Tokenisering (RWA)
Worked example: art tokenisation
To show how art tokenisation works in practice, we walk through one file end to end. The example is fictional but realistic: a post-war work by an established European artist valued at 1.8 million euro, offered in one thousand fractions by a Dutch platform.
The case in brief
A collector wants liquidity without losing the work. He sells the painting to a special purpose vehicle and keeps twenty per cent of the shares. The remaining eighty per cent is offered as one thousand tokens of 1,440 euro each.
The work stays in a certified art depot in Amsterdam and is periodically loaned to museums. The target horizon is seven years, with a sale decision requiring a two-thirds majority of token holders.
Key figures
- Appraised value
- 1,800,000 EUR
- Offered
- 80%
- Ticket size
- 1,440 EUR
- Running costs
- 2.1% per year
- Issuance costs
- 6.5% one-off
- Horizon
- 7 years
Two independent appraisers
Seller retains 20%
1,000 tokens
Storage, insurance, admin
Structuring and legal
Extension by majority vote
Process steps from start to finish
From first meeting to issuance takes four to six months. The heavy lifting is provenance research and legal structuring, not technology.
Provenance is the most underrated step. A gap in the ownership chain between 1933 and 1945, a missing export licence or a contested attribution makes a work unsellable regardless of how elegant the token structure is.
From first appraisal to payout
- 01
1. Selection and indicative appraisal
Weeks 1-3
- 02
2. Provenance and authenticity research
Weeks 3-10, Art Loss Register
- 03
3. Incorporating the vehicle
Weeks 8-12, notary and statutes
- 04
4. Purchase and delivery to the SPV
Week 12
- 05
5. Depot, insurance, condition report
Weeks 12-14
- 06
6. Prospectus or exemption document
Weeks 10-16, regulator
- 07
7. Token issuance
Weeks 16-20, KYC and whitelisting
- 08
8. Management and annual revaluation
Ongoing
- 09
9. Sale decision and distribution
Years 5-7
Who is at the table
An art case involves more parties than most investors expect, and the party that is missing tells you most about the quality of the offer.
Watch the separation of roles. When the operator is appraiser, custodian and seller at once, no website copy fixes that conflict of interest.
Parties and their role
| Party | Role | Risk if it fails |
|---|---|---|
| Seller/collector | Supplies the work, keeps 20% | Hidden provenance defects |
| Special purpose vehicle | Legal owner | Not bankruptcy remote |
| Independent appraiser | Valuation at start and yearly | Inflated entry value |
| Art depot | Storage, climate, security | Damage or theft |
| Insurer | All-risk policy at nail value | Underinsurance after appreciation |
| Conservator | Condition report and care | Condition loss cuts price |
| Regulator | Prospectus or exemption | Offer without legal basis |
| Platform/issuer | Token register and admin | Conflict of interest, discontinuity |
| Auction house | Exit route | 15-25% commission on exit |
The maths of the exit
Suppose the work sells at auction for 2.6 million euro after seven years, up more than forty-five per cent. Auction commission of roughly eighteen per cent leaves about 2.13 million euro.
Deduct seven years of running costs averaging 2.1 per cent, roughly 290,000 euro, plus 117,000 euro of issuance costs already embedded in the entry price. What remains is around 1.84 million euro on a 1.8 million investment: a forty-five per cent gross gain evaporates into almost no return.
That is the essence of every art case. The work must appreciate substantially, not slightly, before the investor sees anything. Model each offer with the full cost ladder, never with brochure figures.
- Auction commission is the largest exit cost
- Running costs compound across the full holding period
- Issuance costs are paid at entry, not at exit
What to check
Run the same checklist on every art offer; a vague answer is itself an answer.
- Is the work held in a separate, bankruptcy-remote vehicle?
- Are there two independent and recent appraisals?
- Is provenance documented, including 1933-1945?
- Does the policy cover full nail value in transit and on loan?
- Who decides on a sale, and with what majority?
- What happens to the work if the platform stops?
- Is there a realistic secondary market?
- Are all costs shown in one table, including exit commission?
Ofte stilte spørsmål
Can I view the painting myself?
At serious platforms yes, usually through a scheduled depot visit or during a museum loan. A structural refusal is a red flag.
Do I receive income along the way?
Rarely. Art produces no cash flow; loan fees typically only offset part of storage and insurance. Return comes entirely from the sale.
Can I sell my tokens early?
Only if the platform runs a secondary market of whitelisted investors. Expect a discount to appraised value.
Does such a token fall under MiCA?
No. A shareholding is a security, so securities and prospectus rules apply instead.
Les videre
Tokenising art
How fractional art ownership works: legal structure, valuation, storage and insurance, liquidity, MiCA and the risks of art tokens.
Worked example: farmland tokenisation
A worked farmland tokenisation case in the Netherlands: land registry, lease income, process steps, parties, returns and investor checks.
Worked example: forest tokenisation
A worked forestry tokenisation case: timber income, carbon credits, verification, process steps, parties involved and the pitfalls of CO2 claims.