NFT Collector Matt Zhang on digital art collecting – and how to get involved

What is stopping traditional collectors from taking the leap to buy NFTs, AI art, and exploring other digital art forms?

When a new genre emerges, it is always met with skepticism. Computer art has about 50 years of history, but crypto-native and AI-native art are new and have only been here for the last 5 to 10 years. It will take time for people to become educated. Secondly, viewing these works on small screens gives them less credit than they deserve. But how many traditional collectors have a 100-inch screen at home? At first, it can be logistically challenging to display digital art. Thirdly, the crypto market has been very volatile in the last few years, leading to collateral damage that is felt by the art space. The market has gone through a difficult time, but it’s a great time to buy art. We have conviction that it will eventually come back in a strong way.

What would you say to those who think NFTs are just a fad?

We launched Hivemind Digital Culture Fund in response to that skepticism. History shows that technology drives wealth, and wealth shapes culture. As digital economies grow, future generations of collectors – startup founders, corporations, and even governments – will want art that reflects their era. Just as past movements shaped art history, digital art, NFTs, and AI-driven works will soon be a major category, not just a subset of contemporary art. Artists like Huang Rui, Emily Xie, Sougwen Chung, XCOPY, Tyler Hobbs, Beeple, and Refik Anadol are at the forefront of this shift.