Mike Winkelman

Michael Joseph Winkelmann (English: Michael Joseph Winkelmann, June 20, 1981 -), better known by his pseudonym Beeple, is an American digital artist, graphic designer and animator known for selling NFTs. He uses a variety of mediums in his art to create pieces that are comical, hallucinatory, and make political and social commentary while using pop culture figures as references. British auction house Christie's called him "a visionary digital artist at the forefront of NFT." Beeple entered the NFT space in October 2020 and credits Pak with providing his first "introduction" to selling NFTs. An NFT associated with Every Day: The First 5,000 Days, a collage from his Every Day series, was sold to NFT investors on March 12, 2021 for $69 million in cryptocurrency. This is the first virtual NFT auctioned by Christie’s. The auction house previously sold "Block 21" in October 2020 for about US$130,000, which was an NFT with a physical painting.