$2.7 billion

Value of contemporary art auctions over the past year, according to Artprice

The deals were boosted by online sales and the arrival of digital art in the form of “NFTs”, according to the annual report by Artprice released yesterday.

NFTs, or “non-fungible tokens”, allow people to buy the rights to online art, including images, animation or even tweets.

In March, US artist Beeple sold an NFT of his digital artwork “Everydays: The First 5,000 Days” for $69.3 million to an Indian blockchain entrepreneur — the third-highest price ever achieved by a living artist. Christie’s said 22 million people, nearly 60 per cent under the age of 40, logged in to the sale, the first public auction of an NFT.