Not everyone is a fan of NFTs. Since non-fungible tokens gained popularity, there has been backlash against them due to financialization and speculation, as well as environmental concerns. However, with Ethereum's switch to proof-of-stake, some of these issues have been addressed.

Christie's auction house made history in 2021 with the sale of Beeple's "Everydays" collage for $69 million. Since then, Christie's has embraced NFTs, with various auctions and investments in the crypto space, including the launch of Christie's 3.0 NFT marketplace.

Today, Christie's is holding its first auction of inscriptions, a form of NFT-like tokens on Bitcoin created by the Ordinals Protocol. This auction marks a turning point for Ordinals, indicating a potential longevity for these digital artworks.

Nicole Sales Giles, Christie's Director of Digital Art Sales, stated that there is a growing interest in inscriptions and that the market has matured significantly since Christie's involvement in 2021. The curated works at the auction include pieces by artists Tony Tafuro and berkinbags, with starting bids at $100.

While inscriptions may not completely replace current NFT standards, they offer artists the ability to inscribe data directly on-chain, unlike NFTs that act as digital signatures for off-chain data. The auction comes at a time when inscription adoption is growing, with some of the largest NFT projects built on Bitcoin.

Despite controversies within the Bitcoin community, inscriptions are here to stay. Christie's sees the auction as an opportunity to explore the artistic and historical significance of these collections and observe the community's evolution around them.

Last edited at：2024/12/16