Geneva, Switzerland / Florence, Italy , March 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Building upon the successful announcement at Davos earlier this year, WISeKey International Holding Ltd (“WISeKey”) (SIX: WIHN, NASDAQ: WKEY), a forefront leader in cybersecurity, digital identity, and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, is excited to announce the next phase of its groundbreaking initiative to digitalize over $500 million worth of Italian Renaissance Art under the ownership of GMA. 

This initiative is a collaboration between WISeKey’s subsidiary, WISe.Art, and the GMA, targeting the digitalization of masterpieces by Caravaggio, Beato Angelico, Tiziano, Tintoretto, Rubens, Rembrandt, Verocchio, and Raffaello di Sanzio. By transforming these timeless treasures into digital form, the project aims to extend the reach of Italian artistic heritage globally, making it accessible beyond the confines of museums and private collections.

Revolutionizing Art and Investment with the Renaissance Coin
A cornerstone of this initiative is the introduction of the Renaissance Coin, a pioneering development in the art investment sphere. These Artistic Security Tokens, differing fundamentally from Bitcoins and NFTs, operate within a regulated framework, offering a secure and legally compliant option for art investors. The tokens represent a unique convergence of physical artworks and their digital counterparts, honoring the essence of these masterpieces while providing an innovative investment opportunity. An exclusive event set for July 14 in Florence will mark the launch of the pre-registration phase, featuring a remarkable presentation of Renaissance digital art by the renowned artist Pedro Sandoval.

Technological Innovation and Security at the Heart
At the core of this endeavor is the WISe.ART platform, which employs cutting-edge blockchain technology, including NFTs on the Hedera blockchain, to create a secure, efficient, and transparent marketplace for trading luxury collectibles and artworks. The platform thoughtfully balances the need for Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations with the desire for user anonymity, facilitated by the TrustECoin token set to launch in May, enabling discreet yet compliant NFT trading.

With over two decades of experience in security and object authentication, WISeKey ensures the utmost security and authenticity for artworks and their digital versions, minimizing the risk of digital counterfeiting. Strategic partnerships, including those with Hedera and GMA, underscore WISeKey’s unique position in the market, enhancing its capabilities in crypto expertise and innovative data offerings.

The Hashgraph Association (THA), the non-profit Swiss organization behind the innovative distributed ledger technology (DLT) of Hedera Hashgraph (“Hedera”), announced a groundbreaking collaboration during the Davos 2024 event. This joint initiative focuses on the legal and regulatory compliant tokenization of art assets and equity-shares of WISe.Art AG.

The centerpiece of WISe.Art is the WISe.Art Marketplace built to redefine the way art is bought and sold, bringing transparency, security, authenticity, legal certainty, and fractional ownership to the forefront of the global art world. Leveraging WISeKey's 25 years of proven expertise in cybersecurity and cryptography, the platform introduces a novel approach to art transactions and digital representation, ensuring a seamless and trustworthy experience of value exchange for artists, collectors, and enthusiasts.

In collaboration with artists, collectors, museums, and prestigious galleries, WISe.ART and GMA are thrilled to present the ‘Digital Renaissance Project Italy.’

From 2024 to the Jubilee year 2025, this ambitious project will digitize the Italian Renaissance artistic heritage, using ultra-high-definition imagery and digital enhancements. This effort is a milestone in transitioning Italian artistic heritage into the digital age, extending its reach to a global audience.

As part of the initiative, an exclusive Renaissance Coin will be launched, providing access to historic art treasures through WISe.ART. This project connects art enthusiasts worldwide via the Internet, allowing them to immerse in and admire this extraordinary artistic heritage, some of which were previously limited to museums and historical sites. This technological breakthrough enables these treasures to be viewed and appreciated globally.

About GMA:
Global Market of Artification (GMA) is an innovative company, focused on offering NFT services. GMA offers a unique tokenisation experience, enabling a new form of investment in world-renowned artworks. The platform enables the creation of an NFT that represents the digital rights of the artwork granted by the artwork’s owner through a legal contract. All the transactions are managed by the underlying Ethereum Blockchain.

About The Hashgraph Association
The Hashgraph Association supports training and education programs across multiple industry verticals. In the forefront is the digital enablement and empowerment of the public through broad adoption of Hedera-powered enterprise-grade solutions and decentralized applications (dApps), which includes innovation, accreditation, and certification programs. As a non-profit organization headquartered in Switzerland, The Hashgraph Association promotes and provides funding for innovation, research and development for the benefit of economic inclusion and with a positive environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impact. For information about The Hashgraph Association, visit www.hashgraph-association.com.

About WISeKey:
WISeKey International Holding Ltd (“WISeKey”, SIX: WIHN; Nasdaq: WKEY) is a global leader in cybersecurity, digital identity, and IoT solutions platform. It operates as a Swiss-based holding company through several operational subsidiaries, each dedicated to specific aspects of its technology portfolio. The subsidiaries include (i) SEALSQ Corp (Nasdaq: LAES), which focuses on semiconductors, PKI, and post-quantum technology products, (ii) WISeKey SA which specializes in RoT and PKI solutions for secure authentication and identification in IoT, Blockchain, and AI, (iii) WISeSat AG which focuses on space technology for secure satellite communication, specifically for IoT applications, and (iv) WISe.ART Corp which focuses on trusted blockchain NFTs and operates the WISe.ART marketplace for secure NFT transactions.

Each subsidiary contributes to WISeKey’s mission of securing the internet while focusing on their respective areas of research and expertise. Their technologies seamlessly integrate into the comprehensive WISeKey platform. WISeKey secures digital identity ecosystems for individuals and objects using Blockchain, AI, and IoT technologies. With over 1.6 billion microchips deployed across various IoT sectors, WISeKey plays a vital role in securing the Internet of Everything. The company’s semiconductors generate valuable Big Data that, when analyzed with AI, enable predictive equipment failure prevention. Trusted by the OISTE/WISeKey cryptographic Root of Trust, WISeKey provides secure authentication and identification for IoT, Blockchain, and AI applications. The WISeKey Root of Trust ensures the integrity of online transactions between objects and people. For more information on WISeKey’s strategic direction and its subsidiary companies, please visit www.wisekey.com.

About WISe.ART: WISe.ART platform leverages WISeKey’s strong cybersecurity expertise, digital identity technology, and the power of blockchain to offer a unique marketplace for NFTs, connecting artists, buyers, and collectors, while ensuring the provenance and authenticity of digital artworks.

Disclaimer:
This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of the Swiss Financial Services Act (“FinSA”), the FInSa’s predecessor legislation or advertising within the meaning of the FinSA. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey.