Sotheby's

Invest in the picks and shovels — the tastemakers, not the art

Geoffrey Woo argues the durable bet in NFTs isn't picking which artist wins but owning the infrastructure that crowns winners — the Christie's, Sotheby's, galleries, and curators. He notes a multi-billion-dollar industry already exists to decide why a $40,000 wine is worth $40,000.

“I think we have some alpha is there is going to be a similar infrastructure around the Christie's, the Sotheby's, the gallery owners, the tastemakers, the curators. There is a multi-billion dollar industry that chooses winners, right? Like, who, who, who says that a Rothschild $40,000 wine is worth $40,000, right? There's a, an ecosystem that chooses that wine. Or that chooses that artist to be the next winner.”

Steal thisWhen a speculative category is too hit-driven to pick winners, invest in the picks-and-shovels infrastructure that crowns them.