Blockchain Technology and the Art Market

The phenomenon of blockchain technology has been increasingly recurring in the discussion over the online art market: summits, conferences, talks, articles and events have been hosted and presented to the audience of art consumers in order to illustrate the innumerable benefits that the inclusion of blockchain technology may provide to the art market. However, since blockchain has caught the attention of the art market’s stakeholders only over the last two years, little academic literature has been addressing it so far, failing at providing stakeholders with a comprehensive overview of all the possible outcomes of blockchain technology to the art market. For this reason, the present research answers the following research question: “What is the reception of blockchain technology by the art market and its stakeholders ”. In order to provide an exhaustive screenshot of the art market through the use of blockchain technology, the research question is addressed by first evaluating the presence of blockchain technology in the art market over the years from 2015 until 2019 based on the findings of The Hiscox Online Art Market Report; second, it establishes what is the perception of blockchain technology by the art market and its stakeholders; third it investigates what is the application of blockchain technology in the art market. In order to answer these questions, a qualitative content analysis based on most recent articles from art, economics, tech magazines and websites addressing both topics of art market and blockchain has been collected. Combining the answers to these questions, this research concludes that there is a significant discrepancy between the way blockchain is perceived and how it is applied in the art market: although blockchain is perceived by the press as a positive tool promising to solve the issues of the art market and aimed at increasing trust in purchasing art collectibles over the online platforms, the activity of art firms applying blockchain to their businesses shows that there are still too many concerns on its application by art investors. Due to its lack of information, of understanding, explaining and of successful ventures, blockchain technology is received by the art market and its stakeholders as a highly unreliable tool that distances possible new buyers and collectors rather than incentivise them into purchasing art online.