META-DESIRE

From Christie’s to Sotheby’s, the year 2021 was marked by record sales at major auction houses: the work “Everydays: the First 5 000 Days” by digital artist Beeple sold for over $69 million and created an epiphenomenon in the world of contemporary art. Beeple, an unknown artist whose name is Mike Winkelmann, was propelled into the ranking of the top 3 artists selling the most expensive artwork during their lifetimes, alongside David Hockney and Jeff Koons. This sale marks the debut of a new artistic genre of the 21st century: digital art or crypto-art.

Thanks to this coup, a new concept emerged that is now talked about in media around the world: the NFT, acronym for “non-fungible token”. This revolutionary technology allows you to associate a certificate of authenticity to a digital asset, stored in the blockchain, which is reputed to be inviolable and unfalsifiable, therefore unique.

This “digital scarcity” opens new perspectives for the luxury industry. Major luxury houses such as Gucci, Burberry or Dolce & Gabbana were quick to take hold of the phenomenon, launching their own “tokens” in order to attract a new wealthy clientele, the crypto-rich.

The NFT surge does not stop at that: it extends into the Metaverse, new virtual worlds and the future of the internet. The Web3 is the focus of attention of the GAFAMs, but also of the giants of Asian tech and the unicorns of Silicon Valley. A technological war has begun and its potential is counted in billions.

A novelty effect? A speculative bubble?
An E-volution or a technological revolution?

This fourth issue of The Creative Peak opens the doors to a new world, that of NFTs and Metaverses: a “Far Web” to be conquered by the most daring, an Eldorado within reach of the most ingenious…are you ready to be the Player One?