Deloitte, the leading auditing and consulting firm, announced that it has developed blockchain proof of concept that addresses traceability issues in art.

Art transactions, being paper-based in nature, are exposed to several provenance and traceability issues. Even today, art market usually relies on paper certificates and receipts which can easily be lost, tampered with or stolen. Addressing these challenges, Deloitte Luxembourg’s proof of concept demonstrates how blockchain technology can solve the current provenance and traceability issues in the art world by recording the full history of an artwork in a secure environment available to all.

“The blockchain distributed ledger can trace the journey of artworks. When this technology is used in the art market, all events in the life cycle of an artwork are recorded and traceable. The application addresses one of the main concerns in the art market today, namely the fragile documentation related to the provenance and movements of a piece of art,” explains Patrick Laurent, Partner and Technology Leader at Deloitte Luxembourg.

Deloitte Luxembourg revealed the blockchain-based application during the ICT Spring summit in Luxembourg on 10 May. It is technological alternative to the paper trail that normally proves the provenance and whereabouts of an artwork.

The Deloitte “ArtTracktive” proof of concept provides a distributed ledger for tracking the provenance and movements of fine artworks. It manages the interactions between all parties involved, from the artist or the owner of the piece of art, via freight forwarders, customs, art galleries, museums and all the way to potential buyers.

“This example shows that blockchain technology can transform sectors far beyond financial services. The model on which we based ArtTracktive is resilient and scalable and can be adapted to meet other business needs in other sectors,” comments Thibault Chollet, Director and Blockchain Leader at Deloitte Luxembourg.