How NFTs could change global business models beyond the art industry

How NFTs could change global business models beyond the art industry

Sotheby's has become the latest establishment name in art to dive into NFTs (non-fungible tokens) through its collaboration with anonymous digital artist Pak and NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway.

The auction house sold The Fungible Collection, a "novel collection of digital art redefining our understanding of value," for more than $17 million (£12 million).

Some pieces, such as "The Switch," a monochrome 3D construction that is going to be changed by the artist at some unspecified moment in the future, received bids well in excess of $1 million.

Read more: A digital artist who made $700,000 off one NFT drop explains how to stand out as a creator and thrive at selling virtual art

For the uninitiated, NFTs are tokenized versions of assets that can be traded on a blockchain, the digital ledger technology behind cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum. Whereas one bitcoin is directly interchangeable with another, meaning they are fungible, NFTs are the opposite because the underlying assets are unique in some way and can't be exchanged like for like.

This uniqueness enabled Christie's to sell digital artist Beeple's "Everydays" NFT in March for an eye-watering $68 million. For those who don't have that sort of money, NFTs are also being used for trading