Silicon Valley's Top Investor Tim Draper to Keynote at Art&Co.

World's Largest Online Art Auction for Covid to Track Artwork via Blockchain Technology

LONDON, June 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Art&Co., the world's largest online auction for supporting charities addressing the five D's of the Covid-19 virus: Disease, Death, Depression, Domestic Violence and Disproportionality for ethnic minorities, will host an online event on June 25 keynoted by top Silicon Valley investor Tim Draper to discuss the application of blockchain to the art world.

More than 260 pieces of art are being auctioned to bidders from across the globe by Art&Co. Funds raised are being shared by seven registered charities and 42 artists who have come together in the fight against Covid-19. Blockchain technology provided by LuxTag will prove ownership, record distribution of funds, deter counterfeit and track and trace artwork.

"It's a partnership made in heaven," said Tim Draper, Silicon Valley's most notable blockchain and cryptocurrency investor and founder of Draper Associates, Draper University and DFJ. "Artwork needs a trail of its provenance and blockchain is inherently an immutable record-keeping system."

Draper will give a live keynote online at ArtandCo.net on Thursday June 25, at 5 PM UK to discuss the interaction of art, philanthropy and digital technologies. He is noted for investments in Skype, Twitter, Tesla, Coinbase, DocuSign, Hotmail, Baidu, Ancestry.com and SpaceX, among others.

The provenance of an art piece is a fundamental part that creates value. When art collectors trade works, it is necessary to know its origin as well as the techniques and materials used. When art pieces change ownership, it becomes harder to track its provenance and proof of authenticity. LuxTag's blockchain technology solves these problems by storing records on a ledger.

"Choosing LuxTag was easier done than said," said Bundeep Singh Rangar, Art&Co.'s founder and PremFina's CEO. "Recording ownership and purchases on the blockchain is a simple set of clicks on its App."

LuxTag's provenance tracking solution called Papyrus ensures authenticity and ownership of artworks. Each item is tagged with a unique identifier, intrinsically linked to a distinct blockchain account on the NEM public blockchain. Every account contains data and specifics about each artwork to prevent forgery. Smart contracts on the blockchain record ownership and transfers. 

"LuxTag is unconditionally delighted to be a part of such a soulful movement," said Jeff McDonald, co-founder of LuxTag. "We are happy to cooperate with PremFina's Art&Co. project to deliver the best quality security system to the project."

Recording all information using the properties that blockchain technology represents, i.e. decentralization, encryption, immutability, and transparency, is a significant step forward toward a more secure and accurate description of Art&Co.'s highly valuable artwork, McDonald said.

LuxTag will record the purchases and distribution of funds on the NEM blockchain, as raised from InsurAid's Art&Co. project to artists and seven registered charities: ICU Steps, The Care Workers Charity, Khalsa Aid International, Race on the Agenda (ROTA), Painting Our World in Silver, Solace Women's Aid and Za Teb. UK charities have welcomed the Art&Co. initiative by PremFina's InsurAid unit since they have lost billions of pounds in contributions, due to the lockdown.

London-based fintech firm PremFina's shareholders include global investors Rakuten Capital, the investment arm of Japan's Rakuten, the UK's Draper Esprit Plc, backed by Silicon Valley billionaire Tim Draper, Thomvest Ventures, the venture capital firm of Canada's Peter Thomson, whose family is known for its namesake Thomson Reuters Corp., Emery Capital, Talis Capital and the company's founder and CEO.

About Art&Co. (www.artandco.net)

Art&Co. is the world's largest online art auction to help with the immediate as well as long-term effects of COVID-19, including disease, mental health, and domestic violence.

About InsurAid (www.insuraid.co.uk) 

InsurAid is a PremFina company set up to encourage corporate and personal donations to support those affected by humanitarian disasters, public health, and safety crises. InsurAid focuses on events for which insurance is scarce or unavailable.

About LuxTag (www.luxtag.io)

LuxTag is an anti-counterfeit, track and trace, and anti-theft solution provider, utilizing the blockchain platform NEM and its sequel SYMBOL (previous codename NEM Catapult). Luxtag uses NEM's native tokens (XEM) to run its blockchain operations. The blockchain-powered service evolves around digitized certificates of authenticity for tangible products, linking these to brands and owners through multi-signature smart contracts and the IoT (Internet of Things) elements. Additionally, LuxTag technology provides business intelligence through innovative means of enhanced customer engagement. 

About PremFina Ltd (www.premfina.com)

PremFina Ltd is a UK-based premium finance company that promotes financial inclusion by enabling the payment of insurance premiums via installments. It supplies insurance brokers with funding lines and also enables broker-funded and branded credit agreements via its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) affiliate IXL PremFina Ltd. With PremFina, brokers receive higher profit, greater autonomy, and the opportunity to increase the lifetime value of their customers as well as cross-sell and up-sell additional products. PremFina's shareholders include global investors Rakuten Capital, Draper Esprit Plc, Thomvest Ventures, Emery Capital, Rubicon Venture Capital, Talis Capital, and the company's founder & CEO.

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