The 15 Most Expensive NFT Sales of All Time

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The noble goal of the platform is to help large cultural institutions and museums adapt to this extraordinary maelstrom of technological and social change, while also fighting the unpleasant consequences that the pandemic has brought with it.

Celebrities and their dominant presence in the NFT space is the reason why NFTs are becoming more popular than ever. Some celebrities are launching their own NFT collections while some are obsessing over tokenizing their tweets, songs, and even drawing of  pets as an NFT.

For sure, the NFT space is wild and there are always some celebrities who can’t get enough of it. It’s also fair to say NFTs have evolved into a medium for connecting with fans, expanding the reach and ultimately promoting a technology that has the potential to become mainstream in the coming years.

If you are wondering who these celebrities are that are actively involved in the NFT space, we’ve rounded up a few of the major celebrities riding the NFT wave.

A dynamic non-fungible token (NFT) of Antoni Gaudí’s iconic Casa Batlló in Barcelona has been auctioned off at Christie’s in New York for €1. 3 million. The work of the Turkish-American artist Refik Anadol – a reinterpretation of the Art Nouveau building’s façade – is the first «live», constantly changing NFT of a Unesco World Heritage building by collecting climate data from the city in real-time. The buyer’s identity remains unknown. Previously, 47,000 people had attended a projection of the piece on site at Barcelona’s Passeig de Gràcia.

Unique perspectives from professionals around the world

We recently caught up with Chris Cummings from Iconic Moments and spoke all about the Iconic Moments NFT marketplace and NFT drops. He explains how they built it to have the feel of a museum gallery, the benefits of their NFT drops, and why NFTs are the best way to save cultural institutions.

Buy iconic moments. Save the world’s history.

Museums need help due to the impact of COVID-19Today, up to 37% of cultural institutions are at risk of closing permanently due to the financial effects of COVID-19. The world is losing access to millions of historical moments everyday as some of our favorite cultural institutions close their doors forever.

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wanna make some changes in my life, and 2011 would be my hopeful-LIST!

que locura de precio! D:
que bueno no tengo ps5 hahaha

To finish, I tell all those who want to help in some way, that all their money will be multiplied x10, it also promises a second much better and more organized collection inspired by my life, I hope this is the beginning of many things to come💪 🇻🇪 #NFTshill #NFTGiveaways #NFT

This person gave me the opportunity to work from Axie Infinity, he also saw my interest in #NFTs, and recommended me to create my first collection where I am inspired by what I like the most Sports, part 4 #NFTGiveaways #NFT #NFTshill

About 1 year ago I discovered Axie Infinity, and through this NFT game I paid for my studies and expenses, I also met many people, one of them is the manager of the academy where I am, part 3 #NFTGiveaways #NFTCommunity #NFT #nftart

I am a Venezuelan🇻🇪 with a desire for greatness, with the desire to give a lot in this country, I have been studying for 3 years, I only have 2 years left to finish my university degree, part 2 #NFTGiveaways #NFTCommunity #NFT #OpenSeaNFT

Good evening holders, how are you? I make this statement to everyone, I need her help to continue my studies now I don’t have any money to pay for them, I can’t help my girlfriend with hers either, I need her help please #NFTCommunity #NFTGiveaways #NFTCollection #ayudaeconomica

Have you already seen our new #NFTs at #openseaartists? With your purchase you will help me financially with my studies that are of great importance to me, in Venezuela it is not so easy to pay for studies and through this income I can dedicate more time to studies #NFTGiveaways

With this income I hope to pay for personal and student expenses and to get ahead in my country 🇻🇪, which as everyone knows is going through a historic crisis and through the #NFTs I would make a radical change in my life, and that of my family. #NFTCommunity #NFTGiveaways #NFT

For a year I entered the NFT world through Axie Infinity, it helped me a lot but when the token low in value it became more difficult for me to pay my expenses, that’s why I decided to start as a creator of #NFTs #NFTCommunity #NFTGiveaways #OpenSeaNFT

I tell you my story, I am a Venezuelan with a desire for great success, with great expectations in this world of NFTs! I do this out of passion and to help pay for daily expenses that I need to finish university studies and own ventures Pt 1 #NFTs #NFT

Good evening friends, I present to you my NFT Sport Legends collection! I am a Venezuelan looking for a better quality of life through these NFTs! They would help a lot with your purchases, Thank you! #NFTs #NFTCommunity #NFTGiveaways #OpenSeaNFT #NFT

This month LIFE joins other major collections like the Associated Press and the British Museum to launch its own set of NFTs.

