Christie’s Shuts Digital Art Dept, NFT Volume -45%, ETH +76%

Published: 2025-09-12 05:09:47 |

Christie’s has closed its digital art department and ended its NFT sales pilot, cutting two staffers including VP Nicole Sales Giles while keeping NFT specialist Sebastian Sanchez. Data from DappRadar and CoinDesk show NFT trading volume fell 45% quarter-on-quarter to $867 million in Q2, even as trade counts rose 78% to 12.5 million. Floor prices for blue-chip NFTs—CryptoPunks (≈46.6 ETH), Bored Apes (≈9.1 ETH) and Moonbirds (≈2.8 ETH)—also slid. By contrast, Ethereum (ETH) jumped 76% to about $4,500. The closure highlights valuation challenges in the NFT market and its volatility. Traders should watch NFT market floor prices and ETH performance for trading opportunities.

Bullish

Despite the slump in the NFT market and Christie’s ending its digital art pilot, Ethereum’s significant 76% surge indicates strong underlying demand and network activity. In the short term, traders may interpret rising ETH prices as a signal to increase long positions, leveraging market momentum. Over the longer term, persistent NFT volatility and valuation challenges could prompt a flight to core cryptocurrencies like ETH for yield and DeFi opportunities. Thus, the news reinforces bullish sentiment for ETH, as it remains a primary asset in crypto trading and decentralized applications.