The real estate bubble has spread to the virtual world.
A Toronto buyer has spent over half-a-million dollars on a digital home, with the first sale of an NFT (non-fungible token) domicile. It’s the latest in a series of head-scratching purchases of digital properties for astronomical prices.
The home—dubbed “Mars House” by Krista Kim, the digital artist who created it—sold for 288 Ether, a cryptocurrency that has a current worth of $1,715. At the time of the sale, the U.S. Dollar amount was worth $514,557.79.
Mars House (2020) from Krista Kim on Vimeo.
“Kim ventured into NFTs while exploring meditative design during quarantine; her hope was to use the influx of digital life as an opportunity to promote well-being,” the auction site reads. “Comprised entirely of light, the visual effects of her crypto-home are meant to omit [sic] a zen, healing atmosphere.”
Kim worked with Jeff Schroeder of the Smashing Pumpkins to create music for the virtual home’s environment.
What it lacks in bricks and mortar, Mars House makes up for in augmented reality. It’s surrounded in floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a mountain landscape (though it’s not clear if it’s supposed to be the red planet in the background or not).
NFT sales, while they’re baffling to some, have been red-hot lately. Digital artist Beeple sold an NFT of his piece Everydays: The First 5000 Days for $69 million earlier this month. Weeks later, he declared that NFT art was “absolutely” in a bubble.
Other notable sales include Elon Musk’s tweet/techno song about NFTs, standing at $1.1 million, and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, who sold the first tweet ever for $2.9 million.