Put a drawing of Kahlo on fire looking for a spark NFT

It's hard to profit from the struggling blockchain asset market right now. Burning a so-called drawing from Frida Kahlo's diary did not help a businessman's cause.

First there was the mariachi band, a dancer juggling flames, and models in bathing suits and ballgowns strolling poolside at a Miami mansion.

Then the show has begun.

A businessman who built his wealth on the waves of speculation - riding the rise of the dot-coms in the 1990s , then the rapid growth of Bitcoin in recent years - brought out a drawing from its frame which it announced as a page from the personal diary of Frida Kahlo.

Dressed in a sequined blazer with the artist's portrait on the back, he pinned the photo to a martini glass filled with blue rubbing alcohol . It was set on fire and the artwork was reduced to ashes.

Attendees of the opulent July rally, which was captured in a promotional video , had been told that the design was to be "transformed to live forever in the digital realm" through the creation of non-fungible tokens that represented the "rebirth and immortality of a timeless piece". Those who chose to purchase an NFT with the Ethereum cryptocurrency were promised exclusive access to events and the assurance that 30% of proceeds would go to charitable causes.

But with his Entry into the murky world of NFTs, businessman Martin Mobarak also sparked disbelieving headlines and an investigation by Mexican authorities, who classify Kahlo's works as national monuments. Some observers doubted that a relatively unknown collector had access to a rare Kahlo drawing, leading to accusations of fraud.

The destruction of "Fantasmones Siniestros" ("Sinister Ghosts") was an example of the high-stakes tightrope politics common in the NFT market, where a 97% drop in trading volumes is pushing some to the limit. The sale of cryptocurrencies and blockchain assets has often relied on cycles of hype, and Mobarak has acknowledged that it seeks to stir up controversy.

"I had to do something drastic to get attention," said in a lengthy interview about the project, which went unnoticed until Mexico announced its investigation in late September. non-fungible tokens of the coin. But only four of the NFTs were sold, some at a steep discount, according to Etherscan, amounting to less than $11,200 for a coin that Mobarak personally valued at $10 million.

ImageMobarak made much of its money during the rise of dot-coms in the 1990s. He said that he bought the Kahlo with the profits he made investing in Bitcoin.Credit...Melike Ayan