UBX, Unit 256 Team Up For Wider Filipino Fine Art Ownership via NFTs
With this innovation, art institutes that hold exclusive collections can showcase these by making their NFT versions available for purchase in tiles.
UBX, a financial technology venture studio of UnionBank, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with art-tech enterprise Unit 256 Ventures Inc. to co-develop Artifract.io, a platform that democratizes Fine Arts ownership by fractionalizing them as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
“Artifract is set to transform the landscape of art in the Philippines by providing a tech solution to help grow the art community and preparing local artists for Web 3.0. Similar to our goal of including everyone in the financial systems, the platform is built on the concept of inclusivity,” –John Januszcack, UBX President
Artifact is a platform that aims to make art more accessible and available for collectors and enthusiasts, and even to ordinary individuals who are interested in fine art. With this innovation, art institutes that hold exclusive collections can showcase these by making their NFT versions available for purchase in tiles.
To fractionalize an artwork, a fine art will be digitalized into an NFT and will be broken into smaller licensed pieces. For instance, an artwork can be broken down into multiple digital grids and each grid can be owned by a different owner. This way, collecting major art pieces is made more affordable for young collectors and art enthusiasts. Further, this allows masterpieces to be owned by the people instead of a chosen few.
“The idea is to allow every Filipino to own a piece of Philippine history. Today, many of these masterpieces are tucked in and hidden in different estates, archives, museums, universities, and even homes — close to impossible to get your hands on them.” –Stephanie Oller, Unit 256 Co-Founder
Unit 256 is an art-tech venture that aims to make Philippine Fine Arts accessible and aid institutions in art preservation.
She added that with Artifract.io, collectors will now be able to own “a piece of that heritage and help institutes in the preservation and futureproofing of their collections.”
“It is a clear path to the future of Fine Arts,” Oller noted.
Artifract.io is owned by UBX and operated by Unit 256. UBX will provide the necessary technologies in setting up the platform for optimal user experience and advancing the project’s business and marketing development. Unit 256, on the other hand, will spearhead the building of the Artifract community– from conceptualization to branding, from scouting to the recruitment of artists and art enthusiasts alike.
“It’s easy to mistake that Artifract diminishes the art itself, but it does more wonders for our artists. With this platform, artists and their families are promised the stability that the industry rarely offers by giving them a continued flow of income from the royalties written into the smart contracts,” –Brian Poe-Llamanzares, Unit 256 Co-Founder
Poe-Llamanzares emphasized that their dedication to art preservation means that “we are always on the lookout for ways to keep up with the demands of the times. This partnership with UBX is the best way of moving forward with our goals.”
UBX is UnionBank of the Philippines’ fintech arm. It is a subsidiary that holds the bank’s technology initiatives, platforms, and investments in fintech companies. As a subsidiary, it operates separately from UnionBank and is designed to be like a fintech company/startup. (Read more: UnionBank’s Fintech Subsidiary UBX is Building Blockchain-enabled Platform for SMEs)
Last year, it launched its public stake pool on Cardano, an emerging proof-of-stake blockchain platform. UBX stated that their collaboration with Cardano highlights their mission to further excel and maximize the potential of blockchain. (Read more: UnionBank’s UBX Now Runs A Stake Pool on Cardano)
In July 2019, UBX launched the stablecoin called PHX which is used to facilitate a blockchain-based cross-border remittance transaction. (Read more: UnionBank Launches Cryptocurrency (Stablecoin) PHX)
This article is published on BitPinas: UBX, Unit 256 Team Up For Wider Filipino Fine Art Ownership via NFTs
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