Warhol’s Art To Be Sold Using Tokenized Investments on Ethereum

Freeport is a new blockchain-based platform that will soon be launched, which allows individuals to invest in fine art. As part of its initial offering, Freeport is providing an opportunity to purchase a set of four prints from the well-known pop artist Andy Warhol. This could be an exciting opportunity for art enthusiasts who don’t have deep pockets.

According to sources, the four pieces have been "partially acquired" from prominent art collectors, including Jane Holzer. The collection features prints of several of Andy Warhol's iconic works, such as "Marilyn" (1967), "Double Mickey" (1981), "Mick Jagger" (1975), and "Rebel Without a Cause (James Dean)" (1985). It's worth noting that the collection will be limited to 1,000 tokenized lots for each print.

Dave Hendricks, the CEO, and co-founder of Vertalo, a digital asset management tool, noted that Freeport plans to tokenize its artworks with the help of Vertalo's services. This will enable the art pieces to be traded on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. On Wednesday, Freeport overcame a regulatory obstacle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), allowing them to offer fractionalized shares of fine art as security tokens on the Ethereum blockchain.

The collection is expected to launch in May, but collectors who are interested can sign up for the waitlist now. The starting price for each tokenized lot, according to the Freeport website, will range from $250 to $860.

Colin Johnson, the CEO and co-founder of Freeport, mentioned that fractionalized art is becoming more popular among a younger generation of investors who may have less financial flexibility. He further elaborated that their platform is not just focused on fractionalizing shares of fine art into security tokens, but also aims to create a fully immersive and interactive art-centric community. Their aim is to redefine the ownership experience surrounding fractionalized art.

With another player entering the world of fractionalized art, it remains to be seen how this industry will evolve and how established competitors, like Masterworks, will respond.