40: Kayvon Tehranian & Sebastian Sanchez—Digital Art Post Boom with Peter Bauman

In this special episode, host Peter Bauman (Le Random's editor in chief) speaks with Kayvon Tehranian (CEO and co-founder of Foundation and Rodeo) and Sebastian Sanchez (formerly Christie's Manager of Digital Art Sales, now independent advisor and curator) about the structural challenges of the digital art market following the 2021 NFT boom.They discuss Foundation's recent sale to Blackdove and how Christie's, Sotheby's, and Rodeo have had to dissolve departments or shut down entirely because growth models built on crypto speculation proved unsustainable. The conversation explores where growth actually stalled and why none of the business models worked. Tehranian and Sanchez discuss what their organizations achieved, what can endure, and the need to rebuild from scratch.In the end, this conversation moves into the lofty topics of digital art becoming independent of volatile crypto cycles, moving into physical displays, and developing self-sufficient institutions built through slow, intentional work by committed participants.Chapters 📖00:01:40 - Are These Isolated Incidents or Symptoms?00:09:52 - The Business Model Problem00:14:13 - Crypto Speculation vs. Art Collecting00:19:13 - Why Are Auction Houses Pulling Away?00:25:45 - The Role of Institutions00:30:56 - Anti-Establishment Energy and What Endures00:36:00 - The Physical Display Problem00:38:40 - What Will Endure: Rooted Practices00:43:55 - How Close Was It to Being Sustainable?00:48:02 - Leaner Models and the Future