Businessman Burns 14 Billion-Won Painting Claiming to Sell as NFT... Profit Only 15 Million Won

Original Worth 14 Billion Won Destroyed but Only 4 NFTs Sold... Revenue 15 Million Won
Mexican Prosecutors Launch Investigation on Cultural Heritage Damage Charges

Martin Mobarak, founder and CEO of blockchain technology company Frida.NFT, held an event on July 30 at a mansion in Miami, Florida, where he burned the "Ominous Ghosts" that Frida Kahlo had drawn in her diary. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Bang Je-il] A cryptocurrency entrepreneur staged a 'show' by burning the original painting of Frida Kahlo (1907?1954), Mexico's national painter, claiming he would create and sell it as a non-fungible token (NFT), but ended up losing money and facing the risk of imprisonment.

Martin Mobarak (57), founder and CEO of blockchain technology company 'Frida.NFT,' held an event on July 30 at a mansion in Miami, Florida, where he burned the 1944 colored sketch "Fantasmones Siniestros," which Frida Kahlo had drawn in her diary. Mobarak announced plans to produce and sell 10,000 NFTs containing this painting.

His ambitious plan went awry. Mobarak has sold only four NFTs so far, earning just one-thousandth of the original painting's price. Moreover, he is under investigation by Mexican authorities and faces up to 10 years in prison.

In an interview with The New York Times (NYT) on the 9th (local time), Mobarak said, "I pursued the painting's burning and NFT sales to donate to charity for children," adding, "I had to do something extreme to attract attention."

Originally from Mexico and currently residing in Florida, Mobarak made a fortune in the 1990s by founding a dot-com company. He also ventured into the aviation and mining industries without much success before building his current wealth through Bitcoin.

During the artwork burning show, Mobarak stated he would create 10,000 limited edition NFTs of the high-resolution digital version of the painting and sell each for 3 Ethereum (ETH), pledging to donate 30% of the proceeds to children's charities. However, only four NFTs have been sold to date, some at significant discounts, and the total amount he has received is less than $11,200 (about 15.3 million KRW), according to the NYT.

Mobarak said he purchased the original painting from a private collector in 2015 and valued it at $10 million (about 1.4 billion KRW). If his claim is true, he has recovered only one-thousandth of his investment. This is due to the recent rapid cooling of the cryptocurrency market, which has also frozen the NFT market.

The NFT market has recently experienced a severe downturn, with trading volume plummeting 97% from its peak. Cryptocurrency and blockchain-related assets have suffered similarly.

Mobarak said the project was intended to bring smiles to children and improve their quality of life, claiming, "If Frida Kahlo were alive, she would say, 'Hurry up. I'll light the fire.'" He also argued that selling the high-resolution digital replica of the painting as an NFT democratized access to the artwork, which had been stored in a vault.

However, he is under investigation by Mexican authorities for burning the painting. The Mexican prosecutor's office claims that the works of their 'national painter' Frida Kahlo are cultural heritage. After the burning incident became known through a YouTube video released in late August, the Mexican prosecutor's office began investigating in September, considering Mobarak's actions potentially punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Additionally, doubts have been raised about whether the burned artwork was authentic. Since the painting was burned, there is no way to verify. Even if it is genuine, the art community questions whether its value is truly $10 million.

If Mobarak actually burned the authentic original, it would constitute a crime of destroying important cultural property. If he burned a fake or secretly made and burned a replica of the original, he could face charges of fraud, forgery, and copyright infringement.

He told the NYT reporter that he did burn the authentic original but admitted, "I did not consult a lawyer before carrying out the burning." When asked if he ever thought, "I wish I hadn't burned the painting," Mobarak paused for a long time, sighed deeply, and replied, "I like to say I do not regret it," the NYT reported.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.