Founded in 1936, LIFE, the first photography publication in the United States, coined the term “photo essay” and established a unique visual storytelling style in popular culture. With work from trailblazing photographer Margaret Bourke-White, the first drop offers the opportunity for serious collectors to own selected authentic, important pieces of photography from the cover essay of LIFE’s first issue.

LIFE and KnownOrigin will feature a virtual gallery in Decentraland on KnownOrigin’s plot of land. As a continuation of LIFE’s cutting-edge philosophy, the gallery will form an immersive world celebrating LIFE’s inception and its digital form. The LIFE gallery platform will display NFTS and additional LIFE photography, allowing collectors to display their unique pieces.

LIFE will offset any emissions generated from the NFT minting process from sales. A portion of the proceeds from the NFT sales will also be donated to charities chosen by the LIFE team, with the first drop benefitting the Malala Fund.

Here’s an exclusive first look at the first pieces we’ll be releasing as NFTs on KnownOrigin.

LIFE’s first cover on November 23, 1963 of Fort Peck Dam. (Margaret Bourke-White/ LIFE Picture Collection /Shutterstock)

Original print of first LIFE Cover from 1936, that will be on view at our largest retrospective to date, at the Boston MFA, in October 2022. (Margaret Bourke-White/ LIFE Picture Collection /Shutterstock)

A contact sheet from 1936 of aerial views of Fort Peck Dam’s landscape. (Margaret Bourke-White/ LIFE Picture Collection /Shutterstock)

Two children leaning against a sign reading “Entering New Deal, Speed Limit 25 Miles Per Hour” marking the boundary of New Deal, one of the shanty towns which have grown up around the work-relief project at Fort Peck Dam in Montana, 1936. (Margaret Bourke-White/ LIFE Picture Collection /Shutterstock)

NFTs were the fastest growing industry in 2021 with sales of $23bn up from $200m in 2020. But with this fast paced industry, these tokens have attracted a huge amount of attention for their perceived wealth and value. This has created an arena of speculative markets where people start to believe that simply minting (creating) an NFT and selling them via a platform will immediately make them huge sums of money.

For Chris Cummings, founder and CEO of Iconic Moments, this felt like the wrong approach for museums interested in NFTs:

“I don’t believe an NFT should just be an item in the public domain and all of a sudden you list for sales of 10,000 and start selling it. There’s nothing new there and also, it’s something everyone has access to. I think an NFT should be something that you approach in the same way you approach an exhibition and it’s focused on creating or driving a story, driving impact and doing something that should stand on its own two feet

A Web3 Storytelling Platform

Iconic Moments is an emerging web3 platform dedicated to cultural institutions. It is looking to develop an alternative approach to NFTs, one which is more reflective of museums.

Cummings has experience in digital storytelling for cultural organizations through Pass It Down, a digital exhibition building platform he established six years ago, which creates experiences designed to engage and drive revenue. Building on the mission of Pass it Down, he raised $2m last year to develop Iconic Moments:

“Our experience means we can approach NFTs within the industry, which I think is important because we understand the goals. A big part of our work is to provide education as to what an NFT is and the positives and negatives you should know about them. There is a wrong way to sell NFTs and there is a right way to approach selling NFTs and most people are approaching it the wrong way

Iconic Moments is looking to build an alternative platform of cultural institutions that not only guides but educates interested institutions in this new space. This includes finding different ways of showcasing their clients’ collections and shift the focus of the space on curation, an area that Cummings notes that the space is lacking:

“If you were to try to buy or find an NFT to buy on OpenSea, the largest platform which was recently valued at $13. 3bn, you are going to have to sort through more than 25 million NFTs. There’s no curation, it’s like going to Walmart on Black Friday. The other problem is when you see an NFT, all you are seeing is the price and the history, that’s it. It’s literally, ‘here’s the digital item, sell the digital item’. And for us that misses the point of what a museum is and what our responsibility is

Iconic Moments is looking to support their clients in this space whilst also being respectful of their collections. For example, they are working with one client who 3D scans buildings around the world that could be destroyed due to climate change, terrorism, industrialisation or war.

