Freeport, a blockchain-based platform designed to enable investment in fine art, is set to launch soon, offering an exclusive collection of four prints by pop artist Andy Warhol. The collection includes some of Warhol’s most famous works, such as “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 per print. According to a press release, the artworks were “partially acquired” from prominent collectors, including Jane Holzer.
The art collection will be tokenized using digital asset management tool Vertalo, allowing investors to buy and sell fractional shares of the artworks on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. Freeport cleared a regulatory hurdle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, which enables it to fractionalize shares of fine artworks in the form of security tokens on the Ethereum blockchain.
The collection is set to launch in May, and interested buyers can join the waitlist now. The starting price for each tokenized lot will range from $250 to $860, according to the platform’s website.
Colin Johnson, CEO and co-founder of Freeport, stated that the demand for fractionalized art is increasing among a younger generation of investors, who may have less financial flexibility. He further mentioned that their platform goes beyond just fractionalizing shares of fine art into security tokens, as they have built a fully-immersive and interactive platform that hosts an art-centric community, redefining the ownership experience surrounding fractionalized art. Dave Hendricks, CEO, and co-founder of Vertalo, praised the use of his platform in the tokenization process.
