This NFT of an NFT Just Sold for $10 Million

The NFT craze continues to explode, as for the first time, an artist has bought an NFT of the NFT that points to his own work of digital art — for $10 million.

The artist and collector made a winning bid of $10 million for a smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain that gives him ownership of a smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain that gives him theoretical ownership of a version of his own work of digital art. 

Artist Pierre E. Madskem bought the NFT of the NFT from an anonymous crypto trader and art collector who goes by the name of Mierre E. Padskem. This is the first time that a non-fungible token pointing to another non-fungible token has been minted, auctioned, and sold.

As well as being the winning bidder, Madskem is the artist behind the photograph of a drawing of a picture of some Monopoly money — “Horny Copia 721” — that is the NFT that is now owned by Madskem’s NFT. Madskem was delighted at being the highest bidder in the auction and is now proud at having taken part in what will likely prove to be a pivotal moment in the evolution of cryptocurrencies and the NFT marketplace. 

Speaking to Fstoppers, Madskem explained why he decided to invest:

It’s exciting. Blockchain technology offers us new models of ownership of digital art. Previously, I could buy and sell the thing that says that I owned the thing, but now I can buy and sell the thing that says that I own the thing that says that I own the thing. I can see this having a big impact on the value of the thing that says that I own the thing, as I think collectors will be excited to buy a thing that is already owned by a thing that says it owns that thing.

He continues:

The models for ownership are constantly being expanded by blockchain technology. Until NFTs, it wasn’t really possible to trade in ownership of the art being produced by digital creators, and now all of a sudden I can own a smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain that has some metadata that says that I own a smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain that has some metadata that says I own a photo of a drawing of a picture of some Monopoly money. The multiple tiers of ownership will undoubtedly open up new ways for artists to make money.

When asked about his digital artwork, Madskem outlined his inspiration:

Horny Copia 721 is a testimonial to the complex layers of digital property brought about by new technologies and how money, and therefore value, is nothing but a theoretical construct that is collectively agreed upon to allow us to accumulate wealth by taking it from others who think that they can also make money. NFTs have the power to transform the entire system of commerce, and my photograph of a picture of a drawing of some Monopoly money is not an act of defiance but is instead a tribute to the historical moment of a movement that is changing the way that we understand the means by which we create the concept of how we represent the models through which we live our lives.

Bidding on Horny Copia 721 is yet to start but given that the NFT of the NFT has sold for such a lucrative price, Madskem expects that it will generate a lot of interest, potentially breaking Beeple’s record $69 million sale a few weeks ago. 

The artist told us:

In minting the work, I chose to set the commission of this NFT at 100%. This means that when I come to resell it on the secondary market, I receive all of the money which, to be honest, is a huge incentive to buy it from myself. I hope I can afford to give myself a good price as I really deserve my support and the commission will help to offset my expenditure.