The View

Resolving NFT disputes in the art world needs more action and awareness on arbitration

A common problem with any innovation is that laws can be slow to catch up, leaving individuals and businesses exposed to risk and uncertain about what to do

Arbitration can help settle NFT disputes in a private and friendly manner, but more must be done to educate people about their options

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People pass by sign on a small shop that hosts digital art collecting platform Neon’s first in-person NFT vending machine in Lower Manhattan’s financial district, New York City, US, on March 1, 2022. Photo: Reuters

Zhijin (Donna) Huang is director of Arbitration and ADR, North Asia, at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) dispute resolution service.

Published: 3:45pm, 29 Mar 2023

Art Basel Hong Kong, Asia’s biggest art fair, recently opened its doors to the world for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic. This event is an important barometer of the success of Asia’s art scene but, nowadays, it is not just traditional artwork drawing attention and investment. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are a hugely popular and accessible form of art which draws a broader market of buyers.

NFTs are blockchain-based tokens which represent a unique asset such as a piece of art, video or other type of digital content. Brought into the mainstream by the landmark sale of digital mosaic Everydays – The First 5,000 Days in March 2021 by Christie’s for US$69.3 million, the NFT market has continued to grow and develop.

In China, NFTs are seen as an important building block for future growth. Shanghai’s 14th five-year plan for developing its digital economy, issued last year, underlined its support for leading enterprises to establish NFT trading platforms.