The NFTs have revolutionized the art industry by opening up new avenues for artists to discover a whole new dimension to art-making. As artworks, NFTs have made their way to the world’s most renowned auctions and even hit records in sales.

However, NFTs have been a controversial topic, and even the editors of Wikipedia – the largest online encyclopedia, are unsure whether non-fungible tokens can be considered art.

The discussion on Wikipedia started when editors began reviewing the list of most expensive artworks by living artists, which featured digital artist Beeple’s NFTs but excluded another successful artist and NFT seller Pak.

Beeple and Pak are two of the most successful NFT sellers. Their artworks were highlighted in this list.

“I see that Pak’s Merge has been removed but we are keeping Beeple’s Everday Sale, should that not also be removed from this list? Beeple may not qualify if Merge does not qualify. Beeple’s work is also made up of many works, and not just one work as a Koons sculpture. The Beeple work is actually a collection of different works, but that doesn’t make it one artwork. I would argue that if we accept Beeple’s Everydays on this list than other NFT works become eligible,”
one editor argued.

“It’s generally not about Wikipedia editors or individuals deciding on what is or is not art but about consensus from third-party sources on the subject,”
An additional editor was also mentioned.

The crypto community isn’t happy about the decision to exclude NFTs from art, with many tweets disagreeing with Wikipedia, and even asking the NFT community to “rally and let the Wikipedia editors know that NFTs are, in fact, art!”

Flipside

• NFTs cover a wide range of media. Some NFTs are artworks, some aren’t.
• It’s still not clear whether NFTs will be considered as art on Wikipedia or not. The outcome of the vote is important, since Wikipedia is the largest global information source.