How One Startup Is Removing Barriers to Buying NFTs

In September, the official launch of Authic.io will take place: the first exclusive NFT marketplace in the Netherlands.  Here, quality and user-friendliness are key, says co-founder Wouter Kloosterman.

Authic held the first NFT exhibition in the Netherlands during TEFAF at the Michelin-starred restaurant Beluga.

First things first, what exactly are NFTs? An NFT is a Non-Fungible Token: a non-exchangeable, irreplaceable digital certificate of ownership. Also called: a small piece of code in a blockchain (public database) that proves you are the owner of a digital item, such as a photo, audio file, or artwork. This code is often linked to a personal digital crypto wallet.

Strict selection by curators

Exactly one year ago, Wouter Kloosterman, Lemar Bachtiar, and Tat Luat Nguyen started Authic.io: an exclusively curated platform for the sale of NFTs, focusing on the high-end of digital art. "We only present curated art.”

That is, curators, assess our digital artworks on various criteria. For example, they look at the track record of the artists. Has the artist been in the industry for a long time?

Is his art consistent? And is the quality, such as resolution, high? Only when the artist passes curation, a collection is put together in collaboration with our curators. That means we can guarantee high-quality art exclusively on our platform.

Also interesting: Our platform’s focus lies on 1/1's. That means that most NFTs on Authic.io will be very exclusive and rare! Most collections have only a singular edition!

The first curated NFT collection in the Netherlands

Authic, in collaboration with the Michelin-starred restaurant Beluga& partners such as BCNL and Samsung, organized the first local, real life NFT gallery. (During TEFAF).

Only 10 artists were selected out of 600+ applications! Their works are part of the first curated NFT collection exhibited during the TEFAF. The collection includes top international artists, such as Belgian artist Jonas Leriche with his work: 'Transhuman Romance'.

"Leriche consciously seeks the boundary between what is artificial and authentic. Transhuman Romance makes the audience wonder what it would be like to be entertained by a cyborg geisha? It took eighteen hours to paint the lady. After which she was photographed and digitally edited into a beautiful work of art." Now available on the Authic NFT marketplace.

Fashion, technology, and hyper surreal plastic models

A second exhibitor is 3D artist Jason Ebeyer, with his work "Soft Escape." Known for his sensual artwork, Ebeyer has produced work for none other than Madonna and Doja Cat, as well as collaborated with Vogue Italia, Tom of Finland, and Steven Klein. In his work, he combines elements of fashion and technology with hyper surreal plastic models.

Soft escape is a nod to the beauty norm of social media and the perception of the digital generation

-- Jason Ebeyer

Sunshine Royale Motel by Michel Mölder

At the end of September, not only will the platform (officially) go live, but also the collection 'Sunshine Royale Motel' by Michel Mölder. "This series consists of ten different 'cinemagraphs' featuring various well-known Dutch people such as Humberto Tan, Barrie Stevens, Isa Hoes and Jody Bernal.

A cinemagraph is a mix of photo and video. This series, it's about images in which everything stands still. Only subtle, surprising, and moving elements bring each image to life. Those movements together form a loop, so as a viewer you don't see when the movement starts or ends. This keeps you looking at the artwork.

Also interesting: the setting in which the images are located concerns a digital motel, which Mölder designed entirely himself."

No need for technical knowledge to collect or sell exclusive NFTs at Authic!

As inspiring as all these sounds, for many people, NFTs remain "elusive" and therefore difficult to understand. That's why, in addition to a curated NFT art collection, Authic focuses on accessibility.

For example, on Authic.io you can already pay very easily with IDEAL as fiat payments processor. In addition, you can choose to use a custodial wallet, so no messing around with seed phrases or connecting your wallet to shady websites.

Authic is hiring!

If you agree with our vision on the future of NFTs, and fit the profile with experience and skills, come join our team!

We are currently looking to fill two freelancer positions:

• Senior Test Engineer

• Junior Python Engineer

  
  

Feel free to reach out for an interview on our socials, through the contact form or in an email!