The first ever virtual home to be sold as a non-fungible token (NFT) has been bought for more than £370,000 at auction – despite not actually existing in real life.
The “Mars House” by Toronto-based digital artist Krista Kim was sold on digital art marketplace SuperRare for 288 Ether, a cryptocurrency that equated the sale to a value well in excess of the UK’s average house price.
Seemingly set in a mountain range on the surface of Mars, the futuristic home features transparent tables and chairs, glass walls, a curved banquette, and a glowing ceiling that oscillates through various colour gradients.
The house is also accompanied by music composed by Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Jeff Schroeder.
The purchaser of the “home” will receive a digital file containing the artwork, as well as an NFT that acts as a certificate of ownership and authentication, similar to the deed of a real house.
The record of ownership is then stored on a blockchain, which acts as a shared ledger. This is the first time a virtual “house” has ever been sold in this way.
The digital file can then be used on virtual or augmented reality platforms and apps.
The sale comes in a big month for digital art and design sales. Argentinian designer Andrés Reisinger recently sold a collection of “digital furniture” for a total in excess of £320,000, while “The First 5000 Days”, a digital collage by artist Beeple, was sold by Christie’s as an NFT for more than £50 millon.
The sale was not only the most expensive ever for a digital artwork, but it propelled Beeple to become one of the three most valuable living artists.
