Media and Press

Leading online marketplace Artnet launches NFT platform using Monegraph

Monegraph, December 2021

(New York) It was announced today that artnet AG in New York has launched their own crypto-native sales and auction platform for minting, selling and distributing NFTs directly to market using Monegraph’s ReadyMade Suite featuring marque pieces such as Quantum Leap by the inventor of NFTs, Kevin McCoy and Satoshi Card by Spells of Genesis.

Readymade Suite is Monegraph’s software that provides online tools for auction houses, galleries and owners to operate fully branded marketplaces for multiple crypto art collections.  

“Our inaugural auction is focused on historical NFTs and the defining artists of the medium,” Colleen Cash, artnet’s VP, Auctions said. “These lots and our operational considerations are exciting for both current crypto art collectors and traditional art enthusiasts seeking an entry point into the emerging space of NFTs. We are thrilled to have built a platform that is both authentic to the crypto space and familiar to our traditional markets.”

TIMBALAND DROPPING ETHEREUM MUSIC NFTS THAT YOU CAN REMIX

Andrew Hayward, October 2021

“Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley is one of the defining producers of the last 25 years, known for his stuttering beats and lavish soundscapes for artists such as Aaliyah, Missy Elliott, Jay Z, and Justin Timberlake. Now he’s launching his own music NFTs, but you can do more than just collect them—you can also mix and match the samples to create your own jams. Launching on November 2, Timbaland’s NFT collectibles are built around tracks from his upcoming EP, titled “Opera Noir.” Each song from the EP has been split into a handful of individual elements—including beats, hooks, and stems—which will be auctioned off individually as Ethereum NFTs.”

The Duo That Invented the Art World’s First Crypto Platform in 2014 Is Back With a Tool to Help Galleries Launch Their Own NFT Marketplaces

Tim Schneider, September 2021

“Monegraph has released a software suite that enables crypto newcomers to buy, sell, and distribute NFTs with art-specific customizations. The NFT bonanza has officially come full circle. In 2014, Monegraph became the first startup to give artists blockchain-backed tools to monetize their digital works. Today, Monegraph officially launched a new product that allows traditional galleries, auction houses, and artists to do everything that major third-party NFT marketplaces like OpenSea and Rarible do—only on their own websites and their own terms.”

Leading galleries launch NFTs using Monegraph

Monegraph, September 2021

“It was announced today that three leading galleries in Los Angeles and New York have launched their own ecommerce platforms for minting, selling and distributing NFTs directly to market. Using Monegraph’s NFT eCommerce Platform fine art galleries, auction houses and individual artists are opening their crypto art galleries and sales rooms directly to collectors worldwide. This week Honor Fraser Gallery, Postmasters and bitforms open their own online galleries and marketplaces.”

Christie’s Presents Proof of Sovereignty: A curated NFT Sale by Lady PheOnix

Christie’s, May 2021

“The premier provider of rights management technology for NFTs and other crypto assets, Monegraph has partnered with Christie’s to support the artists and associated galleries in registering their copyrights and managing their rights on the blockchain for PROOF OF SOVEREIGNTY. The company’s smart contracts enable owners of intellectual property to secure their rights on the blockchain. Based on global patents for media copyrighting and licensing, the company provides infrastructure to support the seamless sales and transfer of media rights on the Ethereum, Bitcoin and various other blockchains.”

NFTs Weren’t Supposed to End Like This

Anil Dash, The Atlantic, April 2021

“The only thing we’d wanted to do was ensure that artists could make some money and have control over their work. Back in May 2014, I was paired up with the artist Kevin McCoy [Monegraph founder and inventor of NFTs] at Seven on Seven, an annual event in New York City designed to spark new ideas by connecting technologists and artists. I wasn’t sure which one I was supposed to be; McCoy and his wife, Jennifer, were already renowned for their collaborative digital art, and he was better at coding than I was.

At the time, I was working as a consultant to auction houses and media companies—a role that had me obsessively thinking about the provenance, ownership, distribution, and control of artworks. Seven on Seven was modeled after tech-industry hackathons, in which people stay up all night to create a working prototype that they then show to an audience. This was around the peak of Tumblr culture, when a raucous, wildly inspiring community of millions of artists and fans was sharing images and videos completely devoid of attribution, compensation, or context. As it turned out, some of the McCoys’ works were among those being widely “reblogged” by Tumblr users. And Kevin had been thinking a lot about the potential of the then-nascent blockchain—essentially an indelible ledger of digital transactions—to offer artists a way to support and protect their creations.”

The Untold Story of the NFT Boom

Clive Thompson, The New York Times, May 2021

“The first artistic experiments in that vein were made by the New York-based fine artist Kevin McCoy [Monegraph founder and inventor of NFTs], who became intrigued by Bitcoin and its blockchain soon after its debut. He wondered if it could show the way toward a new revenue stream for creators. McCoy was especially excited by the prospect of decentralization — the blockchain could enable an artist to sell works to fans directly, without the need for an iTunes-like intermediary. In 2014, McCoy, collaborating with the entrepreneur Anil Dash, created an experimental crypto token for a piece of his own digital art. They called it “monetized graphics.” The next year, McCoy opened a small start-up that let artists create and sell tokens of their work. He was met, mostly, with blank stares. “It was a tough grasp for people,” McCoy says.”

Natively Digital: A Curated NFT Sale

Sotheby’s, May 2021

“In the long timeline of art, there are few works that serve as genesis blocks to their own chain of history. They are seismic forks in direction; forks that usher in new movements that block by block, mint by mint, usher in new art histories. These works close chapters on the art histories that came before, while anchoring a new flowering of human creativity. These prime movers occupy a singular position in art history. They came first. Kevin McCoy’s [Monegraph founder and inventor of NFTs] Quantum is such a work. Minted on 2nd May 2014 21:27:34, or more precisely Namecoin Block 174923, the NFT era quietly dawned. What a noise it makes today.”

Additional Press

Frame 29 (1)
Sotheby’s Offers Curated NFT Sale Featuring First in the Genre

Abby Schultz, Barron, May 2021

Sotheby’s to Auction ‘First NFT Ever Minted’

Tanzeel Akhtar, Coindesk, May 2021

Sotheby’s is Selling the First NFT Ever Minted – and Bidding Starts at $100

Sarah Cascone, Artnet, May 2021

Sotheby’s anuncia segundo leilão de NFT para junho

The Block, Moneytimes, May 2021

Sotheby’s versteigert “ersten jemals erstellten NFT”

Jaroslaw Adamowski, Crytponews, May 2021

Auction house Sotheby’s announces its second NFT sale set for June

Saniya More, Theblockcrypto, May 2021

Sotheby’s to Launch Major Sale of NFTs by Leading Digital Artists

Keith Estiler, Hypebeast, May 2021

Sotheby’s first NFT auction revealed

Chris Burns, Slashgear, May 2021

SOTHEBY’S IS AUCTIONING THE FIRST NFT EVER MINTED

Isabelle Hore-Thorburn, Highsnobiety, May 2021

Sotheby’s Is Auctioning the First NFT Ever Minted

Ugolini, May 2021

Sotheby’s to auction the first NFT

A Bowditch and M Bacina, Bitsofblocks, May 2021

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