ARTBLOC is Distributing Art Ownership to Popularize Blockchain
ARTBLOC has been featured on Korea’s blockchain news media source, THE BCHAIN (더비체인).
It translates:
ARTBLOC is now offering two latest artworks by the British contemporary artist, David Hockney, using a token method of fractionalized ownership, in which the tokens are stored on Bitberry. ARTBLOC plans to further promote the ownership of other contemporary artworks later this year.
What if one could split ownership of a well-known art? The average person is unlikely to take full ownership of such works because famous artists come at a high price, and only a few investors will get auctions.
As an alternative, viewers were attracted to the fact that ARTBLOC’s blockchain technology can be used to divide and own physical assets of artworks. At this stage, the company is still attempting various new possibilities.
Amidst these attempts, British contemporary artist, David Hockney’s works are offered for a fractionalized sale of ownership — very much catching the public’s attention.
ARTBLOC, the blockchain-based art investment platform held “Hockney Night with ARTBLOC” at Lounge X, located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on [September] 20th. During the event, two latest works of David Hockney entitled “Pictured Gathering with Mirror” (2018) and “Focus Moving” (2018) were introduced. 8900 tokens, and 5900 tokens were issued, where the buyers could purchase each token for $8 USD.
According to ARTBLOC’s CEO, Kim Hyung-Jun, there were approximately 350 attendees and 130 people that purchased the property on site. Tokens are currently available on the company’s online site with no limits to the number of tokens one can buy.
Kim states that the reason for choosing to go with David Hockney is because the artist’s “exhibition, held in Korea, attracted more than 350,000 visitors” and this allowed the company to envision the business in terms of marketing.
Tokens issued by ARTBLOC are based on ERC-20, where the purchased tokens of buyers are stored on Bitberry. A contract is sent to the provided emails of buyers, and a virtual version of the same contract can also be accessed online. Kim stresses that this eliminates a lot of the complicated process of trading tokens that include installing cryptocurrency wallets.
The company explains that the purchased tokens do not need to be listed on the exchange because the token itself is a proof of ownership. This is the same way when it comes to individuals trading tokens between each other.
Kim says that, the purchased tokens are mainly made in Korea. He explains that for a certain period of time, a lock will be placed on Bitberry to prevent tokens being transferred to other cryptocurrency wallets. The company plans on launching an OTC platform to facilitate token trading.
The sales will further lead to the ownership of contemporary artists, such as Jean-Michel Basquiat in the near future.
Based on this year’s (2019) business, ARTBLOC plans to challenge the ownership sale of fine artworks, such as Van Gogh in the upcoming years. Kim adds that ARTBLOC plans on taking advantage of their subsidiary in Hong Kong, gradually expanding their overseas business in Asia. This includes Singapore and Malaysia as well.
Furthermore, Kim states that there is a need to discuss current blockchain projects, and that ARTBLOC will continue to mediate the ownership sale of works that is secure and made accessible to the general public.
Written by 정유림 기자 2yclever@thebchain.co.kr
