Ex-Sotheby’s CEO Tad Smith Banks on NFTs, Agrees to Buy Collectibles Platform Candy Digital
Tad Smith, former Sotheby’s CEO and current chairman of Doodles, has agreed to buy most assets of the digital collectibles platform Candy Digital and said on X that he will become CEO when the transaction closes “in a week or two.” Candy Digital launched in 2021 during the NFT boom, secured partnerships including Major League Baseball, DC Comics, and Netflix, and reported about 1.5 million users at its peak before the market downturn that began in 2022 and a maintenance phase in 2024. ARTnews cited a 2023 dappGambl report analyzing 73,257 NFT collections and finding 95%—nearly 70,000—had a market value of zero Ether, after NFTs were a $17 billion craze in 2021. Smith said the acquisition aims to build on Candy Digital’s existing infrastructure and maintain continuity for users and licensors, but told ARTnews, “Nothing to say until the deal is closed.”
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This story was covered in Museums for Sale, War Shadows the Art World