Art Blocks Resurgence? Collections See Revival Following Sotheby’s 3AC Sale

Art Blocks is currently witnessing a remarkable revival, demonstrated by transaction volumes that we haven’t observed regularly since the onset of the bear market. During a May 23 Proof Daily Countdown episode, NFTStatistics shared that Art Blocks achieved over $1 million in trading volume on May 22. This marks the first time it’s seen these heights since March. Major sales followed, with Ringers #30 going for 52.5 ETH and a 370 ETH Fidenza sale, all within a 24-hour period. Popular collections, such as Chromie Squiggles, primarily drove this influx of activity.

So, why the sudden rise? A variety of potential elements could be driving the recent uptick in on-chain sales. In addition, recent announcements from Art Blocks and other developments in the digital art space might also be influencing this surge.

Big Art Block sales, past 24 hours:

Memories of Qilin: 5.3 ETH
Meridian: 7.69 ETH
Anticyclone: 7 ETH
Gazers: 17 ETH pic.twitter.com/Srgsc2PmhF

— NFTstatistics.eth (@punk9059) May 24, 2023

3AC Fidenza Sale

Sotheby’s recent Grails auction held on May 19 had a significant impact on Art Blocks, sparking a notable shift and boosting the overall perception of digital and generative art. The auction with Three Arrows Capital (3AC) raked in $2,482,850.

Many were pleasantly surprised to see Tyler Hobbs’ Fidenza #725 sold for $1,016,000, almost five times the high estimate. Other auctions from 3AC included Dmitri Cherniak’s Ringers #375 ($152,400), Larva Labs’ Autoglyph #187 ($571,500), and CryptoPunk #1326 ($165,100).

#AuctionUpdate: Impressive in its striking rhythm and movement, Tyler Hobb’s ‘Fidenza #725’ has just sold for $1,016,000, almost 5 times the high estimate. #SothebysGRAILShttps://t.co/6cWWdxm6H8 pic.twitter.com/XfFWge2fbd

— Sotheby’s Metaverse (@Sothebysverse) May 19, 2023

The event served as a catalyst, contributing to the positive momentum and further propelling the recognition and appreciation of this artistic medium.

“Seeing some on-the-ask buying in Art Blocks collections today could be in the early accumulation phase here for NFTs,” Twitter user SatoshiAllen said. “The Sotheby’s 3AC sale went very well and brought back a lot of eyeballs.”

Following the 1 million USD sale at Sotheby’s and the sale of the two Autoglyphs, 3 more Fidenza’s sold in the past few hours. Grail season starting? pic.twitter.com/vCtAgn4SOM

— SuzanneNFTs (@nf_suzanne) May 22, 2023

This was only the first sale in the 3AC collection, so the market will likely continue to see more movement as more of 3AC’s inventory will continue to be auctioned off.

Art Blocks on Arbitrum

Art Blocks technology… On Arbitrum. Find out more about @ProhibitionArt, built on @ArtBlocksEngine 👇

— Art Blocks (@artblocks_io) May 19, 2023

Artblocks recently announced Prohibition, a new project coming soon that aims to make generative art “for everyone.” Prohibition is a generative art platform, open to all, built on the Artblocks engine and deployed on Arbitrum. This idea is powered by VenturePunk, a Web3 innovation studio founded by Jordan Lyall.

With a more innovative and experimental decision to expand to layer two Ethereum solutions like Arbitrum, users will be able to get involved in the Artblocks ecosystem with low barriers to entry. This includes lower transaction fees, no allowlists, and no mint passes.

In addition, Artblocks recently dropped its collection Human Unreadable with artist-duo Operator. The project is a three-act play that slowly unfolds throughout the months of 2023. Read more on the collaboration in our recent interview here.

What does this mean?

Big sales in the generative art realm have a beneficial ripple effect across the entire NFT market. Such sales not only validate the worth of digital assets but also stimulate interest and demand, reinforcing market confidence. Anticipation is also building for the rest of the summer as Art Blocks continues to unveil exciting new projects and announcements.