NFTs may outlast physical art galleries, says famed British artist Damien Hirst

NFTs may outlast physical art galleries, says famed British artist Damien Hirst

Famed contemporary artist Damien Hirst told CNBC on Wednesday he believes in the staying power of nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, the blockchain-based digital collectibles that . "You look at what's happening in NFTs, and you can kind of see the galleries disappearing before you see the NFTs disappearing," Hirst said on where the British artist appeared to discuss his NFT collection called That project features 10,000 NFTs, with each corresponding to their own distinct works of physical art. The NFTs cost $2,000 apiece. But the twist: Their eventual owners have one year to choose between holding onto the NFT or exchanging it for its physical creation. The one owners don't pick will be destroyed. "They're both art, and they're both equal. I had to buy into that first, and I have to buy into the idea that I'm happy with destroying physical art and destroying the NFTs," Hirst said. "I've got absolutely no idea what people will do." Applications to buy one of Hirst's NFTs closed Wednesday after opening a week ago. The NFT craze took off early this year, coinciding with the surging interest in and the surging value of cryptocurrencies such as and ; both NFTs and cryptocurrencies