There is no doubt that the NFTs market is exploding. And no sooner is an article on the subject closed than a new info comes to feed the bubble. A reality that sees many artists and structures outside the world of cryptocurrencies arrive in the sector. And whose constantly increasing number is a reflection of the development of this ecosystem between collection and digital art. A news that could well know a turning point of the most significant. Because the street artist Banksy seems to have officially entered this race. Or not…
This month of August just finished will have been a turning point in the field of NFTs. This in the first place because of the insane volumes he has recorded over the last few weeks. But also because of the arrival of investment structures that recognize its ever-increasing potential. A reality that never ceases to meet new brand of attention from renowned actors and artists. All drowned in a certain cacophony about respect for intellectual property. Or the actual utility of some of these sometimes profit-driven operations.
And at the center of all this some names continue to make you dream. This is the case of street artist Banksy whose works have already been abused by NFT tokens. This in the form of fake reproductions edited and sold without any authentication on his part. A habit as far as it is concerned, whether or not it is digital files. But that could well take a more official turn, if we believe some rumors that have appeared for a few hours. But in the end, nothing is less certain !
An NFT token awarded to Banksy
Because a strange information began to circulate this morning on the networks concerned. This about an NFT token under the title of “Great Redistribution of the Climate Change Disaster” published on the Opensea platform. All by an anonymous account answering to the pseudonym of Gaakmann. And which some clues would suggest that the official provenance may well turn out to be Banksy himself. But be careful, because every time the street artist is mentioned in relation to a work that has just been “discovered” a small investigation is necessary. And this is not a simple formality !
And this is what some motivated internet users have indulged this morning, especially on Twitter. This in the first place by successfully linking this page of the Opensea platform to Banksy’s official website (currently dead link). This left no much doubt about the possible origin of this token published in single copy. And in particular if we added to this the visibly effective link between this announcement and the official Instagram account of the artist. Which represents the only real proof in the field. Because the latter has the habit of publishing photos of his works on this network to validate the authenticity once and for all. What he still hasn’t done in this case… Oops !
Fake or real Banksy ?
But it doesn’t matter, for this still orphaned NFT had already reached the price of 100 ETH, or about$ 336,000 just hours after its appearance. This follows an auction filed by the NFT collector named Pranksy. The latter visibly on the front line as part of this “discovery”. And very motivated since he obviously did not respect his intention to “monitor this over the next 3 days”. What he might have done, because since the link to the official website of Banksy has become inaccessible. And the sale was granted to him…
« So my offer of 100 ETH was accepted for Banksy’s potential first NFT on Opensea. The link has been removed from his website, so it could be a very elaborate hoax. I guess it will, only time will tell ! “- Pranksy
So this is a most elaborate scam. Or a simple teasing technique from the artist ? There is no evidence to support this at the moment. Even if many doubts are allowed as to the authenticity of this work which is almost performance. Especially if we consider that this NFT is for the moment still not claimed by the street artist Banksy, who however likes to take his time in the field. It will therefore indeed be necessary to arm oneself with patience to benefit from this confirmation. And see if this case will ultimately sign an artistic turning point or rather scam version in the field of NFTs.
