Published in El Pais, 3 March 2021
Art comes in all forms, from paintings, to digital. Despite the skill set of digital artists being similar to the more traditional form, it never gains the same attention from buyers because it loses its uniqueness. With digital art it can be duplicated an unlimited number of times simply by copying and pasting the file. Even if the original owner refuses to do so, the artist commissioned could do it without their knowledge. It really is impossible to have a digital one of a kind, or is it?
The Ethereum blockchain network has a uniqueness to other networks like Bitcoin whereas you can create new tokens on it. Many use it to create their own cryptocurrency to fund and use their projects, but there is a special token that can be tied to both physical and digital objects that allows the token to act as a representation. If we were to apply this project to a digital work of art, whoever owns the token would own the artwork, the token cannot be duplicated and neither can the artwork, and most importantly the artwork’s owner can always be confirmed with the token.
Artists of course are jumping on board as this is a whole new avenue to sell their artwork and it can make it easier to sell them to more traditional art lovers who simply appreciate owning a unique piece of artwork. Ethereum of course is very expensive, where basic transaction can cost $15-$20. However more blockchains like Cardano are hoping to allow the creation of tokens on their network as well so artists will hopefully have plenty to choose from.
Projects like Ethereum really are becoming a world supercomputer with everyone having access to it, it will be exciting to see what other projects come out of it.
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