The Fine Art Ledger is a digital infrastructure platform that provides Artwork Passports™ (AKA Art Passports™), for physical and digital art. It combines blockchain anchoring, structured metadata, and hardware tagging solutions to provide long-term artwork verification, stored in the artwork itself and accessible with a mobile phone tap or scan.

The Fine Art Ledger works by creating an Artwork Passport™ for each artwork and securely linking it to the physical or digital artwork. Here’s how it works: 1. Create an Artwork Passport™ Artwork details—such as artist, title, medium, and provenance—are recorded in a structured digital format. 2. Mint as an NFT for authentication The Artwork Passport™ is anchored to the blockchain as an NFT, creating a tamper-proof, time-stamped certificate of authenticity. 3. Attach a physical tag A secure NFC or QR-based FAL NFC Tag is applied to the artwork, linking it directly to its Artwork Passport™. 4. Enable (almost) instant verification Anyone can scan or tap the artwork to access its verified provenance, authenticity, and documentation. Permissions can be set for each artwork to keep info or documents confidential. 5. Track ownership and provenance When the artwork is sold or transferred, the Artwork Passport™ updates—maintaining a continuous and transparent ownership record. The result is a system where the Artwork Passport™ travels with the artwork, preserving its authenticity and history across its lifecycle.

An Artwork Passport™ is a digital certificate of authenticity and provenance record for an artwork. It contains essential information such as: • Artist and creation details • Provenance and ownership history • Blockchain and asset IDs, transactions and metadata • Supporting documents and metadata The Artwork Passport™ is linked to the artwork and serves as its trusted digital identity.

The Fine Art Ledger uses NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) in a non-speculative, utility-based way. Unlike traditional NFTs, which are often associated with standalone digital collectibles, NFTs on The Fine Art Ledger function as instruments for authentication, cataloging, ownership, and management of underlying physical or digital artworks. Each NFT represents and secures an Artwork Passport™, not just a digital image. This means the NFT is used to: • Certify authenticity • Anchor provenance data • Enable secure ownership tracking • Support lifecycle management of the artwork In this context, NFTs are not the product—they are the infrastructure that secures the artwork’s identity and history.

Blockchain technology secures the Artwork Passport™ by recording key data on an immutable ledger. This works to ensure that the artwork’s certificate of authenticity and provenance record cannot be altered independently making blockchain a powerful tool for art authentication, fraud prevention, and ownership verification, and allowing for improved trust and confidence in the art documentation and transactions.

A Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a standardized, machine-readable record that includes information about an artwork’s lifecycle, provenance, and materials. The Artwork Passport™ functions as a Digital Product Passport for art, prospectively aligning with emerging global standards for transparency and traceability.

FAL Tags are ISO/IEC 14443-A standard and NFC Forum Type 2 Tag specifications compliant. NFC and/or QR identifiers managed by The Fine Art Ledger seek to enable secure, persistent and asset-linked art provenance. When tapped or scanned, they resolve to an Artwork Passport ™ identifying the art, artist and telling their story. It is an encrypted, authenticated governed provenance infrastructure layer, not a simple off-the-shelf tag that FAL employs (together with QR codes, links and image recognition) to tie artworks to the Artwork Passport™.

FAL Tags use NFC (Near Field Communication) technology. When tapped with a smartphone, the NFC chip connects directly to the artwork’s machine-readable Artwork Passport™, enabling real-time provenance access without proprietary apps.

FAL Tags incorporate NFC chips such as NTAG213 or NTAG424 DNA. The Tags are combined with QR codes that are engraved or printed for durability, providing a dual NFC + QR code system. In addition, FAL uses image recognition and links together with its NFC Tags and QR codes to connect physical or digital art to Artwork Passports ™.

Security features may include AES-128 cryptographic NFC authentication, anti-cloning verification, tamper-evident technology, and write-locking after commissioning, depending on the actual NFC Tag used. These tier-based measures aim to secure NFC art authentication.

There is currently no European Union DPP set of requirements for fine art. FAL will work to align Tags with EU DPP frameworks including persistent unique identifiers, open interoperable standards, machine-readable public access, and lifecycle and sustainability disclosures, making them suitable for future compliance in cultural and high-value goods. So, while FAL is not working subject to EU DPP requirements, its objective and intent is to align itself with the requirements as they evolve, and to bring the hardware into compliance as its platform evolves.

A standard NFC tag only stores static data. A FAL NFC Tag provides governed provenance infrastructure, persistent URL resolution, eventual full EU DPP compliance alignment, and structured Artwork Passport™ access. In line with EU DPP requirements, FAL NFC Tags and QR codes resolve into a dedicated URL for the artwork and do not store information concerning the artwork on the Tag or QR code itself.  The data stored in the FAL NFC Tag is encrypted.

No. FAL Tags are open-access and can be scanned using standard, current smartphone technology. No proprietary app or login is required to access public Artwork Passport™ data. FAL does not have a mobile application, and this is intentional as it focuses on accessing, and interaction with real-world artworks and it would be counterintuitive to have an app for that. All you need to access or interact with a work is to open your camera on your smartphone to read the QR code or tap near the NFC Tag to bring the Artwork Passport™ to life on your phone. Remember to close your camera when you are tapping.

Artwork Passports™ linked to FAL Tags and QR-Codes, and accessible through links and FAL image recognition are designed for long-term lifecycle accessibility. Even if a physical NFC Tag is replaced, the artwork’s digital identity and provenance record remain persistent within the system. NFC Tags employed have a ten year life cycle in accordance with published standards.