The world of NFT or non-fungible tokens continues to take the center stage. This time, a piece of burnt Banksy artwork has made headlines. According to reports, a tokenized version of this destroyed painting was sold for nearly $382,000 on OpenSea, which happens to be a non-fungible token marketplace.
Binance-backed Injective Protocol reportedly bought the Banksy work and converted it into an NFT before burning it on a live stream video.
The said artwork by the pseudonymous England-based street artist is called “Morons” [White] [2006]. As seen in the above video, it depicted a crowded auction room with a framed piece right beside the auctioneer inscribed with the words “I can’t believe you morons actually buy this shit.”
This NFT was sold to an OpenSea user called ‘Galaxy,’ who also has four non-fungible tokens on display.
The latest OpenSea sale comes just a few days after the group had burned yet another artwork in a Brooklyn park. Sources close to the matter say that the artists purchased the piece of artwork for nearly $100,000.
The reason for burning Banksy’s physical artwork might come off as bizarre to many, especially the ones that are yet to familiarize with the concept of tokenization of art, here’s the explanation provided by the BurntBanksy collective:
“If you were to have the NFT and the physical piece, the value would be primarily in the physical piece. By removing the physical piece from existence and only having the NFT, we can ensure that the NFT, due to the smart contract ability of the blockchain, will ensure that no one can alter the piece and it is the true piece that exists in the world. By doing this, the value of the physical piece will then be moved onto the NFT.”
The rise of blockchain art can be attributed to the fact that blockchains are impossible to tamper with. Besides, the money secured for Banksy’s burnt piece will be left for a good cause.
According to Injectove Protocol, the team was still deciding as to which charity will receive the proceeds from the NFT sale.