Some art lovers and gallery owners believe paying by cryptocurrency like Bitcoin will become as normal as paying by cash or credit card. These individuals also hope it will attract a new, non-traditional type of art investor.
The BBC explains: “Blockchain, the underlying technology, is a digital ledger or record of transactions that is distributed across, and verified by, thousands of computers in a network. Once the network has reached a consensus that a transaction has happened, the ledger is updated and cannot be tampered with.”
The $60 billion art world in general is warming to the potential of cryptocurrencies, partly because of blockchain’s ability to establish the true origin of works of art, thereby reducing the need for middlemen.