NFT Markets Stiffen The Competition For Legacy Auction Houses

When it comes to legacy auction houses, two dominate the market – Sotheby’s and Christie’s. But, as the NFT market starts challenging some of these traditional structures, it will be interesting to see how they compete. Two memorabilia companies, Funko and Topps, also just entered the NFT market.

Voice of B2B, Daniel Litwin, hosted Asher Rubinstein, Partner Gallet, Dreyer & Berkey LLP, whose primary practice is around asset protection, trusts & estates, as well as representing high net-worth individuals like art collectors, designers, wine importers & producers, and other professionals in wine & hospitality, on Marketscale TV to discuss the structure NFT market and how it compares to the traditional auctions that exist today.

“I think that both of them are realizing that competition is on the horizon,” he said of Sotheby’s and Christie’s. Rubinstein noted the competition comes in the form of smaller, newer auction spaces that are dealing in the digital art spaces.

Wealthy buyers worldwide, such as Russia and the Persian Gulf, often bid on prestigious art. A lot of those bids come in anonymously. The newer auction and NFT spaces allow anonymous bids from wealthy and non-wealthy buyers. If the collectors don’t want to be known publicly, the larger auction houses will also accommodate.

Profitability is difficult in this world. Deals are often made by prominent dealers, even if that means missing out on their cut. NFTs are unlikely to change this, as they will also have to incentivize these deals.

NFTs are going to challenge the traditional auction houses. One of the main ways they will do this is to allow buyers that aren’t millionaires to make bids on priceless art.

“I think what we’re seeing here is the democratization of the art world,” Rubinstein said.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @MarketScale
Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

Radar
Physical Retail’s Next Infrastructure Layer: Item-Level Intelligence with Radar
June 4, 2026

Physical retail is under pressure to become as measurable and responsive as e-commerce. While retailers have spent years optimizing digital channels with real-time data, store teams have often had to make decisions with incomplete inventory visibility and delayed operational signals. That gap matters because stores still account for 80% of U.S. retail sales, making…

Read More
Healthcare in Pakistan
From Institutional Excellence to Population-Level Access: How Pakistan Can Bridge Its Healthcare Divide
June 1, 2026

Healthcare systems are under pressure almost everywhere, but the strain is especially visible in lower-resource settings where demand is rising faster than infrastructure. In Pakistan, that pressure is playing out across a system that has to serve more than 250 million people with limited public investment. Public health spending remains below 1% of GDP,…

Read More
Engineering
Scaling Experiential Learning in the Curriculum: How Iron Range Engineering Transformed Engineering Education
June 1, 2026

Engineering has transformed nearly every part of modern life, from the phones in our pockets to the systems powering global industry. But the way engineers are educated has often moved far more slowly than the profession itself. Employers are asking for graduates who can navigate ambiguity, communicate across teams, and contribute meaningfully from the…

Read More
vascular surgeon
When Geography Meets Purpose: How One Move Reshaped a Vascular Surgeon’s Career
May 28, 2026

Medicine isn’t what it used to be—not for the people practicing it. Independent physicians are becoming the exception, not the norm, as more doctors move into hospital systems, corporate groups, and academic networks. At the same time, the pipeline of specialists isn’t keeping pace with growing patient needs, particularly in complex fields like vascular…

Read More