“We can sell NFTs to help with the preservation of that building. We are curating a community of buyers that want to support these projects, museums and cultural institutions around the world. With every NFT we are telling a story and the history of it. We can also tell the story of the museum and the social impact of your purchase, how it will help the museum and what will enable them to do – other digitalisation, other preservation, new exhibitions. No one else in the world is doing this, everyone else is just selling digital things and that’s it. And they are missing the storytelling and social impact in curation

“To me NFTs, if you approach them with storytelling and a good experience, are similar to the way you would interact with any other art. You want to do it in a way that makes an impact and makes you want to collect. That is why I think there is a right way and a ground-breaking way to approach this

Tim Deakin is a journalist and editorial consultant working with a broad range of online publications.

In January of 2015, the band known as 2814 released their sophomore album, Birth of a New Day,
a seminal work that ignited the Dreampunk subgenre of Vaporwave music. The album’s cover artwork was equally as popular, influencing artists
all over the world to adopt the neon dreampunk style.

Recently, motion graphics artist Gustavo Torres—better known as Kidmograph reimagined that music and artwork for modern audiences in a series of NFTs. Launched on Nifty Gateway, both the limited
and open
collections were snapped up by artists and collectors.

We chatted with Torres, the Argentina-based artist behind the
original album art, as well, to learn about his process. Here’s what he
had to say about turning the Cinema 4D artwork he created for the album
into NFTs, using new C4D features and the GPU power of Redshift.

What led to the creation of dreampunk and your 2814 album art?

Gustavo Torres is an art director, motion designer and illustrator in Argentina.

Torres: I started the Kidmograph tumblr account in
2012 when I began working as a freelancer. As the blog grew in
popularity, I was able to start finding work and I was working with a
lot of musicians. The band 2814 reached out through the blog, and I
already knew of their music and was a big fan.

They are actually a duo and have solo projects Hong Kong Express and t
e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者. They were the musicians who were really driving
the scene with the Dream Catalogue label. When we initially met, they
wanted to create the now iconic artwork for their second album Birth of a New Day. That visual look was growing at the time and it had a bit of an
abstract feeling mixed with the dreampunk movement they created. The
original artwork really resonated with people, it was used in a lot of
YouTube playlists and vaporwave collections.

Dreampunk is all about this vast city and dystopia where you feel
alone even though you are surrounded by people. Dreamwave is all about
melancholy. It’s not exactly nostalgic, but it encompasses the feeling
of remembering moments in life. It’s like you are trying to recover a
specific moment, an inner search or sorts. We wanted to translate that
into the artwork.

How did you enter the crypto and NFT space?

Torres: A few colleagues were already doing some
crypto. I knew about SuperRare, which is where I minted my first NFTs. Then there was an explosion of different platforms and artists. Time in
crypto art is going really fast. The experience in general is still new,
and we are learning how to use new tools and educate ourselves about
the content and how to give value to digital content.

For this release I talked with a team at Nifty Gateway and explained
the project. The band and I wanted to create loopable versions of each
song so they could play endlessly. The whole concept fits really well
with what I love to do, which is GIFs and loops. All the people at Nifty
Gateway were already fans of my work and it made for a really cool
experience.

What changed between the original artwork and the NFT release?

Torres: The first artwork was built in Cinema 4D
using the physical renderer in 2014. Back then, I probably used some
Greyscalegorilla plugins and Photoshop. Things are different in 2021: iI
started using Redshift about four years ago, so I brought what I
learned about Redshift and translated the original piece into my modern
workflow.

My brain is all over the place, and my method is usually to
replicated all of the visual imagery that’s in my head on the computer. With these updated pieces I wanted to go into Redshift and experiment
with different materials and lighting. I had a lot of content to develop
and build, but the excitement was the same as back then.

Shinjuku Golden Gai (above) and True Love (below) were part of the collection that sold quickly on Nifty Gateway.

I was so inspired by the music and concept, and all of these new
experiences allowed me to expand my ideas in ways I couldn’t do before. For example, I made some renders that I used as textures on objects in
the scenes, so the reflections are now animated materials. I definitely
didn’t know how to do that back then.

What was your initial concept for the NFTs and how did that evolve?

Torres: We had to find a balance between what we
wanted to do and what we could accomplish in the time. We thought about
doing the whole album, and in a way we did. 2814 went back into the
studio to create loopable versions of each song that was a minute and
thirty seconds long. Then, I made the scenes with each song in mind. We
talked about color and matching the vibes of the original artwork while
giving it a modern feel.

It was a really exciting experience, but we had to fight a lot of
expectations. In crypto, you have a lot of collectors, but artists are
also watching the space to see what you are doing. I felt really good
until the drop, and then I got so nervous. You just have to go away and
hide for an hour. It was such a relief once everything was over.

