Tokenisering (RWA)
Tokenising art
A three-million-euro painting is out of reach for almost everyone, but a thousandth of it is not. Art tokenisation places a physical work in a legal entity and issues shares in that entity as tokens. The technology is the easy part; the legal and practical framework decides whether the token is worth anything.
The standard structure
The artwork is bought by a special purpose vehicle, and shares in that vehicle are digitised so each token represents a proportional interest. You do not legally own canvas; you own a stake in the entity that does.
That distinction matters in insolvency: only if the work sits in a separate, bankruptcy-remote entity does your claim survive the operator's failure. The blockchain simply acts as the share register.
Valuation is the hard part
Art has no continuous market price; it is priced only when sold. Platforms rely on periodic appraisals and auction comparables, which are smoothed and understate true volatility. Check who pays the appraiser: a valuation commissioned by the seller is not independent.
Costs
Art produces no cash flow, yet climate-controlled storage, all-risk insurance, annual appraisal, entity administration and platform fees together often run to two to four per cent a year — before auction costs of ten to twenty-five per cent on exit.
Liquidity and regulation
Secondary markets are thin. A token representing shares in a company is a financial instrument under MiFID II, not a MiCA crypto-asset, so trading is limited to regulated venues or DLT trading facilities. Assume the position is illiquid until the work is actually sold.
Ofte stilte spørsmål
Do I own part of the painting?
Usually not directly — you own shares in the company that owns it.
Can I sell my art token freely?
Rarely. As a financial instrument it may only trade on regulated venues with identification.
Does art pay a return?
Only through price appreciation, while storage, insurance and administration run every year.
What if the platform fails?
It depends on whether the work sits in a bankruptcy-remote entity outside the operator's estate.
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