Blockchain isn’t the bulletproof technology many people think it is, but there are still plenty of yet undiscovered applications for it. One such application is in the art world where blockchain technology can be used to prevent art theft in the digital art world or even prove provenance in the physical art world.
Provenance is important when buying art. International art theft is a huge issue and has been for generations - there are currently 51,000 pieces of stolen art registered by Interpol. Blockchain can provide a digital trail proving provenance for a work of art when you are buying or selling it, giving each party assurances you aren’t getting accidentally roped into something illegal.
Digital art is probably stolen much more often than physical art, and blockchain can help to prevent that as well. Public keys provide access to the information using a private key, and both buyers and sellers can assure the time stamps and hash values add up when engaging in a transaction. Any tampering with the code is evident, which prevents the likelihood of fraud. New technologies like Versiart and Ascribe are already using this technology to crack down on digital theft and piracy, including by notifying the content’s original owner of any usage of their work.
There are even art based cryptocurrencies that assign value to the ownership of original works of art. Cryptopunks is one such currency where there are 10,000 original art pieces called “punks” that can be bought or sold in the Ethereum blockchain.
Learn more about blockchain’s impact on art from this infographic!
Provenance is important when buying art. International art theft is a huge issue and has been for generations - there are currently 51,000 pieces of stolen art registered by Interpol. Blockchain can provide a digital trail proving provenance for a work of art when you are buying or selling it, giving each party assurances you aren’t getting accidentally roped into something illegal.
Digital art is probably stolen much more often than physical art, and blockchain can help to prevent that as well. Public keys provide access to the information using a private key, and both buyers and sellers can assure the time stamps and hash values add up when engaging in a transaction. Any tampering with the code is evident, which prevents the likelihood of fraud. New technologies like Versiart and Ascribe are already using this technology to crack down on digital theft and piracy, including by notifying the content’s original owner of any usage of their work.
There are even art based cryptocurrencies that assign value to the ownership of original works of art. Cryptopunks is one such currency where there are 10,000 original art pieces called “punks” that can be bought or sold in the Ethereum blockchain.
Learn more about blockchain’s impact on art from this infographic!
