Have you ever wondered how slowly the traditional art world adopts new technologies?

Take certificates of authenticity, for example. To this day, many are printed on paper. Easy to misplace, forge, or lose. I have a few myself, and as I type this, I’m not quite sure where they are. Not ideal if I ever want to resell the works quickly.

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This week, I interviewed Wei Xue, founder of Art Fungible, a platform bridging physical and digital art with blockchain-backed solutions. Wei holds a PhD in mathematics, and her approach to art and tech reflects that same precision and thoughtfulness.

She co-founded Art Fungible with an art historian friend who asked her to look into NFTs. In which she saw a system that could reshape ownership, transparency, and resale in the art world.

One of the platform’s most compelling features is the use of NFC (Near Field Communication) tags, embedded directly into artworks or their frames. A quick phone scan reveals the verified certificate of ownership. No paperwork. No confusion. Just instant, secure provenance. Ideal for collectors and institutions.

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Olena: What are the biggest misconceptions people have about blockchain in the art space?

‍Wei: The biggest confusion between NFTs and digital art comes from people mistakenly equating them. An NFT is simply a digital ID on a blockchain – think of it as a digital certificate. It has nothing to do with art.

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Olena: Why did you decide to focus on physical art and not solely digital? Art Fungible supports both mediums and seems to offer tailored solutions.

Wei: Blockchain technology can be naturally used for all kinds of art to provide traceability, transparency, security and at the same time as a payment method. There is no reason to restrict the use of NFTs and smart contracts only to digital art.

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Wei also personally created a smart contract that underpins Art Fungible’s transaction system. It’s designed to give both artists and collectors peace of mind. Funds are held securely until the artwork is shipped, making scams or last-minute changes far less likely.

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Olena: Can you tell us more about the smart contract you designed for Art Fungible? What were your key considerations?

Wei: Our vision is to build a truly decentralised platform for creators and their clients without intermediaries. So we designed the smart contract for physical artworks in a way that artists and collectors only need us if there is a dispute. The smart contract controls the fund, and can only be released when both parties confirm. Our platform only gets involved if there is a problem where users need our investigators.

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Art Fungible is also focused on supporting artists. The platform highlights many up-and-coming creators, and it also features well-known names like Jolly Koh, a key figure in Malaysian modern art. His work played an important role in shifting local art in the 1960s, moving it beyond traditional village scenes and into a more global and expressive space.

If you're an artist interested in working with Art Fungible, you can reach out to them directly.

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Olena: Where do you still see gaps in the traditional art world? How does Art Fungible aim to address them?

Wei: The traditional art world still struggles with accessibility, transparency, and inclusivity. It's often dominated by gatekeepers, galleries, auction houses, and institutions, making it difficult for emerging artists to gain exposure and for everyday collectors to participate meaningfully. Provenance tracking remains manual and opaque, creating room for fraud and forgery. Furthermore, resale opportunities for collectors and creators are extremely limited once a piece is purchased.

Art Fungible addresses these issues by building a decentralized art marketplace that bridges the digital and physical. We empower artists to showcase and sell their work directly, globally, without relying on intermediaries. Our platform leverages blockchain technology to provide transparent provenance and enable programmable resale rights, ensuring creators continue to benefit even as their work changes hands. Through NFC tags and smart contracts, we also authenticate physical artworks and tie them securely to NFTs, opening up a new era of trust, liquidity, and creative freedom.

Our goal is to democratise collecting, support artists more sustainably, and redefine how art is owned, experienced, and valued in the 21st century.

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Sponsored by Art Fungible.

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