A tokenized version of a destroyed Banksy painting sold for nearly $400,000 on NFT marketplace OpenSea.
A non-fungible token, or NFT, depicting an incinerated painting created by renowned British street artist, Banksy, has sold for nearly $400,000.

On March 8, the token was sold on NFT marketplace OpenSea for 228.69 Ether — worth roughly $382,000 at the time of writing. The sale followed three days of bidding, with approximately 70 bidders pushing the price up from a starting price of 0.00001 ETH.
The NFT was created by “Burnt Banksy," a group of crypto investors who purchased Banky’s painting “Morons” for roughly $100,000 in February.

Morons is a painting satirizing the art industry that depicts a bustling auction for a framed canvas donned with capitalized words reading: “I can’t believe you morons buy this shit.” On March 4, the artwork’s owners incinerated the painting on a Twitter live stream at an unknown location in Brooklyn, New York.

The Morons NFT was sold to ‘Galaxy,’ an OpenSea user who currently has four NFTs on display, including a satirical piece depicting renowned artist Frida Kahlo as Kim Kardashian in her infamous ‘internet-breaking photoshoot from 2014.

While the token is the first NFT to represent a verified Banksy painting that has been incinerated, it is not the first to depict an artwork that was destroyed after being tokenized.

In August 2020, former ‘That 70’s Show’ star Ashton Kutcher created a tokenized representation of a notepad scribble depicting a dozen pairs of eyes, a star, and his signature. The NFT was put up for charity auction on Cryptograph marketplace.

In February, the investor who purchased an NFT created by celebrity Lindsay Lohan then proceeded to burn it — sending the token to a verifiably un-spendable wallet address so that nobody can own or trade the token in the future. The decision was commended by the popular crypto commentator, Defi Dude:

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 NFT representing incinerated Banksy painting fetches nearly $400k

On March 6, a group of tech and art enthusiasts known as Burnt Banksy set fire to an original Banksy print entitled “Morons.” The next day, they sold the print for three times its value of the previous day, the final sale coming to $382,000.

This was not the characteristic Banksy tomfoolery or deception, nor did they collect the ashes of the former print and exchange them for cash.

The truth is that the slow burn of the print, which can now be found on YouTube, was to represent the abstract transfer of authenticity and henceforth value to the digitized version of the work. Now the print exists solely as a non-fungible token or an NFT. The subsequent appreciation of its value can only be explained upon understanding the current hype of the digitized marketplace.

Funnily enough for non-believers, the print’s text read, “I can’t believe you morons actually buy this shit.”
To understand NFTs, a basic grasp of the evolving technology known as blockchain is essential.

Blockchain is a way to store information. However, key differences separate blockchain from your everyday database. One key facet is blockchain’s chronological solidity. Information in a blockchain is compiled into groups, otherwise known as blocks, and chained together so that the predating data is locked in place and creates a timeline of data. 

Added to this is blockchains decentralized storage structure, which relies on a network of collective accountability to maintain the data’s accuracy. Once data is compiled into blocks and chained together, it is transmitted to any computers on the server wherever they are located. To change the database’s construction on one computer would be to override the entire network, making any attempted hack an arduous and expensive endeavor.

Other than its security advantages, blockchain’s structure is uniquely poised to document transaction histories, as it does with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Every exchange is time-stamped, appended to the chain and broadcast across the network—creating a public, verifiable ledger where anyone can view how much crypto is owned and by whom. 

Similarly, blockchain is used to track the transaction of NFTs, which are comparable to proofs of ownership in the digital sphere. The difference between bitcoin and NFTs, however, is the distinction of fungibility. 

Cryptocurrency is fungible, or interchangeable, in the sense that one bitcoin can be exchanged for another. Both carry the same value, just as the US dollar does, and can be traded accordingly. NFTs by nature are non-fungible, meaning that there is not a one-to-one equivalency in the same way there is with Bitcoin. Only one NFT of a specific kind can be owned by any one person, in some cases rare-ifying the tokens so that their value skyrockets as in the case of the “Morons” print.

These types of tokens have widespread potential and are already popular in the gaming, sports and digital art industries as a way to trade ownership of unique items. But new possibilities are still being explored  in the music and healthcare industries, and even inspiring a potentially novel voting system.

The market is reminiscent of an elementary-school economy where children could trade Silly Bandz or Pokémon cards based on collectability. A recent partnership between NFTs and the NBA has furthered the similarity by allowing fans to buy and sell tokenized highlights as if they were sports cards.

The recent buzz that has dominated this past week’s headlines has come mostly from a new domain fittingly called crypto art. This, coupled with the NBA partnership, has made NFTs the most recent pandemic obsession. Once trapped inside for long enough, what else is there to do but burn a six-figure artwork to fulfill a non-fungible dream?

