The NFTs That Ate Miami
At the first Art Basel in two years, non-fungible tokens went up like rockets (literally), and the crypto crowd came out in force.
The pent-up and ready-to-party crowd at The Cultivist x Nifty Gateway event on December 3 was an entangled mix of entertainers, designers, tech executives, influencers and non-influencers. The Winklevoss twins sauntered around the massive private waterfront mansion dressed identically, as per usual. DJ Khaled bellowed “Gem-in-i” and “Cryp-to” from the stage. NFT pioneer Beeple, pop star Macy Gray, and Larsa Pippen, ex-wife of Scottie and ex-friend of Kim Kardashian, all made appearances.
In summary: “A lot of people walking around with millions of dollars of JPEGs in their pockets,” said artist Jason Keath, founder of NFT Fresh.
In Art Basel festivals past, gallerists or independent artists had to invest five to six figures to reserve a booth in the Miami Beach Convention Center where the official fair takes place. This year, the art part of Art Basel felt almost like an afterthought. (And I must admit, having attended Basel since 2014, I pretty much abandoned the traditional art shows myself.)