Just over a year ago the millionaire martin mobarak published the burning of an original drawing of Frida Kahlo. The millionaire bought the 1944 work for $10 million 15 years ago, but decided to destroy it to sell NFTs of the work
The Mexican-Lebanese businessman hoped that his investment would multiply by selling 10,000 digital copies of the hand drawing Sinister Ghosts in the form of NFTs. He organized a party at his Miami mansion with acrobats and even a mariachi band to celebrate the burning of the drawing in a martini glass.
NFT phoenix?
At the time, Mobarak said the burning was to give digital copies of the piece more value. The idea was to sell each NFT in 3 Ethereum (ETH) cryptocurrencies and thus transform a work of 10 million dollars into a profit of 30 thousand ETH or 60 million dollars.
Burning the artwork, the businessman said: “Like a phoenix rising from its ashes, this 10,000 NFT collection represents the rebirth and immortality of a timeless piece.” for him this way Sinister Ghosts would be transformed to live forever in the digital realm.
Why a millionaire burned Frida Kahlo’s “Sinister Ghosts”
The entrepreneur made his fortune in the 1990s in the early years of the dot-com boom. In fact, he has been involved in Bitcoin and blockchain investments since 2009, but last year he became interested in NFTs.
NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are like a unique digital certificate that proves someone owns something special online, like a digital drawing, video, or even a tweet. Unlike money or coins, which are exchangeable for others of the same value, NFTs are unique and cannot be exchanged for another of the same value. They’re like having a digital signature that says, “This is the only true copy of something on the internet.” People buy and sell them on digital marketplaces using cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum.
A fake work to do NFT?
sinister ghosts is a drawing made by Frida Kahlo in 1944 in her personal diary. On the page you can find documents such as the certificate of authenticity and the work study, which guarantee its legitimacy.
Mobarak’s actions were questioned by the Mexican authorities. On the one hand, there are those who claim that the burned copy of Sinister Ghosts it was fake, which could paint the eccentric party in Miami as false advertising.
On the other hand, the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City, – which owns all of the artist’s work – claimed not to have authorized or licensed the reproduction of Kahlo’s work as NFT. not to mention that in that case, the burning of it was illegal because it was part of the artistic heritage of Mexico.
The NFT strategy that failed miserably
Mobarak intended to sell each NFT of Kahlo’s drawing for 3 ETH. However, since the drawing was burned in June 2022, the businessman has only sold four copies of 10,000 available, according to The New York Times.
To add salt to the wound, a year ago ethereums were worth around $2,000 each, but ETH, like all digital currencies, has lost its value due to the crypto winter (drop in interest from the general public). Today, in August 2023, instead of being worth $2,000 each, Ethereum is selling for just $1,850.
In this way, the business, estimated at 60 million dollars, became a paltry collection of only 7,400 dollars. And let’s remember that Mobarak paid $10 million for the drawing.
Editorial Team The editorial team of EMPRENDEDOR.com, which for more than 27 years has worked to promote entrepreneurship.