Andy Warhol Artworks to Be Offered as Tokenized Investments on Ethereum

Originally posted by CoinDesk on March 30, 2023.

Freeport, a soon-to-be-launched blockchain-based platform that allows people to invest in fine art, is offering an exclusive four-piece collection of prints from pop artist Andy Warhol.

According to a press release, the four works were "partially acquired" from well-known art collectors, including Jane Holzer. The collection will include prints of some of Warhol's most famous works – including "Marilyn" (1967), "Double Mickey" (1981), "Mick Jagger" (1975), and "Rebel Without a Cause (James Dean)" (1985) – and will be limited to 1,000 tokenized lots each.

Dave Hendricks, CEO and co-founder of digital asset management tool Vertalo, told CoinDesk that Freeport will utilize Vertalo to tokenize the artworks so they can be bought and sold on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. The platform cleared a regulatory hurdle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, allowing it to fractionalize shares of fine artworks in the form of security tokens on the Ethereum blockchain.

The collection plans to launch in May, though interested collectors can join the waitlist now. According to the website, the starting price for each tokenized lot will vary from $250 to $860.

"As more and more value moves on-chain, fractionalized art is increasingly being sought after by a younger, yet less financially flexible, class of investors," said Colin Johnson, CEO and co-founder of Freeport. "Our platform goes far beyond just fractionalizing shares of fine art into security tokens – we've built a fullyvimmersive and interactive platform hosting an art-centric community and redefining the ownership experience surrounding fractionalized art."