What do you plan to do now that the release is over?

Torres: Now that the sale is over, we are using some
of the funds to build another project. Being able to invest the money
into your work is amazing because you can feed yourself and start
something new. That’s a great feeling. Regardless of the final numbers
and the money and all that, we really felt that the people were very
happy with the drop. We want collectors to hold onto those pieces and
feel the value.

Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg released his debut NFT collection, “A Journey with the Dogg”, in late March 2021, which is a compilation of the rapper’s early recollections blended with the medium of NFTs.

The enduringly successful rapper revealed that his work provides a look into the life of a “young Snoop”, with eight pieces available in limited quantities, including the original tune “NFT”, “Snoop Doge Coins”, “Diamond Joint”, and “Deez Nuts”.

The internationally famous innovator and entrepreneur also expressed his enthusiasm for the notion, stating that he believes the technology would revolutionize the way artists conduct business. Snoop Dogg earned nearly $100,000 for only one of the items sold during the drop, which lasted only 48 hours.

That was just the beginning; since then, Snoop Dogg took up many NFT projects and collaborated with prominent artists in the NFT space including Billy Ray Cyrus, and Wiz Khalifa among many others.

Snoop Dogg, known as Cozomo de’ Medici in the NFT space, was seen a lot many times supporting emerging NFT artists such as XCOPY, DeeKay, Yam Karkai etc.

Ellen DeGeneres

With her first sale in late April, American comedian Ellen DeGeneres joined the NFT gold rush. As her first NFT, DeGeneres decided to auction her Ellen Show explanation of NFTs, as well as a physically drawn picture of a cat that was displayed in the clip.

The famous American talk show host earned $33,495 from the 24-hour event, which she contributed to the World Central Kitchen, a food-aid charity created by Chef José Andrés.

Steve Aoki

‘Dream Catcher’, a psychedelic collection made up of 11 unique works of art mixed with boundary-breaking soundscapes and cutting edge computer animations, is a joint endeavor between Steve Aoki and world-famous 3D illustrator Antoni Tudisco.

With Aoki’s experimental audio soundscapes, Antoni’s surreal 3D images bounce and shapeshift in real-time.

The latest move really made a statement in the NFT space when top NFT influencers Snoop Dogg and Steve Aoki came together for the first-ever virtual music video produced in The Sandbox metaverse for the track “House I Built”.

Eminem

Eminem released his first NFT collection, “Shady Con”, in late April. Eminem’s NFT collection was a digital festival that provided fans the option to own an NFT collectible through Nifty Gateway. The unique recordings were released ahead of the limited-edition festival and included original instrumental beats created by the rapper.

Eminem stated his love for collectibles when he was younger and he’s pleased to rebuild some of those collections with NFTs. Eminem has also grabbed an Ape NFT from one of the most popular pfp collections BAYC in the NFT space. The BAYC NFT #9055 labeled “EminApe” depicts an ape dressed in a khaki army hat and a gold chain necklace resembling him.

Jack Dorsey

All proceeds, according to Dorsey, were converted to bitcoin and sent to GiveDirectly, a nonprofit that aids the poor, benefitting its COVID-19 response in Africa.

Paris Hilton

Another prominent celebrity that steals the show in the NFT space whenever she appears is none other than Paris Hilton. She has long been a fan of Bitcoin and Ethereum and has secretly launched her first NFT in August 2020, auctioning a drawing of her pet on the NFT site Cryptograph and donating the earnings to charity.

Since then, the socialite has released official NFTs with artist Blake Kathryn, which have sold for nearly US $1. 1 million.

Paris Hilton’s other 2 NFTs “Hummingbird in My Metaverse” and “Legend of Love” sold out for $10,000 each, for a total of $220,000. She even went one step ahead, and gifted NFTs to the audience and host of the Tonight Show Jimmy Fallon. The giveaway NFT collection “Forever Fairytale” consists of a glimpse of memories of Paris Hilton with her new husband Carter Reum.

Elon Musk

A lot of business tycoons, celebrities and sports personalities are taking a great deal of participation in the NFT space, which now has another name on the ever growing list. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, created an electronic music track about the NFT mania and sold it as an NFT. The top bid for the looping video that accompanied the music was US$1. 1 million, but Musk changed his mind and opted not to sell it.

Kate Moss

Johnny Depp

American actor and musician Johnny Depp isn’t lagging in the NFT race for all the right reasons. He marked his entry into the NFT space with his own NFT collection “Never Fear Truth”, which features collections of his friends and heroes in the artworks from his personal creation.

