Gain Perspective About the Business of Crypto Art Through This Website

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency platform, partners with Galeria Paloma to launch a series of panel discussions that cover everything there is to know about crypto art.

Gone are the days when your art hangs on walls. Thanks to modern-day technology, you can now carry your entire art collection on your smartphone!

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Bitcoin, crypto art, cryptocurrency, and more. The art scene is changing and it’s a lot to take in, especially for first-time artists and art collectors. With that in mind, Galeria Paloma teamed up with Binance—the world’s biggest bitcoin exchange and altcoin crypto exchange—and Palladium to release a series of art-related lectures, forums, and panel discussions that can be accessed online.

Dubbed “Perspectives,” this educational initiative gathers a wide pool of experts in various fields—with the goal of shedding light on blockchain infrastructure as a layer of security, the changing but relevant roles of galleries and museums, and novel display experiences that include crypto art.

Panelists involved include big names in the industry: Fatmire Bekiri, Head of Tokenization at Sygnum Bank, the world’s first digital asset bank; Gareth Fletcher, program director at Sotheby’s Institute of Art; Kenneth Stern, general manager of Binance Philippines; and Atty. Regie Tongol, lawyer and collector of both crypto and traditional-form art.

To know more about this educational initiative, as well as the business behind crypto art, we asked gallery director Kimi Rocha-Delgado to tell us more.

Modern-day technology has made it possible to establish ownership over digital art and other intangible assets. Photo Source: Galeria Paloma’s website

What are key takeaways that aspiring artists, investors, collectors, and entrepreneurs can get from Perspectives?

In our first panel discussion, “Collecting Crypto Art,” there were so many insights that [even] I myself gleaned from the talk. But maybe the key thing is that a blockchain is truly a useful tool in establishing ownership, authenticity, and liquidity, which were issues not readily solved before its invention.

Digital art, for example, is so notoriously difficult to “own”—how do you know the jpeg file in a flash drive being sold to you is truly the seller’s property? How can you prove that a digital file is truly yours? The blockchain makes that crystal clear and transparent. It makes transactions secure, and digital assets investable. 

Another thing is that the blockchain has so many other use cases beyond just minting art—it is already being used in so many different industries. And in the discussion, we touched on intellectual property and legal practice.

What is the thinking behind “Perspectives” and what does it seek to achieve?

The mission of “Perspectives” is to provide educational resources in the form of panel discussions, talks, and more about key topics in art—for example, movements, business practice, or, as in the case of our first event, “Collecting Crypto Art,” [where] we delved into what web3 means and what the blockchain means to the present and future of art, which are hot topics these days.

We feel that having an accessible resource with a local context that addresses a lot of questions collectors or artists may have—that aren’t so openly or easily discussed—[and] gives listeners or attendees a firmer grasp and more agency over their decision-making when it comes to creating and collecting art. Knowledge is always power.

Taking a step further beyond organizing educational events like panel discussions and lectures, the gallery would like to offer these resources as recordings on accessible platforms. We do our best to gather key insights from professionals beyond our local art scene to get a pulse of current movements in global art and then present these insights accessibly and relatably.

In our experience, the hesitations most collectors have around collecting crypto art is the security of it all. We wanted to provide a platform where these questions about the safety and risks of collection are addressed by experts in the field. “Perspectives: Collecting Crypto Art” is the first of what we hope are many insightful discussions around, but not limited to, web3 and art.

The discussion led to other best-use cases of NFTs and the blockchain, like fractional ownership and intellectual property, as well as our changing experiences with art and where the future of the art market landscape is going–topics that we will be tackling in the near future at other events.

How can you ease the worries that people have about the virtual webspace of crypto art, cryptocurrency, and NFTs? Is this something worth investing in and is this something only young people can get into?

I think providing easy-to-understand information is an important aspect of assuaging worry and doubt about crypto, which was what the gallery’s mission was about when we produced the panel discussion. We don’t purport to give investment advice, but we will hand you information as much as we can so that you can make a well-informed decision based on your risk appetite.

I also don’t believe that it’s something only the young can get into. I actually think that older people, due to their experience and being able to see both sides of the coin, so to speak—a time before the blockchain and a time after—gives them a great vantage point for discernment.

As a gallery, we hold the belief that crypto art is worth investing in just as much as traditional-form art is worth investing in. It’s not so much about investing in crypto—even if we are bullish about it—instead, art is art, and crypto art is just another medium of art. If it resonates with you, if it moves you, it’s worth whatever you are willing to pay for it. 

How can artists, collectors, and galleries earn from investing in crypto art?

There’s always an opportunity to earn financially from art investment, but we can’t emphasize enough the emotional investment of collecting art you love, art that moves you. We firmly believe that art has the power to shift perspectives or offer vicarious experiences that can foster change for the better. 

As a gallery, what advice can you give collectors of both NFTs and traditional artworks? If they were to choose between the two, which would be a viable investment?

My advice is to keep it simple by thinking about crypto art as what it is: just another genre or medium of art—with an added bonus of its registry on the blockchain that will prove it is yours. So, if a potential collector would like to start collecting, we always advise looking around for pieces that you love. They’ll move you in the same way traditional-form art does.

It will always be a good investment—financially, emotionally, or even mentally.


Galeria Paloma’s educational initiative, “Perspectives,” which launched last October 7 with a panel discussion on “Collecting Crypto Art” is now available and viewable on its website and YouTube channel.