For many, the current hubbub has brought NFTs to the limelight for the first time. But blockchain has been utilized in the digital art world for much longer. Ironically, it all began with Pepe the Frog.

NFTs and digital art

Blockchain began to gain traction in the trading card game industry as early as 2014. Video game studio Everdreamsoft developed the game Spells of Genesis with the intention that in-game assets would be traded using the technology. In 2016, a user named Mike created Rarepepe cards for purchase. By doing this, he unwittingly removed the underlying motivations of the game and effectively created the first memeified art to be traded using blockchain.

Fast forward to the present day, and meme culture is still heavily influential on the NFT market. The Nyan Cat gif found a buyer at nearly $580,000; AI-designed pixelated characters known as CryptoPunks go for millions. Beeple, a prominent digital artist well known in the NFT community, sold his “Everydays—The First 5000 Days” mosaic for a whopping $69 million on March 11.

As many flock to the fanatical pull of NFTs, there seem to be two camps with diverging visions for the future of the virtual art world. When it comes to blockchain and crypto, many are prone to being swept away by the hype. The question of whether recent events indicate the change of art as we have known it or is only a passing fad is subject to the public’s fickle eye.

The answer is likely a mix of both.

The first of these types of thinkers would propose that, for better or for worse, physical art is at its end. They envision the slow shutdown of in-person museums as viewership transfers to virtual horizons. This can be likened to the recent depopularization of movie theatres brought on, but not initiated, by the pandemic. They perhaps fear the apocalyptic destruction of priceless art, as in the case of Banksy Burns. Things are not so extreme.

Realistically, NFTs are simply a modern-day addition to the ever-growing variety of art media. Just as a medium like photography did not bring painting to an end, digital art will not disrupt another art form’s domain. Still, the overly sensationalist attitude that currently grips the NFT market pushes the price of tokens higher regardless of their content. It creates a bubble, and bubbles must pop at some point.

At this point, the NFT market is budding and speculative. For a nascent market, it is exciting to see so much money moving around, but it could prove harmful. Especially since NFTs only serve to prove ownership, and they do not currently prohibit any person with a computer from viewing the art online. Of course, this is nothing new—paintings have been displayed in museums for eons. But those paintings and sculptures held an impressive price tag because they were deemed objectively artistic, which is harder to justify to the tune of millions for computer-generated CryptoPunks that are no more than a few pixels.

Without falling too far down the rabbit-hole of what can and cannot be considered art, it is clear that NFT buyers are less concerned with content and more occupied with capitalizing off the current hype and making a quick buck. Once the hype dies down, one can expect prices to settle. The digital art trade will begin to mirror something similar to the current art trade, albeit with some persistent differences given that anyone can exhibit the downloadable artwork.

However, before the dust has settled, many are already pointing out the largest concern for NFTs and blockchain as a whole.

The environmental concern

Blockchain’s notorious decentralization may give impressions otherwise, but the immense computing power that goes into solving complex problems within the system, or “mining,” uses an inordinate amount of energy. In terms of energy usage, Bitcoin sits comfortably between Argentina and Ukraine, and that only accounts for a portion of blockchain. Blockchains like Ethereum consume energy at a rate akin to Guatemala.

Some environmentally-conscious artists have taken issue with this, directly linking blockchain’s energy consumption to carbon emissions. Artists like Memo Akten and Joanie Lemercier have canceled their NFT drops due to energy concerns and instead dedicated resources to making their ecological impact known.

NFT proponents have said that likening the energy consumption known as proofs of work (PoWs) to emissions is flawed, maintaining that most of the energy comes from clean sources. Still, the tech world has a tendency to develop technology rapidly with little time to gauge or consider the impact. 

Akten and Lemercier have broadcast a few recommendations for CryptoArt and NFT platforms moving forward, including transparency with artists and a detailed path forward to limit consumption. Their pleas must be heard, dog-eared among the headlines of tech CEOs tokenizing their tweets for a profit and rappers releasing their audio sex-tapes as NFTs (things are really getting out of hand). 

The explosion of interest in NFTs is exciting and unlocks a great potential, but it is advisable to step back and certify that it is environmentally-conscious before more than just a Banksy print goes up in flames. Despite the recent frenzy leading some to condemn NFTs as a craze, it is more than likely that they are here to stay and the ecological concern must be addressed.

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NFTs are more complex than a passing fad

Coming every Saturday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link.

There’s plenty to discuss in the crypto markets, but this week, nonfungible tokens have stolen the limelight… for multiple reasons.

