Meet Me in the Metaverse #TechVision Look at Christie’s Auction House, which was used will be done in purely digital worlds – a future Rather than reverting to pre-pandemic ways to having large in-person art auctions as their they’ve since doubled down on. Just one year as soon as possible, Disney is continuing to primary source of revenue. In the pandemic this after their first auction, Christie’s has now experiment with, and prepare for, worlds 17 became an impossibility. The logical alternative surpassed $100 million in NFT sales. where they will be expected to provide was to host digital-based auctions instead, and omnichannel entertainment options that Christie’s did make this part of their new model, Disney also adapted to the pandemic with span physical theaters, streaming platforms, but they also took a risk on something new: a bold shift to something new. The company or even metaverses and beyond. 15 NFTs. Non-fungible tokens were a burgeoning started releasing highly anticipated films on art form, one atypical for Christie’s as the NFT Disney+ and in theaters at the same time, letting pieces were not physical and existed exclusively subscribers pay a Premier Access fee to stream 18 on blockchains. In 2021, Christie’s hosted its the movie from their homes. Disney’s annual first NFT auction – a piece by the artist Beeple report details that Premier Access content 16 titled Everydays: The First 5000 Days. In that significantly increased revenue from the auction they accomplished two firsts: They sold company’s DTC (direct-to-consumer) division, the most expensive piece of digital art in history and in 2022 the company plans to increase (the work went for $69.3 million) and became spending on produced and licensed content the first auction house to accept cryptocurrency by 32%, largely to support DTC expansion. as payment. By simultaneously validating a new And the company launched the “Mickey and form of art and digital currency to its customers, Friends NFT Collection” in January, allowing 19 it became a leader in shaping how commerce fans a new way to engage with the brand. Introduction // WebMe // Programmable World // The Unreal // Computing the Impossible 14