Takashi Murakami’s NFT apology to fans: launching just before the 2022 crypto market crash, the Japanese contemporary artist saw his Murakami Flowers’ value drop from US$260,000 to a mere US$2,000

Jun 21 , 2022

Takashi Murakami is known for his vibrant aesthetics in his art pieces. Photo: Luxurylaunches

The art market has seen its fair share of surprises, like when Beeple’s NFT made history for going under the hammer for a staggering US$69 million in crypto at a Christie’s auction in March last year. The news opened opportunities for the art world to further explore the capabilities of the non-fungible token. Japanese artist Takashi Murakami was one of many to try their hand at entering the NFT space.

Takashi Murakami and the NFT Hublot Takashi Murakami Sapphire Rainbow. Photo: Hublot

But the business world certainly doesn’t necessarily operate like the world of an artist, and while Murakami is loved for his creative talents, his business sense failed him (or so he believes). According to Artnet News, Murakami’s timing was terrible, and he completely missed the NFT boom. After spending a year on the project’s technical details, he unfortunately launched it at the wrong time – just before the 2022 cryptocurrency crash.

Takashi Murakami took to Twitter apologise to fans regarding his project’s stagnation. Photo: Luxurylaunches

An understandably dejected Murakami took to Twitter to apologise to his fans. “Dear holders of Murakami Flowers, I appreciate your continuing patronage, although the project’s floor price and transaction prices remain stagnant. I am very sorry,” he tweeted.

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Korpokkur in the Forest (2019) by Takashi Murakami is displayed during the private view of Art Basel Hong Kong 2022 held at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), Wan Chai. Photo: Nora Tam

The most affordable Murakami flower NFT is worth 2.8 WETH (US$2,600, at current value) on OpenSea. Apparently, a false start over a year ago was getting the artist hefty bids north of US$260,000, per Yahoo. But the artist decided to withdraw his work temporarily so that he could further improve the designs.

Takashi Murakami spent over a year refining his NFT artwork. Photo: Luxurylaunches

The Japanese contemporary artist enjoys a following of over 320,000 fans on Twitter and got lots of support and encouragement despite the situation. One user commented, “We [heart emoji] you. Don’t be sorry.” Another wrote, “Sensei we are here to follow and appreciate you and your art. I’ll be there to the end.”

This article originally appeared on Luxurylaunches.

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NFTs

The NFT market saw a record high last year when Beeple’s artwork sold for US$69 million at a Christie’s auction, which piqued interest among creatives, celebrities and luxury brands alike
Renowned artist Murakami joined the hype but missed out on the crypto boom by opting to spend a year perfecting his project – nevertheless, his fans have his back