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It\u2019s almost cliche to say NFTs have transformed provenance, but it\u2019s true.<\/span> Blockchain technology grants artworks a transparent record of origin, ownership, and sales history. It deters forgery. It streamlines valuation. And yet, perhaps more interesting than blockchain\u2019s influence on artwork provenance is on-chain provenance\u2019s influence on artwork value. Provenance has become a social experience in the Web3 space, with its newfound visibility not only recording simple transactions, but bestowing lore, necessitating interaction, and impacting long-term value.<\/span><\/p>\n For comparison, look at how provenance and collecting unfold in the trad art world: IRL, if a respected artist or tastemaker publicly collects the work of an unknown creator, that person gets reborn as a rising star, an artist to watch. But the art those collectors buy often gets locked behind closed doors\u2013<\/span>like a candle suffocating beneath a glass<\/span>\u2013never to be experienced by the general populace, with no visible record of ownership. These influential collectors add value to public perceptions of an artist and the price they pay affects a piece\u2019s future valuation, but the public often never gets to see those pieces, enjoy them, or decide for themselves how they feel about the art, its quality, or its value. Instead, we\u2019re expected to trust in the discerning eye and baseless promise of a Town Car backseat with a country club membership.<\/span><\/p>\n As it\u2019s been for centuries, those determining the value of art have mostly been a small class of obscenely wealthy people who buy, sell, and trade works among themselves to inflate their values and profit without giving artists\u2019 efforts a second thought. Hiding art from those of us on the ground ensures that we don\u2019t have any direct sway in dictating the direction of culture. And if I\u2019ve learned anything from being one of the normals, existing in art spaces dominated by people who have never worked a service industry job, it\u2019s that plenty of old money types, CEOs, celebrities, and trad financiers, have awful (and I cannot emphasize this enough: <\/span>awful<\/span><\/i>) taste. As it turns out, there\u2019s no real money in fighting the status quo. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n