The Luxembourg branch of accounting giant Deloitte has presented a Blockchain alternative to the paper trail that normally proves the movements of an artwork. The Deloitte ArtTracktive proof of concept provides a distributed ledger for tracking the interactions between all parties involved, from the artist all the way to the buyers.
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“The blockchain distributed ledger can trace the journey of artworks. When this technology is used in the art market, all events in the life cycle of an artwork are recorded and traceable. The application addresses one of the main concerns in the art market today, namely the fragile documentation related to the provenance and movements of a piece of art,” explains Patrick Laurent, Partner and Technology Leader at Deloitte Luxembourg.
The players in the $60 billion fine art market still rely on paper certificates, which can be forged, and this proof of concept demonstrate how blockchain technology can modernize the art world by recording the full history of an artwork in a secure open environment. “This example shows that blockchain technology can transform sectors far beyond financial services. The model on which we based ArtTracktive is resilient and scalable and can be adapted to meet other business needs in other sectors,” comments Thibault Chollet, Director and Blockchain Leader at Deloitte Luxembourg.
Earlier this month Deloitte announced that it is working with five blockchain startups (BlockCypher, Bloq, ConsenSys, Loyyal and Stellar) to provide new solutions to its clients. The giant accounting firm is in the process of creating twenty prototype technologies based on blockchain in varied fields including digital identity, digital banking, cross-border Payments , loyalty and rewards, investment management and insurance.
