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Christie’s, the 258-year-old UK auction giant, is restructuring its operations by closing the standalone Christie Digital Art Department and moving non-fungible token (NFT) sales under its broader 20th and 21st-century art division. The move, confirmed Monday by Now Media citing a company spokesperson, follows widespread declines in the global art market.
While Christie’s will continue to auction digital works, the dedicated team once seen as central to its NFT push is being scaled back. Two employees, including the vice president of digital art, were laid off, though at least one digital art specialist will remain in-house to support future sales.
Christie’s had been a major player in the NFT space, most notably with Mike “Beeple” Winkelmann’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days, which fetched $69.3 million in March 2021. It also launched an in-house NFT auction platform in 2022 and even experimented with crypto-focused real estate.
“This was a strategic decision designed to integrate digital art into the broader fabric of our sales,” — Christie’s spokesperson, in a statement reported by Now Media.
Analysts point to worsening conditions in the traditional art market as a key driver behind the changes. Global art sales declined 12% in 2024 to $57 billion, with combined auction house sales plunging 20% to $23 billion, according to the April 2025 Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report.
“Auction houses can’t justify a whole department when it brings in less revenue than the others, even with some recent successful sales,” — Fanny Lakoubay, digital art adviser and curator, said on X.
Lakoubay noted that while the downsizing of the Christie Digital Art Department sends a poor public signal, it may not reflect the underlying health of NFTs. Instead, she argued that traditional houses like Christie’s remain focused on secondary sales of already famous artists, while digital art still requires growth at the primary market stage.
“It’s still too early for that model to really work or scale with digital art,” she added, suggesting the timing could be right to introduce traditional collectors to emerging Web3 creators.
Some collectors believe the decision says more about Christie’s commission structure than the demand for NFTs.
Benji, an NFT collector and member of the Doomed DAO, argued that the closure of the Christie Digital Art Department could mark a “Kodak moment” for the auction house which is a warning sign of being outpaced by more nimble competitors.
“How can you charge 25-30% commission on something that does not need to be authenticated, stored, insured, or shipped, when your online competitors like Gondi charge zero commission for the exact same sale?” — Benji, in a post on X.
He added: “Christie’s exiting the space is a net positive which is one less value extractor means more value for collectors and artists alike.”
The reshaping of the Christie Digital Art Department comes against a backdrop of volatility in NFTs. After suffering its worst year since 2020, the sector saw renewed momentum in 2025. In August, NFT market capitalization climbed to $9.3 billion which is a 40% increase from the previous month as Ethereum-based collections rose alongside the price of Ether.
Still, the recovery remains fragile. As of this week, market capitalization cooled to $5.97 billion, though that figure is still up 2% in the past 24 hours, according to industry trackers. Several blue-chip collections are seeing gains: CryptoPunks rose 1.9% with $208,000 in daily trading volume, Bored Ape Yacht Club climbed 3.7% with over $1.2 million in sales, and Pudgy Penguins gained 2% with $905,000 in volume.
For crypto investors, Christie’s pivot underscores both the risks and resilience of the sector. The closure of the Christie Digital Art Department may reflect short-term cost pressures, but it does not necessarily signal waning interest in NFTs. Instead, it highlights the challenge of adapting traditional auction house models to the decentralized, low-cost structures of Web3 marketplaces.
Whether Christie’s restructuring proves temporary or permanent will depend on how quickly NFT markets mature and how effectively major institutions can adapt. For now, the decision to fold the Christie Digital Art Department into a broader category may be pragmatic, but it risks diminishing the visibility of digital art within one of the world’s most influential auction houses.
As Lakoubay observed, the moment may also serve as an opportunity for the next generation of digital artists and platforms: “This could actually be the best time to build.”
