NFTs No Longer Get VIP Treatment at Christie’s Auctions

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: September 10, 2025

Key Takeaways

Christie’s will no longer run a separate NFT department and will instead include digital art in its modern art division;
The auction house laid off two employees, including its VP of digital art, but will keep one NFT specialist on staff;
As digital art is still developing, experts said it does not yet fit the resale-driven model used by major auction houses.

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Christie’s, the British auction house, is adjusting how it handles auctions related to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), according to a September 8 report by Now Media.

Instead of managing these sales through a dedicated department, the company will include digital artworks in its 20th and 21st-century art category.

Although Christie’s will still offer NFTs at auction, the change means they will be grouped with more traditional forms of modern art, rather than being treated as a standalone category.

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Alongside the reshuffle, two staff members, including the vice president of digital art, have been let go. One specialist focused on digital work is expected to stay on.

Christie’s had been involved in the NFT industry since its early boom. Its most well-known digital sale was Everydays: The First 5000 Days by artist Beeple, which fetched $69.3 million in March 2021.

However, according to the 2025 Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report, released in April, total global art sales dropped to $57 billion in 2024.

Digital art adviser and collector Fanny Lakoubay stated in a post on X that it is challenging for auction houses to maintain entire departments that generate less revenue than others.

Lakoubay also said that auction houses resell works from artists who already have recognition. Since digital art is still establishing its presence, she noted that this model is not yet a perfect fit.

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