NFTs and provenance research

In principle, everything can be copied at will in the digital space.

NFTs are supposed to remedy this and prove the origin and originality of digital art.

But do NFTs really do that?

This is questioned again and again and the risk of digital counterfeiting is pointed out.

In order to make this discussion concrete and clear up some misunderstandings, we want to go through a few scenarios here.

Provenance research

Provenance research essentially describes the process or science of proof of origin of a thing.

Contrary to what is indicated in some articles, the problem with counterfeiting is not an “NFT-specific” problem. Rather, this is something that has long had a permanent place in the analogue art space.

This problem has had a permanent place in the analogue art space for so long that the discipline of provenance research has developed around this problem.

Let's take a quick look at what something like this could look like in analog art - the following scenario:

Provenance in the analog space

At a serious event, our hypothetical art collector gets to know a serious-looking lady who offers him a hand-signed lithograph by Picasso.

Now our hypothetical art collector will probably not consent to a purchase right away.

Our hypothetical art collector will only buy the object after the authenticity has been confirmed by an independent third party.

(Anyone who now remembers that the blockchain is a technology that has emerged to make the need for an "independent third party" obsolete is on the right track)

Let's look at some scenarios of a digital art purchase:

Scenario 1: the criminal artist

Let's assume our criminal artist publishes a "limited edition" of a digital work of art.

He creates 25 NFTs on Blockchain A from the artwork.

And then he does the same thing again on blockchain B.

Now there are a total of 50 NFTs of a work of art, of which there should only be 25 - on 2 different blockchains.

Can the artist do that? YES! Absolutely.

But this is not an "NFT-specific" risk:

In the analogue room, too, an artist can of course "secretly" release the number 1-25 twice for a limited edition, sell it and hope that it will not come out.

the problem:

In digital art, this will come out much faster than in analog space:

If in doubt, a simple Google search will show the artist's profile on 2 platforms and identical NFTs on 2 blockchains.

So: a fraudulent artist who aims to deceive his collectors can try to do so in the digital space as well as in the analog space - in the digital space, however, this is much less promising.

Scenario 2: the criminal collector

Now take the case of a criminal collector:

He may have bought an original NFT from an artist, copied it several times and is now offering the copies as original NFTs on the original platform or another platform.

There are now 2 ways to check the provenance:

The simple and obvious way

A simple inquiry from the artist.

Based on some technical data, he can immediately determine without a doubt whether a particular NFT is a fake.

The technical variant

With data such as token type, token ID, contract ID, blockchain, everyone can trace the NFT themselves back on the blockchain and thus research its origin.

So even with scenario 2 the answer is very clear: YES! Digital copies can be made and offered for sale.

But the technical properties of the blockchains ensure that determining the origin of an NFT and exposing forgeries is trivial even for the layperson.

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