Preamble

Each real Art¢oin (¢) is a serialized Non-Fungible Token (NFT) representing one hundred (100) shares in the art work-product of the Scribe Antarah Crawley (the “Artist”). Each share of each real Art¢oin is also called a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) or “token”. These tokens may be bought and sold on an exchange or on the free market just like any trading unit, whether it be art, gold, or Bitcoin. Acquisition of Art¢oin NFT shares represents acquisition of stock (or “shares”) in the entity (or “company”) constituted by the art work-product of the Artist, Scribe Antarah Crawley.

Appreciation in the value of the total volume of art work-product in circulation and on deposit represents an appreciation in the market value of the Company of the Artist, and shall inure to the benefit of its shareholders. One in possession of a share, or token, of the Company shall be de facto shareholder, however, each and every token should be exchanged under an “Agreement of Original Transfer of Work of Art” (or “contract”) establishing the rightful collector (or shareholder) together with a description and sale price of the subject art work, in pursuance of sound bookkeeping.

Value in Artwork

Art is work product that is valued for its unique qualities of scarcity and desirability. Such qualities are derived from many factors, including the person of the artist, the execution of the artist, the intention of the artist, the attention of the artist, the subject matter content of the work, the medium of the work, the lifetime of the work, and the effect upon the viewer, among many other factors. For these reasons, art made of materials worth literally nothing can fetch millions in exchange on the free market. In fact, digital non-material NFTs have sold for as much as $69 million at auction. Therefore art is a great asset that can hold and appreciate value like gold. Therefore it is a form of “hard money”.

Water Theory of Capital

1.0. There is a vast “sea” of value, represented by fluctuating wave-particles called “currency”.

1.1. When value flows freely in a “current” (through a market), then it is “liquid”. But when is it held up in an asset or other liability, then it is not liquid, because it cannot flow freely.

1.2. To get liquid currency from the “sea” to the “shore” where people use it to “work the fields” there must be river “banks” that conduct the liquid current “downstream”. Banks facilitate a capillary system whereby the value of the sea flows to the inland.

1.3. People irrigate new streams of income all the time. One must first identify a source of water, which is the market from which they will draw liquid. Then they must use tools to irrigate a stream to flow from the market to their place of business. These tools are means of production, with the resulting channel being the work-product which conducts the liquid currency to them. (It is worth noting that most institutional banks sit on naturally occurring rivers and bodies of water and are designed to be gatekeepers, or dams, to liquidity.)

2.0. An enterprise of any kind must float upon the sea of capital; for if it does not float, then it will become underwater.

2.1. This is to say that water a ship floats upon is good credit, but water that has gotten into the ship is bad debt that can sink the ship.

2.2. How shall the enterprise remain afloat? It is by and through good “leadership” and “stewardship” and “ownership” and “membership” as well as a firm league of “friendship”.

2.3. What, then, shall convey this company of ships down the river stream of income? It is by and through the ships’ “sales”.

The Liquidation and Circulation of Artwork

Considering the real and potential value of the art market, two important questions arise:

How can artists build liquidity into their work?

How can artists become art market makers?

Our Solution: back each unique work of art with something of intrinsic value in a form that can be readily circulated. The artist can increase the liquidity of their work by rendering their work in easy-to-trade units, or “trade units”, of art work. Of what should these units be made? We find that copper and other metals like silver and gold are much more liquid and valuable than canvas. The Artist can multiply the value of this base material by the work that the Artist inscribes upon it. The Artist can produce x art works per day, each one being a uniquely wrought and serialized unit of work: a non-fungible, or irreplaceable, token (an “NFT”). The craft production of NFTs organically controls the issuance and supply of such NFTs. With every sale, the value of the Artist’s work may appreciate. Smart contracts served via blockchain may enable artists to be paid dividends and royalties on all future transactions of the NFT. Thereby the Artist might become the market makers of certain art submarkets.

Blockchain Contracting

The contract for the transfer of a work of art may be decentralized from any physical location and operationalized without the physical meeting of the parties.

The contract itself may be a publicly available, pro-forma text which may be completed and submitted anywhere there is internet access. The contract binds the Collector to the Artist under clearly established terms for present and future transactions on the unique NFT artwork.

A Company of the Artist

By extension of such a blanket agreement executed between all parties in every sale, the parties establish a de facto company of the Artist in which all Collectors are shareholders holding company shares (the NFTs) that fluctuate according to the principles of the free market.

(Last modified 13 Apr. 21; 4 May 21; 10 May 21; 21 Sep 23)