Artfi is redefining the fine art industry through the tokenization and fractionalization of physical works of blue-chip fine art

Please share a brief history of Artfi and its journey so far.
Arti was founded in early 2022 and it has been an incredible year for the company. We raised $3.26 million in seed funding, opened our physical office in Dubai, and have $17 million of assets under management. In the fall, Artfi announced its first artist collaboration with Sacha Jafri – one of the world’s top-five highest-selling artists.

What made you venture into the digital aspects of art and create a fine arts NFT platform – Artfi?
Artfi is first and foremost a fine art company. We allow art lovers to collectively own exquisite works of fine art which would normally be outside their budget. Our embrace of the latest developments in digital token technology is what makes this possible.

What is the tokenization of Fine Art, and how does it work?
The tokenization of fine art refers to the process of creating a token which represents ownership of a given work of fine art. In fact, this can be done with all sorts of physical assets, and tokenized versions of gold already trade on the blockchain. When Artfi sells a painting through its platform, it issues tokens representing co-ownership of the artwork. Once the tokens are sold, the painting is custodied by the Artfi Foundation on behalf of the token holders.

How is Artfi aiding the Fine Art NFT industry?
Artfi comes to the market with a unique value proposition that is different from the vast majority of NFT projects. The key distinction is that Artfi NFTs are backed by physical works of art. Most NFT projects are not backed by anything in the physical world.
Therefore, when talking about fine art NFTs, it is best to divide them into two types of categories: asset-backed fine art NFTs and digital fine art NFTs. Artfi believes that the former category will prove to be a more dependable store of value which builds on the solid historical returns of the contemporary art market.
Artfi uses NFT technology, but we definitely aren’t selling cartoons. We think it is simply a matter of time before the public perception of NFTs changes to acknowledge the tokenization of fine art and other assets.

The Fine Art NFT industry size and the expectations in the upcoming year.
The NFT and crypto markets have compressed in 2022. Nevertheless, we have witnessed the beginnings of mass NFT adoption. The traction on Polygon stands out from the pack. Major brands like Starbucks, Nike and Reddit have launched on Polygon’s Ethereum-compatible sidechain. The start of a next bull run in crypto markets and NFTs is impossible to predict, but when it does happen, investor may quickly realize that the action is happening on Polygon and that this accrues value back to the Ethereum Mainnet.
Artfi is the leading player in the realm of asset-backed fine art NFTs and will be making a splash in 2023 by offering its first painting on sale to the public.
Can you share plans regarding your expansion in the next year/plans of Artfi for India?
Artfi will be coming out with a cherished painting of great national significance to aspiring Indian art collectors. It will be the first time that an Indian painting of this stature will be collectively owned by the people. Follow @artfiglobal on Twitter to keep up on the big announcement.