What’s On Your Mind: Fanny Lakoubay on Digital Art Collecting – From Speculation to Strategy
As digital and AI-driven technologies continue to reshape the art world, few advisors are better equipped to guide collectors through this evolving landscape than Fanny Lakoubay. With over 15 years of experience in art tech, blockchain, and digital art, gained through roles at leading institutions such as Artnet, Sotheby's Institute, and Christie's–Fanny has been advising collectors, artists, and museums on digital innovation since 2018. She is also the co-founder of 100 collectors, a next-generation collectors' club focused on contemporary and digital art.
Today, she shares practical advice for both new and traditional collectors—covering how to build meaningful digital art collections, understand blockchain provenance, and evaluate emerging AI-driven works. Read on to discover how digital art collecting has evolved in recent years—and which trends and players are shaping its future.
Tell us about your approach to digital art collecting and advisory
My approach to digital art advisory focuses on depth, curation, and building meaningful collections—not just speculative purchases. I can start by sharing an example that illustrates my approach: one of my clients: The Edicurial Collection, was founded in 2021 in New York. Since March of that year, I've worked closely with its founder, Elsie, to build a robust digital art collection. Together, we've assembled over 150 digital works, including a permanent selection of 100 carefully curated pieces that constitute the core of a multi-generational collection and therefore will not be sold. The collection spans generative art, AI art, and blockchain-based works, with a mission to document blockchain art's diversity while supporting emerging artists.
This experience helped shape my broader approach to digital art advisory. I prioritize in-depth conversations with artists to understand their practice and technical innovation, as not all digital art series are created equal. When evaluating works, I look for pieces that represent key digital art movements, going beyond typical AI-generated images and NFT drops to include innovative forms like blockchain poetry and generative choreography.
After years of advising individual collectors, I realized that digital art collecting can often feel isolating. This insight led me to co-found 100 collectors with curators Eleonora Brizi and Pauline Foessel. This new collectors’ club fosters a vibrant community where collectors learn, grow, and engage with digital art together. Members receive personalized advisory services, curated artwork recommendations, exclusive event access, and carefully crafted art calendars tailored to their travel around major fairs and at tech conferences.
When working with any collector, we begin with three essential questions:
- What types of art (digital or traditional) do you collect or appreciate?
- What is your understanding of technologies like AI and blockchain?
- What are your collection goals (enjoyment, resale, legacy)?
Through 100 collectors, we're reimagining art collecting as a shared, enriching experience, helping collectors navigate this exciting but still new and complex niche.
“Digital art has moved from speculative euphoria through a decline, to sustainable growth.”— Fanny Lakoubay, digital art advisor
How has collector perception of digital art evolved recently?
Prior to Beeple’s 2021 record-breaking sale at Christie’s, digital art was a niche field explored by video, software, and net artists, with little presence in the traditional collector market.
2021 ignited unprecedented growth in crypto, driven largely by cryptocurrency investors and blockchain enthusiasts excited by artistic experiments. Traditional collectors and finance professionals soon followed out of curiosity for this new medium. However, speculators around projects like Bored Apes Yacht Club, which later lost value, damaged legitimate blockchain artists' reputations.
2022-2023, the market matured. Speculators exited, while serious artists and institutions began to embrace digital art. Despite some platform closures, blockchain art firmly integrated into traditional markets, appearing at major auction houses, galleries, exhibitions, and museum collections.
In 2024 and early 2025, generative art maintained a loyal collector base. AI art has established itself, sparking debate while producing significant innovations through artists like Refik Anadol, Sasha Stiles, and the duo Matt Dryhurst and Holly Herndon who question technology through art. The AI debate was particularly intense at Christie's recent "Augmented Intelligence" sale.
Today, major institutions like LACMA and the Whitney have dedicated digital art committees to guide acquisitions. Specialized digital art galleries are emerging, and major fairs, like Art Basel Hong Kong showcased performances (such as Operator’s) that blend performance, code, and generative art–an indicator of digital art’s evolving positioning.
