"Blockchain promises a possibly utopian solution to issues of transparency, trust and governance in the digital age. But the rise of interest in the blockchain closely tracks the development of an ever more financialised world economy since the 2008 crash. So it was perhaps only a matter of time before the art market got its own blockchain-based trading platform. Last month, an outfit called Maecenas announced its new art registry and trading platform – the first ‘decentralised art gallery’ -as well as the first public offering of its new ‘token’, called ART. Not simply a cryptocurrency, Maecenas touts itself as a blockchain platform that, according to its creators, will ‘democratise access to fine art’. ‘For the first time,’ the Maecenas website enthuses, ‘technology will allow investors, collectors and owners to exchange shares in paintings and sculptures instantly, akin to the way stocks of a company are traded today."