The biggest winner in NFTs, Beeple, has completely cashed out and stated that NFTs are a bubble
After obtaining $53 million worth of ETH in a record-breaking NFT art auction, crypto artist Mike Winkelmann (also known as Beeple) wasted no time cashing out.This article was published on Babbit News, author: Liam Frost, translated by: Kyle.
In a previous auction of crypto artworks at Christie's, Beeple's work fetched a staggering $69.3 million in ETH. After deducting auction fees and taxes, Beeple himself received ETH worth $53 million. On Monday, Beeple told the media outlet The New Yorker that he was quickly scared by the volatility of ETH and immediately converted all his ETH into dollars.
"Boom, I had $53 million in my account. Fxxx," Beeple recalled, remembering the day he received the money in Miami while celebrating on a booked private jet. "I'm not a pure crypto enthusiast. I was creating digital art long before all this. If all this NFT stuff disappeared tomorrow, I would still be creating digital art," he said.
Beeple's NFT work "Everydays: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS" was sold at Christie's auction house on March 11 for a record-breaking $69.3 million. The auction sparked a bidding war, with Tron founder Justin Sun losing to the anonymous NFT collector Metakovan at the last moment, who later revealed his identity—Vignesh Sundaresan.
Beeple: NFTs are a "Bubble"
In recent months, the NFT market has surged, attracting increasing amounts of funding, including from artists, celebrities, and brands. Just yesterday, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey sold an NFT of his first tweet for $2.9 million.
Unlike traditional cryptocurrency tokens, each NFT contains unique identifying data. Therefore, NFTs can indeed be classified individually (or as part of a small batch), providing scarcity for digital assets. Any digital media can be linked to an NFT, just like Beeple's $69 million artwork.
Beeple may have made a fortune from NFT art, but he holds no illusions about the current NFT craze. He stated during an interview with Fox News on Sunday that NFT prices are "absolutely" a bubble.
Beeple said, "To be honest, I absolutely think this is a bubble."
He compared the NFT craze to the early days of the internet. The bubble burst, wiping out a lot of junk, but it didn't eliminate the internet. Therefore, the NFT technology itself is strong enough, and the lifespan of the technology will outlast the NFT artworks."
