The Revenge of the Original: Art on the Blockchain

Description:

In 2018, a CryptoKitty sold for $140,000 at a cryptocurrency art auction. This panel dives into how we got here, and what comes next in the world of buying, selling, trading, and creating art on the blockchain. With perspectives from a digital art scholar, a CryptoKitties founder, and the co-founder of a decentralized title network for art and collectibles, the conversation will explore and explain the trend of collecting “rare” art on the blockchain, and its implications for artists and patrons. For instance: what was once free and infinitely copy-able—a digital art file—is being transformed by blockchain companies into something that can be sold as a one-of-a-kind “original.” Does this signify that owning an original is beginning to matter again, like owning a music album once did?