NFTs or Non-Fungible Tokens are touted to be the digital route of acquiring collectible, similar to how Bitcoin was to currency. Now, the introduction of NFTs has been massive for artists as its made it far more inclusive than it ever was since art (in any form) is no longer restricted by medium.
The onset of NFTs have also allowed artists the option of auctioning their work more freely as they’re no longer dependent on art galleries and the likes, who generally rake in loads of money as hosting fee. Well, NFT auctions therefore have already caught on in a big way in the west and an Indian artist is now set to auction physical art on an NFT platform for the very first time.
Kanthraj N, a Bangalore based watercolour artist will auction “My Life’s Work,” a first physically linked NFT auction of his 12 original, award-winning paintings.
The contemporary artist will be using one of the world’s most powerful NFT platforms called RubiX, enabling him to tokenize the physical paintings. The pieces of physical art will then be shipped to the highest bidder, with ownership of all 12 tokens transferred to the new owner’s ID.
For the uninitiated, NFTs are irreplaceable and immutable unique digital items, such as a piece of digital artwork, virtual accessories to be used in video games, or even real-world items such as collector’s cards that have been transferred onto a blockchain network. Unlike cryptocurrencies, which can be exchanged with one another, each NFT is unique and hence cannot be exchanged with another item.
An example of an NFT trade was when Twitter founder Jack Dorsey sold his first tweet for $2.9 Million (approximately INR 21,71,81,435.00) in an NFT-based transaction. The advantage of trading digital artwork using NFTs on a blockchain network is that it guards against frauds.
Once a digital asset is converted into an NFT, the blockchain network will lend it unique characteristics, ensuring against nefarious actors creating counterfeit assets. The record of each NFT transaction will be stored on the distributed ledger technology called blockchain, ensuring that the creator’s legal ownership over a digital asset remains intact, and doesn’t undergo devaluation.
“We’re incorporating several layers of security that no other blockchain platform has ever done, and these features couldn’t be done on Ethereum or any other public blockchain,” says Dr. Nithin Palavalli, Chief Executive Officer of RubiX in a press release issued to announce the art auction. “Incorporating this level of technology eliminates forgeries, proves true ownership and provenance of a digital asset and preserves and protects rights to an asset, whether it’s physical or digital,” he added.
