Verisart raises $2.5M to expand blockchain-certified art service

Bitcoin • October 3, 2019, 5:22PM EDT
Unsplash/ Alina Grubnyak

Verisart, an art and collectibles provenance startup, has raised a $2.5 million seed round led by Galaxy Digital EOS Fund, with participation from Sinai Ventures and Rhodium.

According to Verisart, the firm leverages the Bitcoin blockchain to record and timestamp digital certificates representing real-life artwork and collectibles, which can be used to verify and track the provenance of an art piece. Verisart will use the new funds to expand its commercial authentication and provenance product.

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Since launching 2015, Verisart has partnered with eBay and has worked to certify works by artists including Ai Wei Wei and Shepard Fairey.

“With this new round of funding, we’re able to scale our business and ramp up our partnership integrations. The art world is quickly realizing that blockchain provides a new standard in provenance and record keeping and we’re looking forward to extending these services to the industry," says Verisart co-founder and CEO Robert Norton.

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Steven Zheng is a researcher for The Block. He joined The Block in August 2018. Steven graduated from St. John’s University with a degree in economics. Previously, he covered blockchain and crypto at Radicle, a startup analytics firm. He also had brief stints at Cheddar, a media startup, and Bowery Capital, a venture capital firm. He owns bitcoin. Follow Steven on Twitter at: @Dogetoshi