Quick Breakdown
- Christie’s has shut down its standalone NFT department, moving sales into modern art.
- The decision follows a 12% drop in global art sales and layoffs within the auction house.
- Critics argue Christie’s commission model was flawed, calling the move its possible “Kodak moment.”
Christie’s Restructures Digital Art Sales
British auction powerhouse Christie’s is scaling back its non-fungible token (NFT) operations, folding them into its broader 20th and 21st-century art division. The move, described as a “strategic decision,” follows a slowdown in global art sales and signals a shift in how the 258-year-old institution plans to handle digital artworks.
According to Now Media, the decision also led to the departure of two staff members, including Christie’s vice president of digital art. One digital art specialist will remain to oversee sales.
Sad to see Christie’s closing their digital art department. The sale I had with them in 2023 is something I’ll always carry with me, a milestone I’m grateful for.
My thanks and best wishes to the team. 🖤 pic.twitter.com/BXamBYMUVM
— Laura El (@iamlaurael) September 8, 2025
From Beeple to Restructuring
Christie’s played a pivotal role in legitimizing NFTs as fine art, most famously auctioning Mike “Beeple” Winkelmann’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days for $69.3 million in March 2021. The firm later launched a dedicated NFT auction platform in 2022 and even introduced a crypto-only real estate team.
However, the recent contraction in both the traditional and digital art markets may have forced the house to recalibrate. The Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report 2025 noted a 12% dip in global art sales in 2024 to $57 billion, while auction house revenues slid 20% to $23 billion.
“Auction houses can’t justify a whole department when it brings in less revenue than the others,”
digital art adviser Fanny Lakoubay remarked, adding that Christie’s shift is “not a great public signal” but an opportunity for the primary digital art market to grow.
Critics Warn of a “Kodak Moment”
Not everyone sees the restructuring as a market-driven necessity. An NFT collector under the pseudonym Benji argued that Christie’s business model charging up to 30% commission on NFT sales was unsustainable compared to zero-fee platforms.
NFT Market Shows Signs of Recovery
While 2024 was marked as the worst year for NFTs since 2020, according to DappRadar, recent data points to a partial rebound. The NFT market showed significant signs of revival in July and August 2025, marking the strongest period since February.
NFT trading volumes rose 9%, while sales count declined slightly by 4%, indicating that collectors paid more on average per asset.
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