By Alicia Maher
On its new Sotheby Metaverse, Sotheby, one of the major NFT markets, has featured collections from Paris Hilton and Pranksy. On October 18, Sotheby’s will hold its first live auction. MoonCats, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and CryptoKitties are among the popular collections included in the sale. Sotheby’s new NFT platform is a Metaverse-themed platform produced by the world’s most prestigious art auction business. It was unveiled on October 14 and is poised to become a significant leader in the NFT community. Sotheby’s has already had phenomenal success, selling an NFT for $17 million. Since then, it has sponsored auctions for a number of NFT art projects, including CryptoPunks.
Sotheby’s Metaverse
Mojito, a company that creates NFT platforms and protocols for security compliance, powers Sotheby’s Metaverse. The Metaverse will offer curated NFTs like Paris Hilton’s and will accept fiat currency (through credit card and wire transfers) as well as cryptocurrencies like ethereum, bitcoin, and USDC for purchase. Sotheby’s has also stated that it will mint NFTs in the future. It was also stated that a collection from Natively Digital 1.2: The Collectors will be included in the first auction. Paris Hilton, DJ Steve Aoki, PleasrDAO, and Pranksy are among the 19 collectors who contributed 53 NFTs to the collection. This year’s auction will take place between October 18 and October 26.
The art auction house is set to become a force in the NFT market following the steps of Christie’s, another art auction house with an active presence in the NFT market. In its pre-auction statement, Sotheby noted that the collectors are individuals who have helped to build the NFT ecosystem through a deep connection to digital arts who have collected NFTs long before the hype came.
Sotheby’s began as a tiny art house in London in the mid-1700s, collecting and reselling artworks. Sotheby’s has grown to be worldwide recognized during the last four centuries, with a presence in over 40 countries. The art house has now entered the NFT world, releasing its first NFT for $16.8 million in April and then selling two more NFTs, COVID Alien and a Bored Ape Yacht Club collection, for $11.8 million and $24 million, respectively.
The Rise of Virtual Metaverse
On September 28, Facebook announced a $50 million investment in the Metaverse over the next two years. As a result, Facebook has entered the race to build the largest and most valuable Metaverse in the NFT community. Rapper Snoop Dogg is one of the celebrities who has increased Metaverse popularity after hosting a party on the Sandbox Metaverse and selling out tickets in a matter of minutes.
For players, a Metaverse provides anonymity and ease of movement between virtual worlds. This is one of the reasons why many creators are turning to Metaverse innovation. Metaverse’s value has risen from US$46.4 billion in 2019 to US$280 billion in 2025. Further adoption of DeFi and NFTs will have a positive impact on the crypto market.