Crypto Tycoon buys $ 78 million from Giacometti at Sotheby’s – ARTnews.com

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On Tuesday, Justin Sun, CEO of Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency platform Tron, said he bought Le Nez from Alberto Giacometti (1947) for $ 78.4 million during Sotheby’s sale of the Macklowe Collection in New York City, which saw 35 lots gross $ 676 million.

Giacometti’s sculpture presents a figure with an elongated nose suspended from a wire in an open steel cage. It had been held by the Macklows for almost three decades before being auctioned yesterday. Bidding on the phone with a representative from the office of the president of the house in Hong Kong, Yonnie Fu, Sun won the job against only one other bidder on the phone with David Schrader, head of private sales at Sotheby’s. Coming on the sale with an irrevocable offer, he hammered $ 67 million, below his high estimate of $ 70 million.

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In March, Sun revealed a new venture that could have major implications for the art world: an NFT investment fund focused on acquiring top-notch artwork. He announced the fund after purchasing works by Picasso and Warhol for $ 22 million raised at auction, promising them as the first works of art to be digitally recorded on the blockchain through the new fund, titled JUST NFT, in a process known as tokenization.

Sun is in the process of shopping for artwork, although it seems he has had his eyes on another prominent lot at some point. In March, he was the sub-bidder for cult digital artist Beeple’s $ 69 million NFT record.

His creation of the fund and subsequent multi-million dollar art acquisitions are part of a larger effort to capitalize on the recent growth of the NFT market. It is not known if the Giacometti will be included in the new fund. Representatives for Sotheby’s and Tron did not immediately respond to requests for comment from ARTnews.

Sun isn’t the only young crypto mogul to emerge as a buyer at this month’s marquee auctions in New York City. Swiss venture capitalist Ryan Zurrer bought Beeple’s Humane (One) for $ 25 million last week in an evening sale at Christie’s.

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