Insights

The NFT art space has paved avenues where artists who do not fit the traditional art world can successfully pursue their crafts. New, and previously underappreciated, styles and genres of art have found footing among Web3 art enthusiasts, and now artists who work in these movements have unprecedented opportunities to thrive.

Cryptoart is a word that appears frequently in the NFT art space, but was virtually unheard of in the traditional art world until institutions like museums and auction houses began to dip their toes in the Web3 waters. What is cryptoart exactly? Its history actually predates NFTs, but it has since become synonymous with art on the blockchain.

The history of cryptoart

Before NFTs, cryptoart referred to art in which the subject matter referenced cryptocurrency, blockchain, or cryptography. As time passed and NFTs emerged, these crypto native artists were naturally some of the first to distribute their artwork using NFTs. 

This first wave of blockchain-based art formed the root of cryptoart’s current definition. Back in 2018, NFT art of any style came to be known as cryptoart simply because its home on the blockchain. But early NFT artists were often immersed in crypto culture, and even if they made art that didn’t directly reference Web3, they were part of those communities, and their art frequently reflected an ethos that aimed to forward Web3’s values. Much of it was tongue in cheek, or utilized styles and techniques that the traditional art world rejected. Many artists used internet culture and memes as touchpoints, their work made ideological statements and spoke out against traditional gatekeepers in art and finance. The works of XCOPY, Coldie, Hackatao, Upheaver, Moxarra, and others came to define the early NFT art movement; their artwork was cryptoart both because it was minted on a blockchain and because it thematically reflected Web3’s, then still radical, ethos.

"What is CryptoArt" by Hackatao on SuperRare

Cryptoart now

Now, Web3 art flourishes in a variety of styles and mediums, which raises the question: What is cryptoart today? Is it any piece of artwork minted on a blockchain? Is it only a certain kind of art that reflects the web3 ethos? Plenty of people in the NFT space believe that cryptoart is art that exists only in the tradition of that first wave of NFT artworks, but others still use the phrase more broadly to describe all NFT artwork. As of right now, the definition remains in flux.

Likely, as more artists begin to enter Web3, including artists who already work in certain genres and styles, and who identify their works using existing terminology, cryptoart will come to refer more specifically to a movement in blockchain-based art and artists who continue to produce work following in the footsteps of those early crypto-native artists. 

Cryptoart, ultimately, changed art forever. It is the first true movement in blockchain-based art.