Connect with us
  • tg

Cryptocurrency

Sotheby’s blockchain Gen Art program shows tech taking a back seat to art

letizo News

Published

on

Sotheby’s is making moves. The same fine art auction house behind several recent major nonfungible token (NFT) sales has just made the Met Breuer’s old Madison Avenue building its home, and on July 26, it’s launching an on-chain Gen Art Program powered by generative art platform Art Blocks. 

A sale of NFTs by early algorithmic artmaker Vera Molnár will christen the program. She worked with artist and coder Martin Grasser to produce Themes and Variations, the sale’s series of 500 unique generative artworks. Altogether, it “expresses the seamless integration of letters as pure abstract forms,” a release says, “as well as Molnár’s affinity for embracing disorder.”

“The Sotheby’s Gen Art Program is powered by Art Blocks Engine,” Art Blocks founder and CEO Erick Calderon told Cointelegraph, “which gives access to Art Blocks’ smart contracts and rendering infrastructure for partners to create their own generative projects.”

Vera Molnár, Themes and Variations, randomly generated test mint, 2023. Source: Molnár

“All Gen Art Program sales will be fully on-chain and in ETH only,” Sotheby’s head of digital art and NFTs, Michael Bouhanna, told Cointelegraph. “With the integration of the Art Blocks Engine, the Gen Art Program will mark our first digital art auctions to be held exclusively in ETH. Since moving Sotheby’s metaverse to fully on-chain in May, when we announced our new secondary market, it felt like a natural progression to begin exploring more sale options that can be fully on-chain,” he added. Last week’s announcement also predated a Web3 summit at Christie’s by just days.

Magazine: Tokenizing music royalties as NFTs could help the next Taylor Swift

Art Blocks has previously partnered with traditional art heavyweights like the New York gallery Pace. The platform connected with Sotheby’s last fall “but didn’t immediately have a project in mind,” Calderon said. “It came to light that [Art Blocks] Engine would be a perfect fit for building out their [Sotheby’s] generative art platform after they committed to working with Vera Molnár early this year.”

Sotheby’s will conduct this inaugural sale as a Dutch auction for the first time in the house’s 300-year history. Art Blocks has historically used that model across its platform. Unlike a more traditional auction, where prices start low and climb high, a Dutch auction’s prices start high and go low. The first offer wins the lot, so there’s no dramatic bidding wars here. Sotheby’s say the model introduces new psychologies. The ceiling price for works across this week’s Molnár sale is 20 Ether (ETH).

Vera Molnár, Themes and Variations, randomly generated test mint, 2023. Source: Molnár

With high-profile strategic partnerships, Art Blocks has built a business strong enough to withstand NFTs’ noted volatility. Sotheby’s, meanwhile, has transformed the downfall of one of crypto’s largest institutions into huge profits. This spring, it hosted a series of sales auctioning off Three Arrows Capital’s fabled blue chip NFT collection, which smashed estimates. 

Most notably, Ringers #879 “The Goose” by Dimitri Cherniak — who made his auction debut with Phillips last summer — sold for $6.2 million, despite its $3 million high estimate. Many take those estimates with justified skepticism, but Cherniak’s work proved to be the second-most expensive digital art ever sold. “Editions from the same series sold for less than $200,000 each only moments later,” Forbes pointed out.

This Spring’s financial successes showed that now’s the time to launch the Gen Art Program, Bouhanna said. “We held our first auction dedicated to generative art in April 2022, and given the strong results from that sale, it was clear that collectors could see the art historical lineage of generative art and why it is so important not only to digital art but to contemporary art.”

“The Gen Art Program will open up many new opportunities for us, namely the ability to now work directly with leading artists to present exclusive new sales,” he continued.

The initiative also expands the house’s growing Web3 presence. Specifically, this program will focus on elevating long-form generative art — large series of works from a central algorithm.

