Imported for several reasons: the author is Italian and is very well prepared, it is the first book of its kind in our language and above all it deals with the complex matter of blockchain as a whole, understood as a real ecosystem and focuses carefully on the impact of this ecosystem on the economy, work and society, examining sector by sector what will happen with its affirmation as a dominant technology.
The author uses a specific point of view: analyzes the applications and real cases of organizations, companies and communities that are working hard today, even in Italy, on its practical implementations. For those who aren't aware of it yet blockchain, it's not the latest transient technology pushing cyberspace into our lives, it's something that will really change our habits, as has been the smartphone.
In fact, the book shows us in detail the impact of the technology of blockchain on financial markets, on the distribution of goods and services, on new media and social media, in political life, on governance of processes, on the definition of digital identity and finally on the art market.
It is precisely on this last aspect that we would like to focus for the readers of FirstArt offering him, below, a large excerpt from chapter 16 dedicated to blockchain for art. Enjoy the reading!
The fine art market is estimated at $1.660 trillion, and annually handles transactions worth more than $63,7 billion, considering only publicly tracked activity. Including private transactions, the market turnover is more likely in the order of $100 billion. Public transactions are handled by the auction houses, already consolidated into a few participants, which handle major transactions. The size of the transactions is continuously increasing and, as a witness, in 2017 a record transaction of 450 million dollars was signed for the work Savior of the world of Leonardo da Vinci, by the auction house Christie's.
It is a market that lacks transparency, except for the exchange of famous pieces, and is rather static from the point of view of technological innovation.
The market is dominated by large intermediaries such as auction houses Christie's e Sotheby's, which monopolize 80% of the secondary market, i.e. after the first sale following creation. Transactions take place through mechanisms such as auctions and personal bargaining, and it is very difficult to estimate a fair price for more or less famous works of art. In the absence of visibility, there are always risks of fraud, offences, tax evasion and money laundering. There is no centralized database of the works, also due to a legitimate concern about the privacy of collectors and investors. Even sales are not, by a large majority, tracked digitally.
In addition to the seller, the buyer and the intermediaries involved, the author is also involved in the transaction since, under many legislations, he is entitled to a royalty, called right right now, which is paid to the artist for the following seventy years as a percentage of the price paid for the work. Experts are also involved in the appraisal of the works of art, to confirm the originality and state of conservation.
The art market is a profitable market, in which many financially well-off investors wish to participate, also due to the emotional value that art inspires, but which is difficult to access for the majority of people.
Il theme of custody e of storage of the good
A theme of primary importance for works of art is that of the conservation and custody of the asset. Many buyers are not interested in dealing with this part and see art primarily as an investment. A need that is better addressed by art funds, compared to the more traditional approach of auction houses, galleries and dealers.
It is easy to understand, on the basis of many arguments already made for real estate, how this market can represent an ideal environment for the introduction of blockchain, in order to simplify transactions, make assets more visible and democratize access to investments thanks to concepts such as fractional ownership, which allows to increase the liquidity of the market and the number of people able to access it. Despite this many actors have different views on what is important, and others may fear being disintermediate, and significant resistance to change can be expected. Also, the blockchainit could allow the decentralized tracking of the works while guaranteeing the confidentiality of the information for the owner.
I variable projects based on blockchain
A number of projects deal with the tracking and provenance of works of art. Verisart (verisart.com) is focused on certificates of authenticity irrevocably traced to the blockchain, made with a scan of the work using just one smartphone, so that they are then verifiable by everyone in the same way.
These certificates use the blockchain Bitcoin and make it possible to create a decentralized database of works of art, of which it is therefore possible to trace all changes of ownership. Verisart has established a partnership with Paddle8, a company that organizes auctions digitally. Through its innovation center, Paddle8 is developing projects related to blockchain, including organizing auctions based on cryptocurrency and P8Pass, a system for creating passports for the identity of works of art, in collaboration with Verisart.
Another case is Artex (artex.global) which identifies its proposition in the professional photography market, to later extend it to the field of works of art. Fully digital works, such as photography potentially is today, deserve a separate discussion. Digital artefacts have the characteristic of being able to be infinitely replicated without any loss of information and with practically zero costs. This characteristic is also shared by music, once made digital.
Photographers upload photos to the site, which are then evaluated by experts to determine if they are original and to gauge their quality against similar photos. Photographers must invest the token native ARX to engage the expert community. If the photo is deemed authentic and valuable, it is created a photo token which represents the digital asset for the photographer, which can be traced, resold or printed within laboratories
Il project Maecenas
One of the prominent projects in the art-tech è Maecenas(maecenas. co). Maecenas aims to make access to investment in art democratic by allowing the sale of fractions of ownership of important works of art, represented by token, which can be easily traded on a liquid market.
The prerequisite for the listing of an artistic piece on the marketplacedi Maecenas it is a process of two diligence concerning the provenance of the piece, its conservation and a financial evaluation of the work.
This activity allows to enable access to art to a much larger group of investors, thanks to a lower market entry threshold and a greater digitization of the process, which allows you to buy a piece of art from your sofa.
Once the work passes the process of two diligence it can be listed through an auction, which remains open for a few weeks, in order to facilitate user participation. Investors will be able to pay through various criptomonete or even fiat, but all values will be converted to the token native of Maecenas, called ART, of which a fixed amount has been created. Furthermore, Maecenas is able to apply lower commissions than traditional channels as some intermediaries are eliminated.
ART may also be used to distribute the proceeds of the works to the owners of the works when they are loaned to museums for the preparation of exhibitions.
The works of art exchanged on the blockchain Maecenas they are stored in secure facilities in free ports, typically at airports, which allow for the elimination or limitation of fees as they are exchanged.
Owning a fraction of a work can also enable participation in the decision-making process about its use, such as which exhibitions the work should attend or how reproduction rights in books and websites should be used.
Undoubtedly, the art world is one of those that up to now have been most impervious to digitization, in an attempt to preserve the rights of the authors who create the works. There are hopes that the blockchain may allow the two worlds to be in greater communication.
The young author of the volume on Bitcoin, Nicola Attico, graduated in Physics at the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa.
Nicola Attic he has a degree in Physics from the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, has carried out scientific research and has worked in Enterprise Software since 2001. He deals with platforms for the definition and automation of processes and user experience, Platform-as-a- Service and process development environments. He was able to apply this knowledge in the field IT, HR and Customer Service and has gained numerous experiences on the Compliance, RiskManagement and management of service and project portfolios, collaborating with leading Italian clients in the Finance, Manufacturing and Energy fields. Deals with Blockchain as a primary interest and is active in the Italian and international community.
N. Attic, Blockchain. Ecosystem guide. Technology, business, society, ISBN 9788868962180, pp. 224, 22,00 euros, version ebookin coedition with goWare, Guerini Next 2018.
