Was Burning a Frida Kahlo Drawing for NFT Project a Bad Idea?

Crypto businessman Martin Mobarak destroyed a Frida Kahlo drawing worth $10 million for his NFT project. Sadly, the project has so far sold NFTs for only $11,000, and Mobarak has broken Mexican law with his stunt.

Alex Harutunian

Nov 18, 2022 - 1 min read

The bear market and the plummeting NFT sales have made NFT enthusiasts go to unprecedented lengths to draw attention to their projects. This summer a crypto businessman Martin Mobarak destroyed art by Frida Kahlo, valued at $10 million for Frida.NFT project and promised to donate the profits from the NFT sales to charity.

However, the project has so far sold only a few of 10,000 NFTs bringing profits to roughly $11,000. Besides from not making much money for donation, Mobarak broke Mexican law. Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature considers Kahlo’s works as national monuments, and destroying them is a crime. So, the institute began an investigation.

On OpenSea, the NFT project is described as “the only remaining link to Frida Kahlo’s diary painting, Fantasmones Siniestros, in existence.” Given the sales volume, we can only conclude that Mobarak destroyed a great piece of artwork for nothing.

You probably remember how Damien Hirst burnt some of his valuable pieces for an NFT project. Well, he sure made some money with the floor price of his NFT around $6,000 by the end of October. He could always just start another NFT project and create more art to burn, but Kahlo’s art can never be retrieved, and that is surely regrettable. We continue to observe.