How to Buy Digital Art

Blockchain is coming for the art market in a big way. Decentralized verification, certification, and trading of artwork is a major trend within the industry. Eventually, collectors and artists hope that every piece of art will have a digital art certificate. As a result, art will be less susceptible to forgery while also being more decentralized and accessible to anyone in the world.

Blockchain art promises to allow artists to sell certified digital prints of their artwork. It will also allow digital artists to monetize their works as uniquely valuable in the same way that traditional artists have always been able to do with physical unique works.

Physical works and digital art will also benefit from blockchain art provenance–the ability to track art back through its owner history all the way back to the artist. All told, blockchain is already radically changing art as we know it. From Rare Pepes to Anime, blockchain and technology is expanding what we think of as art and how we share art in the modern era.

Buying Digital Art

If you’re excited about the blockchain art revolution, you’re not alone. Several companies, like Verisart and Maecenas, have arisen in this space to create the platforms for this revolution. However, it’s still early days for blockchain art, and there’s no dominant force for creating a decentralized blockchain art marketplace.

There are plenty of marketplaces that offer digital art through a web app. They typically keep certification and authentication in-house as part of the company. The blockchain revolution promises to change that. To date, however, there is only one decentralized marketplace for artists to sell their works on the blockchain: DADA.

Purchasing Art on DADA

DADA is an Ethereum dapp that uses MetaMask to help you purchase digital art using Ether.

If you’re an art lover new to the world of blockchain and that last sentence made no sense to you, don’t worry. We’ll walk you through the steps to buying your first piece of blockchain art.

1. Visit DADA to see if you like any of their art

The art on DADA is wide-ranging and with a little digging, chances are you’ll find something interesting to you. However, most of the art is modern and kind of weird, so if that’s not your cup of tea, you might not want to buy any blockchain art at the moment. But stay tuned to this guide, we’ll suggest some alternatives at the end of this article.

2. Download MetaMask

MetaMask is a browser extension and Ethereum wallet that helps integrate the Ethereum blockchain with web pages in a safe, secure way. Setting up a MetaMask wallet is self-explanatory once you’ve installed the browser extension.

3. Fund your MetaMask wallet

You’ll need to send the required amount of Ether to your MetaMask wallet in order to purchase blockchain art on DADA. If you already have Ether, send some over to your MetaMask address. If you don’t have any Ether, MetaMask includes an integration with Coinbase. Users in the United States can buy Ether for dollars there.

4. Purchase your artwork

Once you click “buy,” DADA will direct you to MetaMask to complete the transaction. After you’re done, you’ll be the proud owner of a piece of digital art.

Alternatives to DADA

As previously mentioned, DADA is the only platform for buying unique digital artwork on the blockchain. Alternatively, there are other platforms for buying digital art simply online, like Sedition.

If you’re open to a more flexible definition of art, many people are calling unique collectible blockchain items like Cryptokitties and Rare Pepes a new type of art.

In the future, expect this digital art revolution to continue to grow as more pieces of art get verified, listed, and sold on the blockchain. With decentralized certification and autonomous auctions, the art world as we know it could change drastically as more people have access and means to buy unique art pieces.

Image by Shutterstock

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