Mars House: world’s first NFT-backed virtual home sold for more than £370,000

The digital property can only be experienced in virtual reality, but it still costs more than the average UK house
Krista Kim
Ailis Brennan23 March 2021

The first ever virtual home to be sold as a non-fungible token (NFT) has been bought for more than £370,000 at auction – despite not actually existing in real life.

The “Mars House” by Toronto-based digital artist Krista Kim was sold on digital art marketplace SuperRare for 288 Ether, a cryptocurrency that equated the sale to a value well in excess of the UK’s average house price.

Seemingly set in a mountain range on the surface of Mars, the futuristic home features transparent tables and chairs, glass walls, a curved banquette, and a glowing ceiling that oscillates through various colour gradients.

The house is also accompanied by music composed by Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Jeff Schroeder.

The purchaser of the “home” will receive a digital file containing the artwork, as well as an NFT that acts as a certificate of ownership and authentication, similar to the deed of a real house.

The record of ownership is then stored on a blockchain, which acts as a shared ledger. This is the first time a virtual “house” has ever been sold in this way.

The digital file can then be used on virtual or augmented reality platforms and apps.

The sale comes in a big month for digital art and design sales. Argentinian designer Andrés Reisinger recently sold a collection of “digital furniture” for a total in excess of £320,000, while “The First 5000 Days”, a digital collage by artist Beeple, was sold by Christie’s as an NFT for more than £50 millon.

The sale was not only the most expensive ever for a digital artwork, but it propelled Beeple to become one of the three most valuable living artists.

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