The collection of 11,111 NFTs includes Johnny Depp’s portraits of his friends and heroes including Marlon Brando, Hunter S. Thompson, Elizabeth Taylor, Lily-Rose Depp, Tim Burton, Depp’s late dog Mooh, Depp himself, and a fictional character created by his son, called Bunnyman. The 25% proceeds were donated to charities.

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Некоторые NFT цифрового искусства, например, эти персонажи пиксель-арта, являются примерами процедурального искусства

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Создать уникальный токен и связать с ним медиафайл можно самостоятельно и бесплатно на сервисе opensea. Для этого потребуется адрес в Ethereum. Если его нет, для генерации можно воспользоваться множеством сервисов криптовалютных кошельков, одним из вариантов которых является MetaMask в форме расширения для популярных браузеров или мобильного приложения, не требующий регистрации и передачи каких-либо персональных данных.

Передать уникальный токен на другой Ethereum-адрес, вне зависимости, принадлежит он тому же человеку или другому, возможно только по процедурам обработки смарт-контрактов, что подразумевает уплату системе (сети узлов Ethereum) комиссии.

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Cummings: Besides supporting a cultural institution and owning a digital asset, each Iconic Moments’ NFT includes different utilities, including access to special events, private discord channels, discounts for museum tickets, merchandise, and more.

Why are NFTs the best way to ‘save cultural institutions’?

COVID threatened many institutions with closure. We want cultural institutions to remain open and their assets available to the public to enjoy and learn from.

What has the response been within the cultural institutions and organizations Iconic Moments is working with? Was there skepticism at first?

What’s next for Iconic Moments? Any future projects you’re excited about?

Cummings: The market is changing quickly and we’re constantly seeing innovations, so I don’t want to name any future projects yet. I will say one of the things that we’re most excited about is the decentralized community NFT purchases build.

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A new way to spread culture according to Iconic Moments

As we all know, the pandemic has brought with it an endless series of unpleasant consequences. In fact, in the last two years, we have not only had to face a huge health problem but also a huge problem related to employment, social, educational and cultural issues.

With this in mind, Iconic Moments has tried to think of and develop a project that would stem the closure of large cultural institutions.

In fact, the data speak for themselves: up to 37% of cultural institutions are at risk of permanent closure due to the financial effects of COVID-19.

This means that the world is about to lose access to millions of works every day, with some of the smaller cultural institutions already closing their doors for good.

The team at Iconic Moments has therefore come up with a way to modernize the old operation of cultural institutions and raise the funds needed to ensure that we don’t lose access to fantastic art assets.

The goals of the innovative project

The buyer then, along with the non-fungible token, also receives, as a surprise, an extra gift that can be:

• a ticket to a particular cultural event;
• a year-round subscription;
• VIP access to a ceremony.

The power of blockchain

Iconic Moments has thus decided to take advantage of the great potential of NFTs and the metaverse.

The latter proved to be perfect tools to allow museums to digitally reach a new generation of visitors and more easily spread the word about history and art.

Shawn Mendes

After the success of its Mesut Özil line, which grossed over $500,000, musician Shawn Mendes joined the marketplace OpenSea with a collaboration with Genies to sell innovative wearables. On OpenSea, items ranging from virtual guitars to necklaces, vests, and earrings were available for purchase, earning Mendes almost $600,000.

Mendes donated the revenues of the sale to the Shawn Mendes Foundation Wonder Grants, which support young activists with bold ideas.

Many NFTs are created solely for the purpose of the NFT. Walk us through the pros and cons of releasing NFTs of ‘iconic moments’, that is

Cummings: I don’t want to undermine any other NFT project: we’ve seen a lot of talented artists release work and we continue to be impressed by the NFT community. Usually, in this case, only a digital asset exists.

However, a lot of the NFTs we see created are speculative and very temporal. At Iconic Moments we deal in timeless historical moments and art. By purchasing one of the Iconic Moments’ digital assets, you are directly supporting the museum that houses the physical work.

Some folks may say that NFTs (and crypto in general) are risky investments because of their volatility. Is this a particular concern for Iconic Moments? How does Iconic Moments NFTs counter this?

Cummings: I’m not sure there are any investments that do not come with a risk. Iconic Moments NFTs are like digital lithographs that support the cultural institution that houses the asset directly. By purchasing an NFT from Iconic Moments you become a patron of that institution and join a community with similar interests.

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