Non-fungible token technology (NFT) – blockchain proof of the authenticity of a digital product – began to develop rapidly a few months ago and sets world records day after day. The first tweet of the head of Twitter was sold for $ 2,9 million, a digital painting by the artist Beeple went for $ 69 million, and Elon Musk’s joke song was ready to be immediately bought for $ 1 million.The State Hermitage will join the process and prepare an exhibition of NFT art works.

The same digital image of Beeple that was bought for $ 69 million. Image source: theverge.com

As reported on the Hermitage website, the exhibition will be held this year. The selection of exhibits for display on the NFT platform is handled by the Museum’s Department of Contemporary Art.

“The Hermitage project will become the first exhibition research in Russia in the field of art of NFT tokens and their use in the artistic field, which is the most urgent agenda in the field of contemporary art today,” – said in a press release from the Hermitage.

The State Hermitage does not shy away from contemporary art. Previously, it hosted exhibitions with new forms of art, such as “Innovation as an Artistic Technique” (2018) and “Artificial Intelligence and Dialogue of Cultures” (2019). An exhibition featuring art objects on the NFT platform will be held as part of the Hermitage 20/21 project, possibly under the name NFT-Art.

At the same time, it is necessary to understand that the blockchain technology and the NFT platform have their own vulnerabilities and do not at all guarantee the complete safety of property from theft. On the other hand, the cryptocurrency boom is forcing miners and investors to look for options for securing profits, for which NFT is quite suitable. Probably, a lot of surprising news awaits us in this area, although something suggests that the transfer of investments into the non-material plane ends very, very sadly. Dotcoms won’t let you lie.