Not everything is frenetic days of geopolitics and economic discussions at the Davos Forum, which takes place from May 22 to 26.
There is also time for new trends and technology to come and that is where, against all odds, the House of Alba appears.
The foundation that manages the heritage of the noble family has presented this Wednesday to the participants of the World Economic Forum (WEF, for its acronym in English) one of the letters written by Christopher Columbus to Isabel La Católica that he owns and that has become in a unique digital asset of the document, which in the jargon is known as NFT (acronym for
non fungible token
).
More information
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An NFT is an encrypted document asset, a crypto that cannot be replicated or sold.
They burst onto the market last year and have become a multibillion-dollar business, ranging from computer-generated works of art, cartoon characters costing thousands of dollars, photographs and luxury goods such as Hublot watches.
"It's about dematerializing an object and creating its digital twin with all the guarantees of origin and authenticity," explains the president and founder of WISeKey, Carlos Moreira, the company that has developed the technology that has made it possible to convert the document from Colon.
It is the first time that a noble house launches an NFT project.
“We are making history, we are excited to open that door to the metaverse, which is undoubtedly the future”,
“Starting with Columbus's letter is very symbolic, he talks there about entering the New World
,
which is what America used to be, and now it is entering the new world that is the metaverse”, insists Moreira.
WISeKey itself has created artistic awards to recognize the impact of certain projects on the development of the NFT industry.
The Duke of Huéscar, Fernando Fitz-James, son of the current Duke of Alba, was expected to make the presentation and receive the award in this first edition, but he did not attend the elite Swiss town on Wednesday.
Finally he was picked up by the person in charge of the foundation.
The Columbus letter NFT consists of an animation of about three minutes by the Hispanic-Venezuelan artist Pedro José Sandoval, of a series of sculptures, images and original music, around the figure of Columbus and his numerous trips to America.
The NFT will now be exhibited at the Palacio de Liria,
However, it is strange that the presentation of such an initiative is made at the Davos Forum.
Because when you have not one but twenty of the forty letters written by Christopher Columbus to Queen Elizabeth and you want to promote them as historical documents, go to one of the respected international book fairs or organize an exhibition in a great museum.
Although if what one wants is to put the value of the letter on the market, go to someone who knows money and business and that is the specialty of Davos.
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The letter was valued years ago by Christie's auction house at 100 million dollars (about 93.7 million euros).
This is, of course, a purely theoretical assessment.
As it is a historical document, its possible sale or even the temporary removal of the letter from Spain for research or an exhibition would have to be previously authorized by the Qualification Board for Spanish Historical Heritage Assets, belonging to the Ministry of Culture, which would hardly I would agree to it.
But the same does not happen if what it is about is an NFT.
The buyer of an NFT can prove its authenticity through a
blockchain code,
the same code used by cryptocurrencies.
Some market estimates place the value of the NFT of Columbus' letter between 10 and 20 million dollars (9.3 and 18.7 million euros), although the House of Alba insists that its initial objective is not the sale, certainly not in the next three years.
WISeKey announced this Wednesday that this "NFT will be the first to be offered in the form of a loan instead of a sale."
He added: “This is a new way to invest in art, especially for museums and private foundations who want to share in this amazing collaboration with little or no carbon footprint.
Imagine that hundreds of thousands of people can watch this video from anywhere in the world.
It is a museum piece and WISe.ART will manage its future”.
But there are more alternatives.
Another detail of the letters of Columbus.
David Fernandez (EFE)
“The creation of one of these assets allows to obtain financing in the market or to rent it for an exhibition.
The main target is museums, especially from Gulf countries, which have great buildings but lack great works of art.
This could be a way of making the House's immense heritage known”, emphasizes Moreira, who was born in La Línea de la Concepción, lives in Switzerland and his company is listed on Wall Street.
In fact, Goldman Sachs has just granted a line of credit with NFTs as collateral to receive cash, a further step in cryptocurrency-backed loans that was already a reality in the US.
Image of the video that accompanies the NFT of Columbus's letter.
Moreira, a Davos regular for more than 15 years, has also chosen an emblematic place for the delivery of these awards: the famous Piano Bar of the Europa Hotel in Davos.
There Barry, the famous pianist, has shared an instrument with some of the most media-oriented experts in world geopolitics, or has accompanied a former US Treasury Secretary determined to speak out, while a huge audience of bankers, journalists, businessmen and political advisers danced and sang to the beat.
It may seem like a virtual world, but it is absolutely real.
Of course it's Davos.
Another image from the video.
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