The British auction giant Christie's is reportedly shutting down its department responsible for non-fungible token (NFT) sales and merging it into a broader department, a move that comes amid a downturn in the global art market.
According to Now Media on Monday, a Christie's spokesperson stated that this "strategic decision" will allow the 258-year-old British auction house to continue selling digital artworks (such as NFTs), but these items will be categorized under the larger 20th and 21st-century art category.
Now Media also reported that the auction giant has laid off two people, including the vice president of the digital art department, but has retained at least one digital art expert.
Christie's has had a significant influence in the NFT space, having sold artworks multiple times, including Mike "Beeple" Winkelmann's "Everydays: The First 5000 Days," which sold for $69.3 million in March 2021.
The auction house has also actively positioned itself in the Web3 space, launching an NFT auction platform in September 2022 and establishing a real estate team that only accepts cryptocurrency in July of that year.
Digital art consultant, curator, and collector Fanny Lakoubay stated on the X platform on Monday that she suspects Christie's move may be related to the "current contraction of the art market."
According to data released in April from the Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report 2025, the global art market continues to decline, with global sales expected to drop 12% to $57 billion in 2024, and total sales at auction houses falling 20% to $23 billion.
Lakoubay remarked, "Auction houses cannot establish full departments for businesses that generate lower revenue than other departments, even with some recent successful sales."
She added, "This is certainly not a positive public signal, but we should also remember: auction houses only focus on secondary sales of already well-known artists and brands. For digital art, this model is still too early to truly work and scale."
Lakoubay believes it may be a good time to focus on developing the primary market and introducing new digital artists to traditional collectors.
An NFT collector and member of the Doomed decentralized autonomous organization, Benji, stated that Christie's closure of its digital art department does not indicate weak demand for digital art, nor is it a sign that "institutions are no longer interested in our jpegs."
He speculated that the business model might be the reason for this decision, as it is "flawed and unsustainable," and this new direction could be Christie's "Kodak moment."
Benji said, "How can you charge a 25-30% commission on assets that require no authentication, storage, insurance, and transportation when your online competitor Gondi charges zero commission for the same sales?"
"I don't want great people to lose their jobs, but Christie's exit from this field is a net positive—fewer value extractors mean more value for collectors and artists."
Christie's did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph's request for comment.
The NFT market has experienced significant volatility in recent years. Last year was considered the worst year for trading volume and sales since 2020, partly due to increased market volatility and rising token prices.
Signs of recovery have emerged in 2025. In August, the sector's market value exceeded $9.3 billion, a 40% increase from July, driven by rising prices of Ethereum (ETH) related collectibles and Ether (ETH).
In recent weeks, the market has cooled somewhat, but the current market value has increased by 2% in the past 24 hours, reaching $5.97 billion.
Several top-ranking NFT collections have also seen growth. CryptoPunks rose 1.9% in the past 24 hours, with a trading volume of $208,319 from three transactions.
Yuga Labs' Bored Ape Yacht Club increased by 3.7%, with a trading volume exceeding $1.2 million from 30 transactions; while Pudgy Penguins rose by 2%, with a trading volume of $905,526 from 20 transactions.
Related: The U.S. Congress requests the Treasury Department to report on strategic Bitcoin (BTC) reserve details.
Original article: “Reportedly, auction giant Christie's shuts down NFT department”
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