art

New collectors will be onboarded via increasingly smoother UXs. For 2022 and 2023, the ecosystem’s growth was almost at a standstill as mainstream consumers remained cool on anything NFT-related, and crypto-native experiences remained a barrier. As 2024 kicks off, developer and user adoption is accelerating rapidly via embedded wallets, “gasless” minting, and other abstraction layers that translate into mainstream readiness. Within the Ethereum ecosystem, this is supported by the recent development of Layer 2 networks, including Base, Optimism, and Zora, that bring massive cost reductions and speed upgrades. With these improvements, it’s quickly becoming possible to collect and trade the highest-value digital artwork without spending days or weeks ramping up on the blockchain intricacies under the hood.
Gallerization, curation, and signal-to-noise ratio. This year, we’ll continue to see a move towards more gallerization, curation, and other signals that help collectors navigate the rapidly growing ecosystem. At the higher end of the market, artists will continue trending towards gallery representation. While curation has been pioneered by stalwarts such as Feral File and Art Blocks for years, its importance is becoming more visible and vital as interest in digital art grows. Crucially, curators help determine how different works are received, shape the cultural significance of the artist, and ensure that suitable collectors are ready to mint come release day. Beyond that, curators can offer an honest, informed critique that can significantly help artists when they’re developing new work. In 2024, DAOs such as Grailers and Fingerprints; tools such as Foundation Worlds and Verse’s Galleries; organizations such as Tender and Le Random; and gallerists such as Kate Vass Galerie, Gazelli Art House, and EXPANDED continue to bring good curation to the forefront.