five minutes to draw, she explains. Once you’ve tasted it, it’s addiction. “ Corn, she warns, you have to be accompanied: “Without my son, I wouldn’t have taken the plunge. “
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