Like any market, digital art has moved from speculative euphoria through a decline, to sustainable growth. Digital art is here to stay - the question is when you'll start collecting.
What are the best strategies for evaluating and collecting digital art in 2025?
1. Buy What You Love
As with traditional art, the best place to begin is with works that resonate with you, art you want to live with. Personal connection will always be more valuable than hypes and trends.
2. Understand the Role of the Blockchain
Platforms like OpenSea offer an unprecedented level of transparency. Every transaction is visible, turning the marketplace into a live database, like a free version of Artnet. It’s a powerful tool, but one that requires context and learning how to interpret them.
3. Don’t Let the Data Fool You
This flood of information can be misleading. Floor prices and trading volumes mostly reflect short-term speculation. They say little about what truly builds value: exhibitions, institutional support, curatorial interest, artist longevity, and visibility at art fairs. These elements aren’t captured on-chain, but they matter. This has not changed much from the pre-blockchain days.
4. Follow the Curators, Not the Crowd
Avoid getting overwhelmed by quantity. Instead, focus on curated platforms like Highlight.xyz, Artblocks, Objkt One, SuperRare, TAEX, ARTXCODE, or Verse. Many of them now run physical spaces as well: Nguyen Wahed (London/NYC), Fellowship (London), Artverse (Paris), SuperRare’s Offline Gallery (NYC) or Helf (NYC), where curatorial rigor helps anchor digital art in broader contemporary conversations.
5. Build Relationships, Not Just Portfolios
Digital art is entering major fairs like Paris Photo, Art Basel, and SCOPE, but it’s still an intimate ecosystem. Take advantage of this. Many artists are accessible and will respond to your messages as they understand that we are all in it to build something new. Find advisors and curators who align with your vision and can introduce you to the right artists for your taste. Great collections are built on trust, not trends.
“Digital art is showing up at major fairs — but it’s still an intimate, accessible ecosystem.”— Fanny Lakoubay, digital art advisor
What challenges do digital art collectors face today?
Display: Display is a key challenge, as finding elegant ways to exhibit digital art at home without turning living spaces into tech showrooms can be challenging. I recommend consulting artists directly, as many have specific display preferences and may offer tailored display solutions.
Technical barriers: Technical complexity challenges new collectors. Digital art often requires crypto wallets and cryptocurrency purchases, however, many collectors now use advisors or platforms to simplify this.
Curation: Finding quality work amid constant new releases is another challenge. Collectors or professionals offer curation assistance, which is often a necessary first step in acquiring digital art.
What advice would you give to someone starting a digital art collection?
The most important advice I would offer to a new collector is as follows:
- Visit local exhibitions and explore digital art in museums and art fairs. Learn about the concepts and themes you’re interested in.
- If you collect photography or enjoy poetry, look into AI artists working in these genres on the blockchain.
- Follow artists you find compelling on social media to stay updated on their projects and evolving practices.
- I also recommend joining collector communities like 100 collectors.art —a space designed for both contemporary and digital art enthusiasts looking to bridge traditional collecting with NFTs and emerging technologies.
Above all, start with the art, not the technology! Understanding comes more easily once you discover inspiring artists who resonate with you.
Biography
Fanny Lakoubay is a French-born digital art advisor, curator, and collector with 15+ years of experience at major NYC art companies including Artnet, Sotheby's Institute, and Christie's. Since 2018, she has guided artists, collectors, museums, and projects in digital art and Web3. Her current roles include:
- Co-founder of the 100 collectors club
- Artist studio manager for Operator (an artist duo composed of Ania Catherine and Dejha Ti)
- Education lead of WAC LAB for innovation programs at cultural institutions
Fanny also serves on boards including The Superrare RareDAO Council and contributed to various Web3 initiatives such as CADAF, Editional, Snark.art, The Rare Art Festival, Green NFT, The Blockchain Art Directory, The NFT Factory, NFT Paris, and RadicalxChange Foundation.
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