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Rare Hashmasks Digital Artwork Sells for $650K in Ether
"The piece itself is chaotic, yet ordered. It invokes a concept of biblical dualism with the demon and halo," said the buyer.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 12:07 p.m. Published Feb 4, 2021, 12:48 p.m.
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A demonic digital artwork on the Ethereum blockchain has been sold for a small fortune via peer-to-peer marketplace OpenSea.
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Selling for 420 ETH (roughly $650,000 at the time of purchase on Wednesday), the collectible non-fungible token (NFT)-based artwork is known as a Hashmask.
The buyer, @seedphrase on Twitter, posted:
I've decided to one-up myself and purchased this mystical halo demon 420 $ETH! @TheHashmasks #NFTs pic.twitter.com/H7a9OStPiT
— DANNY (@seedphrase) February 2, 2021
The Hashmask platform, from Switzerland-based Suum Cuique Labs, hosts a collection of 16,384 unique digital portraits created by a collective of over 70 artists, according to the its website.
"The mask itself is a unique, one-of-a-kind design, and the mystical attributes – character, eye color and skin color – are present in only 0.07% of all Hashmasks," the artwork's buyer, Danny – who preferred to not to provide a surname – told CoinDesk via email.
"I'm particularly interested in purchasing ultra-high-end NFTs that are aesthetically pleasing to the eye and scarce," he said.
Danny also said he was "immediately" attracted to Hashmask due to the "Basquiat style" – a reference to noted Manhattan-based artist Jean-Michel Basquiat – and its several layers of "subjective scarcity."
"I also liked that there's a transparent copyright policy that gives the owner freedom over their non-fungible tokens, whereas most NFT projects have a license that restricts the buyer from commercializing their NFT," Danny said.
See also: Early CryptoPunk Digital Collectible Sells for $762K in Ether
While the NFT community has been evolving, Danny said it hadn't yet seen a major influx from the public.
"Knowing that I'm an early investor while also providing liquidity to artists and projects is incredibly rewarding," he said.
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