Redefining collectables

The collectables market is valued at over $622billion and is growing at over 9% p.a. Collectables embrace a wide range of assets including art, cars, jewellery, even handbags and, particularly in the realm of art, face persistent and entrenched challenges - i.e. lack of transparency, widespread forgery, extremely high and often prohibitive third-party transaction fees and limited opportunities for intellectual property owners to benefit from secondary sales. These issues erode trust, limit accessibility and inhibit broader participation in a market rich with cultural and economic significance.

OCTARR was created to address these systemic issues and redefine collectables through a ground-breaking ecosystem that merges the tokenization of real-world and digital assets with cutting-edge blockchain technology. By fostering clarity, security and equitable access, the intention is to reshape the collectables market, enabling new economic opportunities for creators and communities while building trust for collectors. This innovative approach not only reduces costs by minimizing intermediaries but also ensures that intellectual property owners and creators gain a fair share of the profits from secondary market sales. Offering the opportunity to redefine what collectables mean as well as who can access them and how they can drive cultural and financial impact, so challenges and changes that narrative by identifying untapped value in both the physical and digital realms. To redefine collectables, we are broadening the very definition of what can be considered valuable. Historically, certain objects, materials and even artistic contributions have been overlooked, undervalued or deemed inaccessible. Some of the ways to redefine the collectables include:

Repurposing the discarded - transforming the unused 70% of a rare and valuable 300-year-old oak tree, (which has thus far been used only as firewood) into bespoke collectables that celebrate both craftsmanship and sustainability.

Preserving digital history - curating rare Satoshis that preserve Bitcoin’s digital legacy, highlighting their historical importance as the building blocks of blockchain innovation.

Elevating overlooked art - celebrating the artistic achievements of women whose contributions have often been ignored or side-lined by traditional institutions, bringing long-overdue recognition to their work.

Beyond expanding the definition, OCTARR also pioneers new ways to experience and interact with collectables. Blockchain technology serves as the bridge between physical and digital realms, enabling the creation of new formats and experiences that would have been unthinkable in the past. For example, collectors can own both a physical artwork and its digital representation, each validated and preserved using blockchain technology. By leveraging blockchain technology and its inherent transparency, immutability and decentralization, it is possible to address the most pressing challenges in the collectables market. Some of the reasons why blockchain is transformative include:

One of the greatest challenges in the art and collectables market is ensuring authenticity and tracing provenance. Blockchain creates an immutable ledger of ownership and history, providing collectors with confidence in the authenticity of their acquisitions. This level of transparency is a game-changer, eliminating doubts and disputes about an item’s origins.

Traditional markets rely heavily on intermediaries, which drive up costs and complicate transactions. Blockchain’s decentralized nature removes the need for these intermediaries, enabling direct interactions between creators and collectors. This not only lowers transaction fees but also democratizes access to collectables.

Traditional sales channels for collectables truncate the story, because of lack of space, lack of research or both. Blockchain inscription allows the IP owner to tell the story in their own words, and in as much detail as they wish.

Smart contracts embedded in blockchain transactions automatically provide for resale royalties, ensuring that creators and intellectual property owners benefit from secondary sales. Until now, the resale rights systems, be they on or off chain are blunt instruments, levying the royalty regardless of whether there is a capital gain for the vendor. OCTARR will ensure that only profitable secondary market sales trigger the royalties. In addition, we will allow the IP rights owner to direct how those royalties are distributed, including philanthropic distribution when and where the IP owner wishes. This marks a significant shift in how artists and artisans are compensated, fostering a more equitable system.

Tokenization enables fractional ownership of high-value assets, making them accessible to a wider audience. A single rare item, such as an historic musical instrument or a masterpiece painting, can now have multiple co-owners, democratizing participation in the market.

Blockchain technology supports traceable and transparent philanthropic initiatives. For example, OCTARR’s concept of "fractional philanthropy©" uses contracts to ensure that some funds are directed toward social and cultural causes, such as supporting young musicians or preserving historic artifacts.

Blockchain enables seamless integration of physical collectables with their digital counterparts. This convergence not only preserves the physical item’s story but also allows for innovative interactions, such as creating new digital derivatives or offering immersive experiences through augmented and virtual reality.

Empowering collectors, artists and artisans

It is possible to redefine the collectables ecosystem empowering creators and collectors alike. For artists and artisans, blockchain-powered platform offers unprecedented opportunities to monetise their work and retain long-term financial benefits. For collectors, a transparent and secure environment is possible where they can buy, sell and trade with confidence reducing the need to rely on traditional auction houses and intermediaries such as art galleries. The provenance of every item is verifiable on a blockchain, eliminating the risk of forgery and ensuring that every acquisition is an investment in authenticity. By building trust and fostering community among collectors, it is possible to create an ecosystem beyond just mere transactions to create a networked environment of shared values and interests. At its core, OCTARR embodies the interconnectedness of nature - a thriving forest where ancient and young trees communicate and support one another through vast mycelial networks. This metaphor reflects our vision of sustainability, collaboration and mutual growth. A prime example is the Bach and Beyond project, which redefines ownership and philanthropy through the tokenization of a 300-year-old master cello. In this project, investors gain fractional ownership in a rare and valuable instrument. The cello is loaned to gifted young musicians, ensuring it remains actively played and contributes to the cultural ecosystem. Smart contracts enforce a transparent and sustainable system of management, overseen by a panel of expert musicians. The investors share in the future enhanced capital growth of their investment (already one which historically outperforms stock markets) as the instrument is being played and heard more widely than ever before. This approach exemplifies a commitment to creating value that transcends financial returns, fostering cultural and social impact.

Georges Braque’s overlooked masterpiece

Another example focuses on Georges Braque’s, “Théière avec Raisins”, a late work by the co-founder of Cubism. This possibly unfinished masterpiece encapsulates Braque’s experimental and introspective approach during his later years. Despite its significance, the painting has remained under-appreciated, with serious gaps in its documentation and recognition. To secure its rightful place in art history, we are inscribing “Théière avec Raisins” as an Ordinal on the Bitcoin blockchain. This ensures its authenticity, provenance and ongoing research are preserved immutably. Through ultra-high-resolution scans and supporting documentation, the painting’s story can now be shared globally, allowing collectors and researchers to appreciate its intricate details and layered history. Braque’s masterpiece is transformed from a static physical artefact into a multidimensional asset. The digital representation not only preserves the painting but also opens new possibilities for interaction and engagement. For example, fragments of the painting have inspired 144 new digital artworks, each carrying a piece of Braque’s legacy while standing as unique creations in their own right. This approach to fragmenting artworks follows the Fibonacci sequence, a nod to the natural harmony and mathematical elegance that aligns with the philosophy of art and design.

Nathan Waks with Georges Braque’s, “Théière avec Raisins

Source: OCTARR

In essence, by creating a blockchain-powered platform it is possible to alter the vision for the future of collectables with a deep respect for cultural heritage and natural resources, so creating an ecosystem where creators, collectors and communities thrive together. This enables the creation of a more inclusive, transparent and innovative marketplace that honours the past while shaping the future and so redefines the collectables landscape.

This article first appeared in Digital Bytes (18th of December, 2024), a weekly newsletter by Jonny Fry of Team Blockchain.