In brief
- Murat Pak is the first crypto artist to earn more than $1 million.
- His 269 Ethereum-based artworks have been sold on platforms such as SuperRare, Nifty Gateway, MakersPlace, and Async Art.
- The artworks were auctioned off in the form of non-fungible Ethereum tokens, ensuring their uniqueness.
Murat Pak, an award-winning 3D motion designer from Turkey, has become the first artist who has sold blockchain-based works of art for more than $1 million in total, according to analytics platform CryptoArt.io.
The platform tracks artists and their creations across the largest crypto art marketplaces such as SuperRare, Nifty Gateway, MakersPlace, and Async Art. These encompass the bulk of the blockchain art scene.
According to CryptoArt’s data, 268 of Pak’s artworks across various platforms have been sold to date for $1,079,382 (or 1,881 ETH) combined.
“So grateful for this milestone. It is not always possible to plan the path to success. Sure, I work hard and do my best, but sometimes things beyond our control are a lot more important – as with Cryptoart,” Pak tweeted today, adding, “Sometimes the planets are lined up correctly.”
Among the top three highest-grossing artists, Pak is followed closely by pseudonymous artists Hackatao and Xcopy, each selling their numerous artworks for a total of $803,224 and $656,474, respectively.
“My inspiration generally comes from either simple moments or from music. The simple moments have great potential to carry more importance than they seem to. I have tried to keep the ideology behind all my work simple and effective,” Pak previously told IdN Magazine.
In the past, he studied design, visual communication, and communication theories, and is currently working toward PhDs in New Media, Design, and Interaction/UX. By Pak’s own admission, he “didn’t exist” prior to becoming a designer.
Over the past years, Pak’s artworks have been featured on Vimeo, IdN, OFFF, Motionographer, GraphicDesign, Fubiz, Designcollector, Shots, Stash, Computerarts—in addition to numerous magazines and festivals.
As Decrypt reported, the popularity of blockchain-based art—digitalized in the form of non-fungible tokens—keeps growing exponentially. Just yesterday, 17-year-old artist Fewocious sold one of her crypto artworks for $21,350. She is also ranked 18th in CryptoArt’s top-grossing artists’ list, earning $171,934 for her creations in total.
How long before there’s a swathe of crypto art millionaires?