NFT Market = Art Market?
The first big NFT study has dropped, and Collectors Universe is expanding again.
Cultured is a newsletter by Otis that gets readers up to speed on the most interesting things going on at the intersection of finance, art, collectibles, NFTs, and more.
🗞 STORIES OF THE DAY
The NFT market is mostly run by a few power players, but buying in is cheaper than we thought
The first major study of the NFT ecosystem was recently released and the results are surprising. The vast majority of the 6 million transactions were performed by just 10% of traders.
The average price of NFTs sold was just $15, and only 1% of transactions were over $1,500. Take that with a grain of salt though — the study only covers the first quarter of 2021, before the NFT madness really kicked off.
Even though art NFTs have made the headlines, they comprise just a fraction of the market. Most (80%) NFT sales are for collectibles and games.
Our Take: The NFT market is starting to resemble the art market, but is still holding on to its democratic roots.
The large number of cheaper transactions suggest that we’re actually seeing the market segregate. High-value transactions are occuring between a small group of traders, much like the traditional art market. While there are a small number of power players, the fact that most NFT transactions remain so affordable suggests that the market is in the midst of a major fracture.
Collectors Universe buys Card Ladder
Collectors Universe, PSA’s parent company, bought Card Ladder earlier this month.
Card Ladder is a popular price guide and analytics platform for sports cards. It tracks nearly 20,000 cards and pulls its data from 15 industry sources, as well as other major pop reports.
Its data will be integrated with Collectors Universe. We’re pretty sure that means it’ll find its way into PSA’s pop reports in the near future.
Our Take: Collectors Universe is taking an acquisitions-focused approach to dominating collectibles sales and grading.
With demand for PSA’s services at an all-time high, Collectors Universe has been on a buying spree. It bought the company PSA uses to handle card submissions in April, followed by Wata Games and Goldin Auctions in July. The emphasis on acquisitions likely comes from Collectors’ CEO, venture capitalist Nat Turner, who bought the company for $850 million earlier this year.
✨ AROUND THE INTERNET
The massive console shortage has led to a cottage industry of streamers and tweeters dropping deets about availability and offering advice on where to buy devices.
Could be you: The Wall Street Journal tagged along with Felix Xu, a major NFT art collector, at Art Basel Miami next week.
Dark Horse Comics, the creator of such cult following titles as Hellboy and The Umbrella Academy may be looking to sell their IP to a major studio or streaming service.
Last week, thousands of bots swarmed a Steam arcade collection after a bug let users create (and sell) trading cards on the platform.
Alex Israel, the artist known for his collabs with famous brands, has teamed up with Snapchat for a new show in Miami.
Grimes just dropped a new single. It’s definitely about Elon Musk.
Breakup playlist: Karl Marx audiobooks
