Damien Hirst officially ended the first NFT experiment when he started burning the last of the $10 million in works of art. The modern artist worked on a year-long project for the NFT collection, titled The Currency. He compared the worth of physical and digital art in this. Over the course of a year, owners of NFTs had to choose whether to keep the NFT artwork or exchange it for a real work of art by one of the most well-known artists in the world. He destroyed many of the last remaining unsold physical works yesterday at his London gallery as it was being streamed live on the internet.
The Damien Hirst NFT Experiment is Over!
One of the most renowned and acclaimed artists of the contemporary era is Damien Hirst. His eccentric and one-of-a-kind efforts in modern art have sold for tens of millions of pounds.
The Currency, a collection of 10,000 NFTs with a twist, was introduced by Hirst in July 2021. The project was extremely well-liked with a $2,000 mint price, and at one point, they were selling for almost $12,000 each. NFT holders were given exactly one year to decide whether to keep their NFTs or exchange them for a replica physical oil painting as part of the experiment.
There were, however, some facts that were intriguing towards the end of the 365 days. Surprisingly, 4,851 of the 10,000 NFTs—nearly half—had holders who chose to keep them. 5,149 NFT owners exchanged their NFT for a tangible Damien Hirst work of art.
There are now over 5,000 physical works of art because the 4,851 NFT holders choose not to exchange their physical works. The objects Damien Hirst set on fire yesterday were a part of this huge collection.
The Remaining Currency Artworks are Now Ash
Damien Hirst started destroying the artwork from his NFT experiment yesterday in accordance with his vow to do so. At London’s Newport Street Gallery, he set hundreds of The Currency artworks on fire while live-streaming on Instagram.
“Many people believe that I am burning works of art worth millions of dollars, but I’m not. Burning the original physical versions allows me to finish converting these pieces of art into NFTs, according to Hirst.