Poland’s second-largest bank, Bank Pekao, uses blockchain technology to preserve the country’s cultural heritage.
According to a press release from Pekao, the bank has partnered with Aleph Zero to launch Archiv3, a project aimed at symbolizing Polish works of art and storing them safely for future generations.
Tokenization is the process of turning physical assets, like art, into digital tokens on a blockchain, making them easier to store and track.
For this project, Bank Pekao is digitizing famous Polish works of art, such as those by Jan Matejko and Stanisław Wyspiański, using advanced 3D scanning technology. These digital versions are then stored as non-fungible tokens on the Aleph Zero ecological blockchain, ensuring their long-term preservation.
Arctic World Archives
The tokenized artworks will also be archived in the Arctic World Archive, a facility in Svalbard, Norway, designed to protect important data from threats such as cyberattacks and natural disasters. The AWA is known for storing cultural and scientific data from organizations like UNESCO and the Vatican, according to a release from Archiv3.
The bank hopes that by using a decentralized ledger, artworks will remain safe and accessible to future generations, even in the event of a global catastrophe.
The initiative reflects a broader trend of integrating traditional banking services with modern technologies such as blockchain, opening new avenues for digital asset management.
Earlier, on October 2, Christie’s announced plans to use blockchain technology to issue blockchain-based certificates of ownership for artworks sold at auction.
