Frequently Asked Questions
General
What is Maecenas?
Maecenas is a fine art investment platform. Through Maecenas, investors can purchase fractional interests in great works of art, leveraging the efficiencies of blockchain technology, and bank-grade cryptographic security to protect your assets.
How can I start investing in fine art?
Sign up to our platform to create an account, and submit the required identity documentation and proof of address.
What are the fees for using the platform?
It costs as low as 1% to invest in fine art through Maecenas. These fees are charged only once your investment is completed.
What is the ART token?
ART is a blockchain-based token that is used by the Maecenas platform. Community members can utilise ART to interact directly with our smart contracts in the Ethereum blockchain network.
Invests can benefit from holding ART to get discounted fees when using both our investment platform and our trading exchange.
Invests can benefit from holding ART to get discounted fees when using both our investment platform and our trading exchange.
Asset Tokens
What are Asset Tokens?
Asset Tokens are digital certificates of ownership in real assets. The bearer of the assets tokens becomes the owner of a percentage of the underlying asset. These digital certificates are issued as ERC20-compatible tokens on the Ethereum network. Each artwork that is tokenised by Maecenas is represented by a different type of Asset Token and it has a unique code. As an example, the 14 Small Electric Chairs Reversal Series artwork by Andy Warhol is represented by the code WRHL1. Having WRHL1 tokens in your digital wallet means you are part-owner of the Warhol artwork.
What is the minimum I can invest in a piece of art?
The minimum investment amount is 1,000 USD.
How can I check my asset token holdings?
Asset Tokens are issued as Ethereum (ERC20) tokens. If you hold your tokens in our platform, you can check your balance by simply logging in and going into the Account section where you can see the balances of all the assets and currencies you hold with us.
If you decide to hold your tokens in your own blockchain wallet, you can use any third-party compatible with ERC20 to check your balance. We recommend using high-security hardware wallets such as Ledger Nano and Trezor.
If you decide to hold your tokens in your own blockchain wallet, you can use any third-party compatible with ERC20 to check your balance. We recommend using high-security hardware wallets such as Ledger Nano and Trezor.
Where will the asset tokens be traded?
Asset tokens are tradable on partner exchanges. As of now you can find them on ATEX (https://atex.exchange). We foresee adding more partner exchanges in the future.
Do you plan to list other assets besides fine art?
At this stage we remain focused solely on tokenising blue-chip artworks. However, in future we may expand our catalogue to include other related asset types.
Artwork
What type of art pieces will be listed on the platform?
Our focus is on blue-chip artists artworks with a market valuation of one million US Dollars and above. We will list artwork that have sound fundamentals and capital appreciation potential, but also appeal to investors who appreciate fine art.
How do you ensure that the artwork is authentic?
As part of our due diligence procedures, we arrange for provenance checks to be conducted by reputable and trusted third-parties. This includes not only art loss registry checks and physical inspection, but also validating storage certificates, insurance policies, certificates of authenticity and background checks on the chain of owners. Any documentation, either obtained or produced as part of our due diligence process, is stored securely and protected by cryptography to ensure that they are impossible to falsify once the artwork is listed on the platform.
How is the artwork valued?
Similarly to how professional auction houses and some galleries operate, we obtain third-party valuation from experts in the particular artwork (taking into account the artist, their time period, medium, etc.). This valuation is cross-checked with our internal estimates.
Can I physically hold the art piece I invested in?
It's possible but unlikely. The most likely scenario would be for the artwork to be stored in a purpose-built art storage facility that provides high-security access. This has the benefits of preserving the artwork in optimal conditions (humidity, temperature, lighting) and significantly lowering the risk of damage or theft, which is reflected in the lower premium that would be charged by the insurance company. It is also possible to store the artworks at museums or certain galleries given that they meet our guidelines and are approved by the insurance provider.
What happens if a piece of art is damaged, lost or stolen?
This scenario is extremely unlikely. However, if it were to happen, the insurance policy payment would be triggered and all investors would receive a pro-rata payout.
Technology
How can I be sure that my holdings are safe and accurate?
Ownership of your holdings is protected by cryptographic keys which are virtually impossible to crack. If you're an institutional investor you will likely utilise an enterprise custody solution for digital assets, such as Ledger Vault. If you are an individual investor, you can use any of the safe blockchain hardware wallets currently available in the market such as Ledger Nano or Trezor. In the unlikely case that your cryptographic keys are lost or stolen, and provided that you have registered with our platform, it is technically possible to recover and/or re-issue your asset tokens after correctly ascertaining and verifying your identity and proof of purchase.
Why do you need the blockchain?
By utilising blockchain technology we remove the need to have a central register to track asset ownership. by decentralising this function, we not only lower the risk of a cybersecurity attack, but also we create an open ecosystem in which any other platform or market participant can provide services related to tokenised fine art. Ultimately, blockchain is an open protocol standard, and as such it fosters transparency and free market competition. We believe that by embracing these values, Maecenas can further its mission to democratise access to the art market.
