Blockchain firm X-widget tests art NFT service with gallery

Blockchain company X-widget said it started a pilot service for a non-fungible token platform it developed with a major local art gallery to use NFTs as proof of ownership of digital assets such as artwork.

NFT Contest Market Your Own Pick, or NCOP, is a Web 3.0 platform that allows users to discover and appraise the value of artwork using NFTs. It is a blockchain-based decentralized application that will be officially launched at the end of this year.

Based on a strong community of artists and collectors plus blockchain technology, X-widget and Pyo Gallery sought to develop an NFT platform that can be both commercial and popular at the same time, launching the NCOP project so that the value of a work of art can evaluated via competition, and NFTs can be minted, sold and traded on a single platform.

Since the art market is divided into a small number of transactions for expensive works of art by famous artists and countless transactions for other works of art, their prices are usually determined at auction or by the artists themselves. The competition aims to achieve a certain level of objectivity in the pricing of art through collective intelligence, and to help talented, up-and-coming artists enter the market.

Anyone who owns an electronic wallet on the platform can exercise the right to vote to start a “competition”, where the best works are selected via two rounds of voting – the first by general users and the second by art experts.

NFTs are minted after a sale is settled. Multiple NFTs for the same artwork may be minted for sale to multiple buyers. An NFT staking product will also be launched.

“The platform is structured to provide a community for artists, fans and collectors, allowing art enthusiasts and users to participate in a blockchain-based NFT competition to discover works of art and assess their value,” said X-widget CEO Kim Sung-uoen, who leads the NCOP project.

“It differs from other NFT platforms as the pieces are selected through a competition and their value is evaluated by collective intelligence, while fandoms can be built for creators and creators can be systematically rewarded.”

NCOP, which will be launched as a state of the art NFT platform service, will evolve into a Web 3.0 decentralized application platform running on its own MainNet by the end of this year, according to Kim.

A decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO, of users will be formed at NCOP to offer users an opportunity to discover and assess the value of artworks to ensure a certain level of objectivity, operational transparency and a profit-sharing system, he said.

Starting with the art NFT market, NCOP will expand its platform to music, gaming and real estate, integrating NCOP’s NFT and DAO on the metaverse by 2024.

Kim said his goal is to grow it into the world’s largest global NFT platform.

Early this month, X-widget said its blockchain-based discount coupon system that allows users to collect 10 percent of their purchases and give them a 10 percent discount attracted more than 800,000 users with over 1,000 stores signing up for the service in South Korea and Vietnam.

The blockchain-based payment and business development company said it hopes to attract more stores and users in Southeast Asia and expand to other parts of Asia to reach 100 million users worldwide, including 10 million users in Korea, by 2024.

By Kim So-hyun ([email protected])