Christie’s Closes Digital Art Division as NFT Market Weakens
Christie’s has shut its digital art department, ending a short-lived initiative that integrated Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) alongside traditional auction items like paintings and sculptures, according to Now Media.
Two staff members departed at the end of August, including Vice President of Digital Art Nicole Sales Giles, while specialist Sebastian Sanchez will remain in New York. Giles had been a central figure in Christie’s digital art strategy, speaking at last year’s Art+Tech Summit in Hong Kong during Fintech Week.
At the summit, Giles emphasized that Christie’s applied the same valuation discipline to NFTs as to traditional art, but noted a key distinction: community engagement. “What’s unique with digital art is the community engagement aspect, which absolutely comes into play in a way it never has with traditional art,” she said.
Industry experts acknowledged that NFT valuations remain unsettled. Angelle Siyang-Le, director of Art Basel Hong Kong, commented: “We do not yet have a standardized understanding of [digital art’s] value… The excitement created awareness, but the next step is aligning standards of value.”
Market data highlights the fragility of the sector. NFT trading volume fell 45% last quarter to $867 million, even as sales counts rose 78% to 12.5 million, according to DappRadar. Floor prices for leading collections remain below their peaks: CryptoPunks trade around 46.6 ETH ($210,000), Bored Apes at 9.1 ETH ($41,000), and Moonbirds at 2.8 ETH ($12,600). By contrast, Ethereum has surged 76% over the past three months to $4,509, outperforming NFTs.
Some analysts argue that Christie’s move reflects market economics rather than full retreat, as NFTs increasingly blend into mainstream contemporary art sales rather than being treated as a separate collectible category.
The closure underscores the challenges NFTs face in establishing lasting market value. Without clearer standards and broader adoption, digital art risks remaining an adjunct to traditional works rather than forming a self-sustaining market.