Digital artist Mike Winkelmann, also known as Beeple, has made history after his latest piece — “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” — sold for a whopping $69.3 million following an auction at Christie’s.

Only two other living artists, Jeff Koons and David Hockney, have created more expensive works… and as you might expect, this is the priciest NFT ever sold.

It’s a pretty special one at that. “Everydays” consists of 5,000 unique images, produced every day for 13-and-a-half years. The collage shows Beeple’s evolution as an artist and his shift to becoming a political cartoonist.

 

 

NFT representing incinerated Banksy painting fetches nearly $400,000
Beeple isn’t the only one laughing all the way to the crypto exchange. A group of crypto investors known as “Burnt Banksy” has made a tidy profit after a daring stunt involving one of the graffiti artist’s creations.

They bought a real-life Banksy painting for $100,000 last month. “Morons” satirizes the art industry and depicts a bustling auction for a framed canvas, adorned with the words: “I can’t believe you morons buy this shit.”

Last week, they set the painting on fire during a Twitter livestream in Brooklyn… and turned it into an NFT instead. Now, it’s sold on the NFT marketplace OpenSea for 228 ETH… worth over $400,000 at the time of writing.

Other big sales this week included a former DC Comics artist who made $1.85 million in four days by selling Wonder Woman NFTs. But not everyone has a price. A collector turned down a staggering $1 million for an NBA Top Shot moment they originally bought for $100,000.

 

“Breaking new ground is never easy” — Kings of Leon’s NFT sale takes in $2 million
Kings of Leon have reportedly made a cool $2 million through sales of their tokenized album — with $600,000 going to a fund that’s designed to support live music crews affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Alas, the event hasn’t been without teething problems. Many of the band’s fans are complete newcomers to crypto and NFTs — and it can be a steep learning curve. This prompted Kings of Leon to extend their sale to March 20.

The NFTs have been released in collaboration with YellowHeart, a blockchain-based ticketing platform that is handling the auction on NFT marketplace OpenSea.

Six golden tickets have been released — giving fans front row seats for life, their own driver to gigs, and the chance to enjoy meet-and-greets with the band. One of the golden tickets fetched a whopping 89 ETH.

In other music news, the Russian punk feminist group Pussy Riot has revealed it is releasing four NFTs for its latest single to support a shelter for victims of domestic violence.

 

Bitcoin hits new record highs after agonizing two-week wait
What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, Bitcoiners were licking their wounds after a devastating flash crash that took it below $4,000. Fast forward to now, and BTC has now set a new all-time high above $59,000.

It took a couple of weeks to reach this milestone, with BTC falling below $45,000 along the way. But the bounceback indicates that bullish momentum remains unshaken. What remains to be seen is whether this spike is the product of weekend volatility, or the start of something bigger.

Of course, there are reasons to be cautious. ExoAlpha’s David Lifchitz said this week that, despite Bitcoin’s price being in a long-term uptrend, there are some reasons for a more bearish outlook for the short term. 

Tax season in the U.S. could prompt investors to sell off their holdings. It’s also March, traditionally a bearish month for the crypto sector.

A solution to scale Ethereum ‘100X’ is imminent and will get us through until Eth2, Vitalik says
With DeFi protocols flocking to rival blockchains — with Binance Smart Chain a big beneficiary of this exodus — Ethereum needs to take swift action to boost capacity and clamp down on sky-high transaction fees.

Eth2 remains some time away yet, but Vitalik Buterin has revealed that a temporary fix may be just around the corner: rollups.

Speaking on The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, he said Optimism’s layer-two solution could help Ethereum scale by a factor of 100. And by the time any additional capacity is needed, sharding “will have already been ready for a long time by then,” Buterin added.

Rollups process and store transaction data on a designated sidechain before bundling batches of transactions together onto Ethereum’s mainnet. This helps mitigate the blockchain’s scaling woes, where fierce competition for bandwidth on the Ethereum mainnet has resulted in exorbitant fees.

Optimism’s solution is set to launch in about a month, and the rollups are expected to be embraced by industry leaders in DeFi, with rumors suggesting the feature will be heavily utilized by V3 of Uniswap.

 

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NFT special! Beeple’s millions, Banksy profits, problems for Kings of Leon: Hodler’s Digest, March 7–13

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NFT representing incinerated Banksy painting fetches nearly $400k

NFTs are more complex than a passing fad

NFT special! Beeple’s millions, Banksy profits, problems for Kings of Leon: Hodler’s Digest, March 7–13

NFT representing incinerated Banksy painting fetches nearly $400k

NFTs are more complex than a passing fad

NFT special! Beeple’s millions, Banksy profits, problems for Kings of Leon: Hodler’s Digest, March 7–13

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