NFT Market Freeze Prompts Christie’s to Close Digital Art Department

Christie’s Closes Digital Art Department as NFT Market Struggles

Christie’s has shuttered its digital art division, ending a brief but high-profile experiment that brought Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) alongside traditional paintings, sculptures, and other auction items, according to Now Media.

Two staffers, including Vice President of Digital Art Nicole Sales Giles, departed at the end of August, while specialist Sebastian Sanchez will remain in New York. Giles had been a leading figure in Christie’s digital art push, speaking at last year’s Art+Tech Summit in Hong Kong during Fintech Week.

At the summit, Giles emphasized that Christie’s applied the same valuation discipline to NFTs as to traditional art, but highlighted a key difference: community engagement. “What’s unique with digital art is the community engagement aspect, which absolutely comes into play in a way it never has with traditional art,” she said.

Industry observers acknowledged that NFT valuations were still in flux. Angelle Siyang-Le, director of Art Basel Hong Kong, noted: “We do not yet have a standardized understanding of [digital art’s] value… The excitement generated awareness, but the next step is aligning standards of value.”

Recent market data underscore this fragility. NFT trading volume dropped 45% last quarter to $867 million, even as sales counts rose 78% to 12.5 million, according to DappRadar. Floor prices for major collections remain well below peak levels: CryptoPunks trade around 46.6 ETH ($210,000), Bored Apes at 9.1 ETH ($41,000), and Moonbirds at 2.8 ETH ($12,600). In comparison, Ethereum has rallied 76% over the past three months to $4,509, outpacing NFT returns.

Some commentators argue that Christie’s move reflects economic realities rather than capitulation, as NFTs are increasingly integrated into mainstream contemporary art sales rather than treated as a separate collectible category.

Christie’s decision highlights the challenges facing the NFT market. Without clearer valuation benchmarks and standardized metrics, digital art risks remaining an adjunct to traditional art rather than establishing a sustainable market of its own.