The Currency, launched in July 2021, is a collection of 10,000 NFTs which correspond with 10,000 original artworks by Damien Hirst. Collectors were given the choice to either keep the NFT or exchange it for the physical artwork.

Every choice made – to keep the NFT, or keep the painting – had consequences. Collectors that chose to claim a physical artwork had to burn their NFT to do so. Similarly, those who chose to keep their NFT did so knowing that the physical artwork would then be destroyed. The exchange period closed on 27 July 2022 resulting in just over half the collectors (5,149) deciding to keep the physical artwork, and 4,851 to keep the NFT.