Thanks to blockchain technology, any asset can now be tokenized—from art to royalties to stocks to portfolios. The implications for art are profound and go beyond merely authentication of digital works or tracking provenance. When large or small groups of people can own a piece of an artist’s work, it can fundamentally reconfigure the relationship between artist and audience: what does it mean for both art and artists that the audience can now become owners? Does ownership subvert or enhance the role of the enthusiastic fan or patron? It is worth wondering whether these ways of creating value lead only to increased commercialization of art, or else to a larger pie where more artists can get funded to create more art.

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