Recent: XRP court ruling marks milestone, but new crypto law could take years

Calderon believes respect for the medium is rapidly increasing across the art world: “Part of the reason for that is blockchain technology itself is taking a back seat to the content that’s being created […] We will see less and less talk about the technology behind generative art and more about the art itself.”

“After decades of exploring how systems and computers can generate artistic outputs, I see this collaboration with Sotheby’s and Art Blocks as a culmination of those efforts,” Molnár herself said, “providing a new way to generate never-before-seen, unique abstract forms that are defined by the controlled randomness of machine programming — the essence of the algorithm.”

Cryptocurrency

World’s Largest Community-Powered Supercomputer Goes Live as KOII Lists on Major Exchanges

letizo News

Published

on

[PRESS RELEASE – Halifax, Canada, January 14th, 2025]

Koii Network ($KOII), following a successful mainnet launch and multiple oversubscribed launchpad sales, begins trading on Gate.io and MEXC, bringing the World’s Biggest Supercomputer to the global market.

With over 100,000 active nodes, Koii Network plays a significant role in decentralized infrastructure, efficiently processing 185.1 terabytes of data daily.

Koii Launches on Gate.io with Special Giveaway

Koii Network is marking its exchange debut with a special giveaway in partnership with Gate.io, aiming to make computing infrastructure more accessible. Participants who sign up through the referral link will have the opportunity to share a pool of $50,000 worth of $KOII tokens.

More details are available here: https://www.gate.io/signup?ch=signupKOII

“While others are selling the promise of decentralization, we’ve built and scaled real infrastructure,” says Al Morris, founder of Koii Network. “Our listing today isn’t just about trading – it’s about democratizing ownership of the backbone powering AI’s future.”

Key Network Metrics:

  • 100,000+ edge computing nodes
  • 185.1 TB daily data processing
  • 7 million transactions per day
  • Multi-token marketplace live
  • AI-ready infrastructure deployed globally

The listing follows a series of heavily oversubscribed token sales through leading launchpads including PAID Network, Spores, and Kommunitas, demonstrating strong market validation for Koii’s infrastructure-first approach.

“What we’re seeing is a natural evolution of the DePIN sector,” notes Morris. “While early projects focused on single utilities like bandwidth sharing, Koii represents the next generation – full computing infrastructure capable of powering everything from AI training to decentralized applications.”

Upcoming Developments for Koii Network

After its January 2nd mainnet launch and following the exchange listings, Koii will activate its cross-chain capabilities through the partnership with Allbridge, enabling seamless token transfers across multiple blockchains.

The network will also introduce KOII token staking, allowing token holders to further participate in securing and growing the world’s largest community-powered computing infrastructure.

Trading Details:

  • Token: $KOII
  • Trading begins: January 13th, 2024, 11:00 AM UTC
  • Initial exchanges: Gate.io and MEXC
  • Trading pairs: KOII/USDT

About Koii Network:

Koii Network has transformed 100,000+ computers into the World’s Biggest Supercomputer Powered by People. Already processing more data daily than most blockchain networks handle monthly, Koii makes advanced computing accessible to everyone while ensuring participants are fairly rewarded for their contributions.

SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored)
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).

LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!

Continue Reading

Cryptocurrency

Ripple vs. SEC: Why This Week Could Be a Turning Point in the Lawsuit

letizo News

Published

on

TL;DR

  • Ripple’s legal battle with the SEC reaches a key moment as the agency must file its opening brief by January 15.
  • With Gary Gensler stepping down on January 20, incoming pro-crypto SEC Chair Paul Atkins raises hopes for a favorable resolution, though the case’s complexity tempers expectations.

The Deadline Approaches

The legal tussle between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) started in December 2020. Back then, the regulator sued the company, accusing it and some of its executives of illegally raising more than $1.3 billion in an unregistered securities offering by selling XRP. 

