Christie’s Bets Big on Tradition as NFTs Lose Their Luster

Christie’s, the iconic auction house, is restructuring its digital art operations, marking a notable shift in its NFT strategy. The company has reportedly closed its standalone digital art department, with key staff, including Vice President of Digital Art Nicole Sales Giles, leaving the firm as of late August. According to a spokesperson for Christie’s, the decision was described as a “strategic realignment,” and digital art will now be sold within the broader 20th- and 21st-century art category [1]. This move reflects a broader industry trend as the NFT market faces a prolonged downturn following its 2021 peak.

The reorganization comes nearly four years after Christie’s made headlines with the sale of Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days for $69.3 million. That transaction not only set a record for the highest price paid for a digital artwork but also marked the auction house’s first foray into NFTs and is widely credited with catalyzing the 2021–2022 NFT boom [1]. However, since then, the NFT market has experienced a sharp decline. In 2022, Christie’s reported NFT sales of $5.9 million—a 96 percent drop from the previous year. By August 2024, reports indicated that 95 percent of NFTs had become inactive, with the average owner suffering a 44.5 percent loss [1].

The restructuring also aligns with the broader leadership shift at Christie’s, following the appointment of CEO Bonnie Brennan in February 2025 [2]. Brennan’s leadership has overseen a series of cost-cutting and strategic recalibrations. The shuttering of the digital art department is seen as part of this broader strategy, as the auction house navigates a challenging digital art landscape. Other industry players have also downsized their NFT efforts. For instance, Sotheby’s reportedly laid off staff in its NFT and Metaverse divisions, leaving only a handful of employees in the space [1].

The decision raises questions about the future of Christie’s on-chain auction platform, 3.0, which was launched in September 2022. This platform, once a flagship of the auction house’s digital ambitions, hosted exhibitions and partnerships, including collaborations with Now Media during major art events like Art Basel Miami and Frieze Seoul [3]. The folding of digital sales into broader contemporary art categories signals a move away from the specialized, standalone approach that defined the market’s peak. The shift may also reflect a strategic pivot away from the volatility and speculative nature of NFTs toward more stable, traditional art categories.

In parallel, the broader NFT and crypto sectors continue to face challenges, with multiple platforms shutting down over the past two years. Additionally, the rise of AI in art creation has intensified debates over intellectual property and artistic authenticity, further complicating the digital art landscape. Christie’s has already faced backlash over its involvement in AI-generated art auctions, with thousands of artists protesting what they described as “mass theft” of human creativity [3]. These tensions underscore the evolving dynamics in the digital art sector and highlight the risks associated with integrating emerging technologies into traditional markets.

Despite these challenges, Christie’s remains committed to digital art. The auction house will continue to offer digital works, albeit within its traditional art sales framework. The move reflects a pragmatic approach to a market that, while still evolving, has yet to recover from its recent downturn. As the company refocuses its efforts, it remains to be seen whether the NFT space will regain its former momentum or remain a niche segment of the broader art market.

Source:

[1] Christie's Reportedly Closes Digital Art Department (https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/christies-reportedly-closes-digital-art-department-1234751156/)

[2] Christie's winds down digital art department as its NFT ... (https://cryptobriefing.com/christies-beeple-nft-sale-closure/)

[3] Christie's closes its dedicated digital art department (https://www.mitrade.com/insights/news/live-news/article-3-1105964-20250909)