Twitter NFT Avatars 🌀
Twitter launches an NFT verification feature, Christie's refocuses on the Chinese market
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.
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🗞 STORIES OF THE DAY
Twitter has launched a verification feature for NFT profile pictures
Thanks to a collaboration with OpenSea, Twitter users can now link NFTs to their profile pictures.
Users verify their ownership of popular character NFTs like Bored Apes or CryptoPunks by linking their Ethereum wallets to the platform. The hope is that this will cut down on so-called “right clickers” — users who “right click and save” to download and use NFTs that they don’t own.
The catch: you’ll need to subscribe to Twitter Blue, the company’s $3/month subscription service.
Our Take: Social media platforms are going all-in on Web3.
Twitter’s ex-CEO Jack Dorsey is famously pro-crypto (he has a particular penchant for Bitcoin). The platform’s embrace of NFTs signals that Twitter is looking to maintain its dominance as we move into the metaverse. Twitter hasn’t had much luck with the Twitter Blue product, but appealing to the platform’s large crypto community may be a critical move in expanding Blue’s success. With both Facebook and Instagram reportedly pursuing plans to create and sell NFTs, it’s clear that no platform wants to be left behind.
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Christie’s adjusts big-dollar evening sale to appeal to growing Chinese market
The auction house is reformatting its mid-season modern and contemporary evening sale as a relay-style sale. The March 1 event will start off in Shanghai before moving to London later in the night.
Collectors in mainland China were historically boxed out of marquee auctions, which almost always take place in Western Europe or the United States. The relay sale gives Christie’s access to China’s booming art market.
Christie’s is the only auction house that’s licensed to hold live auctions on the mainland, giving it a powerful advantage over competitors like Sotheby’s and Phillips.
Our Take: As the pandemic (hopefully) begins to wane in severity, major auction houses have China back in the crosshairs.
China has been a major source of interest for auction houses for years — it’s considered the third-largest art market in the world, behind the U.S. and U.K. Before the pandemic, auction houses were making inroads in the country, but didn’t invest there on the same level as major Western markets. The decision to hold a relay sale suggests that Christie’s now sees Chinese collectors as critical to its success.
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✨ AROUND THE INTERNET
It’s been a rough week for crypto, but the NFT market is still moving along. Weekly sales hit $4.7 billion on Friday, up 81% from the previous week.
Thierry Mugler, the iconic French designer who dressed Kim K, Beyonce, and Lady Gaga, passed away on Sunday at the age of 73.
Studying to become a Supreme Court justice? Consider placing a bid on RBG’s personal library, which is currently up for auction at Bonham’s.
A popular fan-made Nintendo FPS has been scrubbed from the internet by the company’s lawyers. It’s the latest example of the gaming giant’s lawyers taking an aggressive stance on fan projects.
Super Bowl ticket holders can now claim an NFT of their ticket. It’s the latest attempt by the NFL to capitalize on the crypto craze ahead of its biggest game of the year.
The Millennial Numismatist, Illustrated. We don’t need to tell you coin collecting is big. But the NYT just found out and they made a cool comic profiling collectors.
Source: NYT