Despite the numerous rulings and developments in the following years, the lawsuit remains ongoing. Last year, for instance, Judge Analisa Torres ordered Ripple to pay a $125 million civil penalty for violating federal securities laws through its institutional sales of XRP. Prior to that, she found that the company’s programmatic sales of XRP to retail clients through centralized exchanges did not breach the rules.

The firm was ready to pay the fine, which would have officially settled the case. After all, the sum represented just a fraction of the $2 billion the SEC initially asked for. Nonetheless, the watchdog filed a last-minute appeal, and the lawsuit entered a new phase, which consists of filings and a briefing process.

It is worth mentioning that the agency’s petition will be dismissed unless it files an opening brief against Ripple by tomorrow (January 15).

According to some legal experts, the SEC will not miss the deadline. Jeremy Hogan claimed people shouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case since the agency is still spearheaded by Chairman Gary Gensler. The latter is known as a critic of the digital asset industry, with the Commission filing countless lawsuits against crypto businesses during his tenure.

“The SEC will file its brief on January 15 because it has to, but that doesn’t mean the incoming heads of the SEC won’t settle the case. It changes nothing,” he added.

Waiting for the Next Chairman

It is worth mentioning that Gensler has less than a week left at the helm of the securities regulator. He decided to step down on January 20 after Donald Trump promised to fire him on day 1 after assuming office at the White House.

The next leader of the SEC will be Trump’s nominee, Paul Atkins. He has expressed a pro-crypto stance in the past, triggering enthusiasm across the XRP Army.

Some of the optimists expect the Commission’s upcoming leadership to take a less hostile stance toward the cryptocurrency industry and push the case against Ripple to a favorable resolution soon. However, they should have somewhat realistic hopes, considering the complexity of the entire legal process.

SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored)
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).

LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!

Continue Reading

Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin Recovers $7K Following Sub-$90K Price Crash (Market Watch)

letizo News

Published

on

Bitcoin’s volatile rollercoaster continued in the past 24 hours as the asset plunged below $90,000 for the first time in months but has jumped by over seven grand since then.

The altcoins are also in recovery mode, with ETH reclaiming $3,200, while DOGE has jumped by over 7% daily.

BTC Bounces Off

The primary cryptocurrency was in a freefall state since last Tuesday, when it peaked above $102,000. Its inability to sustain that level resulted in immediate retracements that pushed it south hard. Within 48 hours alone, it had lost over ten grand, but that was just the start.

After a minor recovery last Friday and during the weekend, bitcoin headed straight south on Monday. This time, the bears were even more persistent, pushing BTC down to under $91,000 for the first time since late November and later to below $90,000.

In fact, that crash took bitcoin down to a multi-month low of $89,200 (on Bitstamp). At this point, the bulls finally reminded of their presence and didn’t allow another breakdown that could have driven BTC to under $85,000.

The cryptocurrency started to recover some ground rather rapidly and jumped to $95,000 earlier today. The bulls kept the pressure on and drove the asset to just under $97,000 as of now.

Its market cap has risen to over $1.910 trillion on CG, while its dominance over the alts stands just shy of 55%.

BTCUSD. Source: TradingView
BTCUSD. Source: TradingView

Alts Turn Green

The altcoins suffered even more during the past several days, but green now dominates the charts. Ethereum was among the poorest performers, dumping to under $3,000 yesterday for the first time in over two months. Now, though, the second-largest cryptocurrency stands close to $3,250.

Even more impressive daily gains come from XRP, SOL, DOGE, ADA, SUI, LINK, HBAR, APT, and AAVE. The case with AAVE is particularly impressive as it has risen by over 11%.

The cumulative market capitalization of all crypto assets has recovered $200 billion in a day and is up to $3.5 trillion on CG.

Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: QuantifyCrypto
Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: QuantifyCrypto
SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored)
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).

LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!

Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. See Disclaimer for more information.

Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.

Continue Reading

Trending

©2021-2024 Letizo All Rights Reserved