The global online art market consists of buyers and sellers trading via the internet in works of art, antiques, digital artworks, and collectibles that are commonly associated with the arts and culture sector. While online transactions represented around a tenth of the global art market value prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, this changed drastically in 2020, as the measures introduced during the health crisis boosted digital sales. This positive trend continued in 2021, a year marked by a huge interest in crypto art and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In 2022, however, sales of the online art and antiques market slowed down, dropping by 17 percent over the previous year. Despite the decline, the value of online art transactions remained significantly higher than in pre-pandemic years, totaling around 11 billion U.S. dollars.
