Blockchain in physical art auctions
On October 2, 2024, Christie's New York hosted A look into the real: photographs from the collection of ambassador Trevor Traina.
While their auction focused on fine art photography, it introduced a notable change to property tracking. Christie's has partnered with Kresus, a web3 wallet provider, to offer digital certificates of ownership for every photograph sold. These certificates were stored on the blockchain, creating an immutable record of ownership.
This move highlights how blockchain is being used to address long-standing concerns in the art market related to provenance and authenticity. By providing secure and transparent ownership records, blockchain offers a new way to ensure collectors can verify the history of their purchases.
Source: Christie'sbitcoin Ordinals in Digital Art
In another auction on October 10, 2024, Christie's London highlighted Ascend, a work of digital art inscribed in bitcoin's Ordinals protocol.
This sale marked a significant moment for digital art on the bitcoin blockchain, as it was the first time an Ordinals-based artwork was sold at a live auction. Created by artists Ryan Koopmans and Alice Wexell, the piece sold for £44,100.
The Ordinals protocol, used to enroll digital assets in bitcoin, is seen as a new tool for digital artists to create larger, more sophisticated works. The sale of Ascend reflects a growing acceptance of blockchain-powered digital art at major auctions.
Why are these events important?
These two auctions illustrate how blockchain is expanding beyond digital art and nfts, offering solutions for the digital and traditional art markets.
Christie's use of blockchain-backed certificates for physical works of art and its auction of a piece inscribed with bitcoin Ordinals show how the technology is evolving to meet the needs of a broader spectrum of collectors.
As blockchain continues to enter the art world, it could reshape the way provenance, ownership and authenticity are managed. Recent Christie's auctions suggest that nfts and blockchain-backed discs may play an increasingly important role in the future of art auctions.
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