Crypto Community HeritageDAO Seeks To Acquire Korean National Treasures

January 26, 2022 – Singapore, Singapore

The sudden birth of HeritageDAO (HDAO) was the response of the crypto industry to the unfortunate news that two national treasures in South Korea are coming out to an auction as a desperate measure of one art museum to survive the Covid-19 pandemic. A practice that is highly controversial anywhere in the world, this is the first time and potentially the only time in South Korea to see national treasures out in an auction.

National treasure number 72 (???????????? – gilt-bronze standing Buddha triad with the inscription of Gyemi year’) and number 73 (?????? – the portable shrine of gilt-bronze Buddha triad) are Buddhist artworks from the year 563 and 11th century, respectively.

HeritageDAO aims to buy these national treasures and have the seller custody the originals in Korea while HDAO one, fractionalizes and sells 49% of ownership in the form of non-fungible tokens and two, keep 51% to HDAO.

National treasure number 72 – ???????????? – gilt-bronze standing Buddha triad with the inscription of ‘Gyemi year’

National treasure number 73 – ?????? – portable shrine of gilt-bronze Buddha triad

HDAO as a collective whole is to protect, collect, share and enjoy the essence of cultural heritage, covering both monetary and non-monetary aspects in all ages throughout the world. In collaboration with Crayon.Finance, an Animoca Brands and Brinc-backed company, HDAO was initiated by an anonymous expert in the fields of ancient and modern arts over a cup of tea on a Sunday afternoon just four days before the K auction taking place for the national treasures.

Community members began donating to the treasury on January 26, 2022, and the raise intends to continue into early February to either win the auction directly or win back the treasures from the winner of the auction.

National treasures are hard to sell due to the reporting duties that follow the buyer from the government to keep the condition of the treasures mint. Often, it is illegal to export national treasures out of the country as with the case of South Korea.

With limitations, HDAO believes that these national treasures are heavily undervalued with a limited number of transactions taken in the past. However, the transfer of value is borderless once the ownership is minted in the form of non-fungible tokens, and fractional ownership allows more retail collectors to engage with the buying and selling of treasures.

The ancient and modern art industry is the ideal target for DAO governance because the transfer of value is not limited to the location of the original asset once the NFT is minted over the ownership and/or intellectual properties.

The DAO governance structure means HDAO is uniquely positioned as a partner for museums across the globe to tap into the potential of the crypto and NFT space. With most museums having only a very limited understanding of how blockchain works, HDAO provides a novel opportunity for those organizations to quickly gain access to the crypto space and its audience, as well as benefit from global liquidity.

Leon Kyoungnam Kim, CSO of Crayon.Finance, said,

“With non-fungible tokens unlocking a new dimension of possibilities to assets such as national treasures, and [with] DAOs … consistently growing and engaging the communities around the assets of interest, the future of the art industry – both ancient and modern – could very well be powered by NFTs and run by DAOs.”

About HeritageDAO

HeritageDAO as a collective whole is to protect, collect, share and enjoy the essence of cultural heritage, covering both monetary and non-monetary aspects in all ages throughout the world via the power of blockchain and non-fungible tokens.

Contact

Leon Kyoungnam Kim, CSO of Crayon.Finance